Notice: This lecture is a research seminar for credit.
Time
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Mar 28, 2019 1:30-2:30 p.m.
Abstract
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Energyconsumption in ports substantially contributes to air pollution in surroundingareas. This paper examines the effect of port traffic and regulation on localair quality for the areas surrounding the U.S. principal ports. From aregression analysis, we find that port traffic—measured as the daily number ofvessels in port—significantly impacts local air pollution levels. To addressbias concerns, port traffic is instrumented by lagged tropical cyclones distantfrom ports. We then examine the effect of port electrification—a policy thatpowers vessels from the onshore electric grid—on pollution using a regressiondiscontinuity design. We find that electrification lowers pollutantconcentrations by 18%-51% across major pollutants. We further use a large-scaleenergy-economic equilibrium model to show that the pollution reduction fromusing onshore electricity is much greater than the increase in pollution fromgenerating that electricity at power plants. We also calculate severalback-of-the-envelope estimates, demonstrating US$1.6 billion health-relatedsocial costs due to one additional vessel in the U.S. major ports everyday andUS$9.2 billion social benefits brought by port electrification.
Speaker's Bio
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Dr.Pei Huang is a Postdoctoral Associate at the School of Forestry &Environmental Studies, Yale University. Prior to joining Yale, he worked as aquantitative analyst specializing in energy markets in S&P Global, U.K. Heobtained his Ph.D. degree in Environmental & Resource Economics from TexasA&M University, U.S. His research primarily addresses the challenges ofenergy and environmental systems, with a focus on the associated economics,policy implications, and decision-making. He is interested in integrating avariety of methodologies to examine the effects of energy transitions onenvironment and societal well-being. Specifically, his research fields includeEnergy & Environmental Economics, Energy & Climate Policy Modeling, andApplied Microeconomics.
Registration
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Professors and students of TBSI are welcometo attend. The lecture is also open to the public. For off-campuspersonnel, please scan the QR code and and fill in your information (name,company, contact number, ID number). The language of the lecture isEnglish.
