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1	Production efficiencies of U.S. electric generation plants: effects of data aggregation and greenhouse gas and renewable energy policy Lynes, Melissa Kate January 1900 (has links) Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Agricultural Economics / Jeffery R. Williams / Over the last few decades there has been a shift in electricity production in the U.S. Renewable energy sources are becoming more widely used. In addition, electric generation plants that use coal inputs are more heavily regulated than a couple decades ago. This shift in electricity production was brought on by changes in federal policy – a desire for electricity produced in the U.S. which led to policies being adopted that encourage the use of renewable energy. The change in production practices due to policies may have led to changes in the productivity of electric generation plants. Multiple studies have examined the most efficient electric generation plants using the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. This study builds on past research to answer three questions: 1) Does the level of aggregation of fuel input variables affect the plant efficiency scores and how does the efficiency of renewable energy input compare to nonrenewable energy inputs; 2) Are policies geared toward directly or indirectly reducing greenhouse gas emissions affecting the production efficiencies of greenhouse gas emitting electric generation plants; and 3) Do renewable energy policies and the use of intermittent energy sources (i.e. wind and solar) affect the productivity growth of electric generation plants. All three analysis, presented in three essays, use U.S. plant level data obtained from the Energy Information Administration to answer these questions. The first two essays use DEA to determine the pure technical, overall technical, and scale efficiencies of electric generation plants. The third essay uses DEA within the Malmquist index to assess the change in productivity over time. Results indicate that the level of aggregation does matter particularly for scale efficiency. This implies that valuable information is likely lost when fuel inputs are aggregated together. Policies directly focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions may improve the production efficiencies of greenhouse gas emitting electric generation plants. However, renewable energy policies do not have an effect on productivity growth. Renewable energy inputs are found to be as efficient if not more efficient than traditional energy sources. Production efficiencies Electric utility plants Renewable energy policies Energy Economics Economics (0501) Economics, Agricultural (0503) Environmental economics (0438)
2	ADDRESSING CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE LOSS IN A UNIVERSITY UTILITY PLANT Kelly A McFall (9622742) 16 December 2020 (has links) <p>This research was a pilot study in a larger project that focused on how to retrieve knowledge from retiring long-term employees of a small university utility plant, incorporate that material into their existing training program, and during the process reduce the training time for current and future employees. Wade utility plant faced the retirement of eight employees with nearly 200 years of corporate knowledge within three years, but their current training program required seven to nine years to complete. The study utilized interviews, first-hand observation and partnership with current employees to explore how best to obtain the corporate knowledge that would be lost when the proletarian workers retired. The study revealed that the training program needed to be updated, and communication, trust and training evaluation continuity needed to be addressed. Due to these issues, trust was built through transparency by the researcher, and suggestions were made to management for moving forward. This study adds to the body of knowledge by utilizing knowledge capture techniques in a utility plant, highlighting effective knowledge capture techniques for proletarian workers, the importance of corporate planning for the effect of group retirements, and how incorporating proletarian workers into training creation can make a positive impact on company relationships.</p> Technology not elsewhere classified utility plants Knowledge capture Knowledge retention Baby Boomers trust cues Knowledge loss Retirement blue collar Interview Corporate Culture Communication observation techniques Training CCHP Knowledge transfer proletarian knowledge management training time reduction corporate communication building trust corporate planning implicit explicit tacit scaffolded learning OJT stationary engineer knowledge collection methodology single subject research content analysis active listening

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Production efficiencies of U.S. electric generation plants: effects of data aggregation and greenhouse gas and renewable energy policy

ADDRESSING CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE LOSS IN A UNIVERSITY UTILITY PLANT