Scott Institute hosts Discussion on a Regional Approach to Low Carbon Energy Transition in the U.S. with Ernie Moniz and Valerie Karplus of the Roosevelt Project SWPA Case Study

Pittsburgh, October 14, 2021 - Former U.S. Secretary of Energy and President and CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative, Ernest Moniz, visited Carnegie Mellon University’s Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation to present and discuss the findings of a case study looking at Southwestern Pennsylvania’s energy industry in transition. This study was done in partnership with the Roosevelt Project.

Former Secretary Moniz joined case study co-lead and Roosevelt Project core faculty member, Valerie Karplus for a limited in-person case study briefing in Scott Hall before they engaged in a fireside chat that was open to the public for virtual attendance. 

Moniz is focused on understanding possibilities for and building coalitions around the clean energy transition to create forward momentum. His efforts center around engaging the labor community and creating advocates by ensuring that there are well paying jobs in the energy future for communities skeptical about their security. His aim is to broaden the conversation by involving historical allies like environmentalists and climate scientists, but also many who have been left out of the conversation by focusing on the impacts on today’s workforce and prospective jobs that a clean energy transition could create.

Moniz says, “Southwestern Pennsylvania has an opportunity to demonstrate how an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy can generate jobs, build new industries, and secure livelihoods across the region’s rural and urban communities, turning headwinds into tailwinds on the path to net zero GHG emissions nationwide.”

The Roosevelt Project, founded by Moniz who serves currently as the faculty director, is dedicated to engaging communities and stakeholders nationwide who might be at a disadvantage in the energy transition in order to develop policy priorities and action plans that will move beyond the divisive choice between economic growth and environmental security. The goal of this project is to shift to low carbon energy while emphasizing inclusion of communities that may be highly specialized or dependent on the fossil fuel economy at a regional level. 

The Roosevelt Project’s Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) Case Study, which is a multi-year effort involving faculty and students at CMU, MIT, Harvard, and Boise State, shows how the ‘all-of-the-above’ approach to low carbon energy transition can invigorate the region’s economy, creating opportunity for all citizens and communities. The case shows the potential gains if regional leadership is able to develop a strategy and conversation around how to embrace this diversified path to a climate-secure future. Realizing these gains will require breaking down barriers and orchestrating unprecedented cooperation and coordination among diverse actors.

The Roosevelt Project did this work in two parts. First building a foundation with white papers that explore how certain communities may be disproportionately affected by national climate policy. Second, building four different case studies demonstrating regional examples of impacts from the energy transition. 

“The case studies show us how regions specialized in energy and manufacturing across the U.S. can lead and thrive in a low carbon transition”, says Moniz. “They underscore the importance of policy and regulatory frameworks at the regional level to support technology deployment, ensure high quality jobs, and diversify public revenues away from fossil sources.”

Karplus began working on this project in 2019, while a professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She joined the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at CMU in September 2020 to pursue a thematic focus on the energy transition. She is a co-lead on the SWPA Case Study, and is leading the way for the regional rollout as a local faculty member. As a core faculty member in the Roosevelt Project, she will also be involved in the national rollout of all four case studies happening later this fall. 

“The study shows that the region has built diverse strengths that will be in high demand in a low carbon transition,” says Karplus. “There is an opportunity for regional leadership to embrace this diversity as ‘the next big thing’ – and to develop a bold, targeted, and inclusive regional strategy and ongoing conversation to support its implementation. I am thrilled to join the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University and to establish research here to support this agenda.”

CMU has the unique capability to bring together experts from various disciplines throughout the institution that are currently doing research around the energy transition. “CMU and other academic institutions in the region can play an important role as an honest broker and convening partner,” says Karplus. “The goal is to solve the collective action problem, to bring people together to discuss what a clean energy future will look like.” CMU will be identifying key areas where analysis by faculty members and research groups on campus can support the decision making on multiple levels simultaneously such as policy, labor, community, technology, and business.

The Energy Futures Initiative is a not-for-profit organization that develops reports on topics by shedding light on issues, performing analysis, and providing credible information and guidance on ways to advance the clean energy transition. Where the SWPA Case Study focuses regional, the Energy Futures Initiative focuses nationally. Through the Energy Futures Initiative Moniz will continue to engage and bring national attention to the issues and great potential that exists in this region. 

Scott Institute Affiliated faculty that are currently doing work related to the energy transition are from the College of Engineering, Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy, and Tepper School of Business among others. Professors including Paulina Jaramillo, Destinee Nock, Costa Samaras, Jay Whitacre, Granger Morgan, Nicholas Muller, and many others are leading experts in various domains of energy systems, technology, and policy research to support a clean energy transition. 

Attendees of Thursday's events will be a number of key voices and catalysts for the SWPA energy transition conversation including Mayor William Peduto, Congressman Michael Doyle, County Executive Richard Fitzgerald, CMU President Farnam Jahanian, and Former Secretary Moniz himself. Additionally this event aims to attract key stakeholders such as business leaders, energy industry leaders, community members, and students to garner increasing participation. 

After the event, more information will be forthcoming about the regional energy node that CMU, the Scott Institute and Karplus’s research group will be establishing to carry on the work from the case study. Karplus says, “the goal is not to duplicate efforts but to close gaps and focus the conversation on what needs to be done instead of organizational turf wars which can get in the way of making progress on these issues.” The workforce dimension will be central to the analysis that will follow as part of the node at this event.

“There are many criteria that need to be considered when evaluating investments to enable an equitable transition. The goal of follow-on research that will build on this case study is to start with a few key areas including the workforce impact of clean energy transition in the region,” says Karplus.

CMU and the Scott Institute will develop a program of research and engagement led by Valerie Karplus (the Laboratory for Energy and Organization, LEO) and CMU, Pitt, Penn State, and other faculty in the region. This program provides a space for conversations that draw on analysis of impacts of specific proposals (conducted by the faculty and their Ph.D. students as well as engaged researchers at e.g. NETL, leading regional businesses) and stakeholder views and preferences over outcomes. The objective of these research activities and associated conversations is to support regional leadership in realizing the transition and growth opportunities laid out above. We will invite regional stakeholders to support this initiative.

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Key SWPA Case Study takeaways:

1.       Advance a bold, targeted, and inclusive regional strategy with rural and urban partners to invigorate the economy of Southwest Pennsylvania that takes as inputs observations from ReImagine Appalachia, the Marshall Plan for Middle America, and this case study, and targets investments compatible with national and global efforts to address climate change – with an emphasis on creating new opportunities for existing fossil energy workers and their communities.

2.     Recognize there is no one-size-fits-all approach. There is a diversity of economic life across the region’s counties – and the opportunities they face in a low-carbon transition – should be recognized and pursued, rather than attempting to identify a single one-size-fits-all decarbonization pathway.

3.     Invest immediately in near-term proof points. Pursue early wins for workforce and greenhouse gas emissions reductions (clean energy infrastructure construction, capping of abandoned wells, environmental cleanup, manufacturing equipment for offshore wind).

4.     Adopt a systems approach to workforce development. Provide a diverse and coordinated portfolio of new-skilling, up-skilling, and re-skilling opportunities for existing workers that are compatible with the existing skills and interests of the region’s fossil energy workforce. Develop a road map and user-friendly interface for workers to explore opportunities. 

5.   Build bridges between urban and rural communities as well as between high and low income urban communities. Leverage urban and national startup and industrial investment ecosystems to bring diverse activity in growth sectors to these areas. Focus on opportunities that will allow workers to remain in their communities if they so choose. 

6.   Use science and engineering to transform the region’s manufacturing ecosystem. Further cultivate regional strengths in advanced applications of AI, machine learning, and additive manufacturing to drive innovation in the energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and services sectors.

7.     Capitalize on momentum now to align regional players. Leadership is needed to convene stakeholders to develop a regional strategy and advance an “all-of-the-above” approach. The case suggests that stakeholder interests are more closely aligned than public positions suggest. enable the region to leverage a range of federal opportunities to support specific components as part of a coherent whole.