Current projects
Funder: EFORIS, Energiforsk
Grant: 1 071 500 sek
Duration: 2017-2018
Project manager: Runar Brännlund
Researchers: Thomas Broberg, Runar Brännlund, Tommy Lundgren, Lars Persson
(Swedish: Värdet av effektreduceringar och strömavbrott i svenskt näringsliv och offentlig sektor)
There is today a lively discussion about the question of whether we should have an explicit supply security target for electricity. In short, the discussion is relevant for (at least) two reasons. The first is that the deregulation of the electricity market in 1996 meant that an explicit delivery security target disappeared. The second is the concern that supply, or delivery, security will deteriorate due to the change we see in the production mix towards increasingly intermittent power production. However, the issue of a possible delivery security target, and at what level, cannot be separated from the cost and the value of achieving a given target. The purpose of this project is to study the value, or cost, for power reductions or power outages, for business and the public sector. Estimating the value of electricity, or the cost of loss of electricity, for businesses, including agriculture and the public sector, calls for a different approach than when the household sector is being studied. The objectives of the project can be summarized as follows:
Grant: 1 071 500 sek
Duration: 2017-2018
Project manager: Runar Brännlund
Researchers: Thomas Broberg, Runar Brännlund, Tommy Lundgren, Lars Persson
(Swedish: Värdet av effektreduceringar och strömavbrott i svenskt näringsliv och offentlig sektor)
There is today a lively discussion about the question of whether we should have an explicit supply security target for electricity. In short, the discussion is relevant for (at least) two reasons. The first is that the deregulation of the electricity market in 1996 meant that an explicit delivery security target disappeared. The second is the concern that supply, or delivery, security will deteriorate due to the change we see in the production mix towards increasingly intermittent power production. However, the issue of a possible delivery security target, and at what level, cannot be separated from the cost and the value of achieving a given target. The purpose of this project is to study the value, or cost, for power reductions or power outages, for business and the public sector. Estimating the value of electricity, or the cost of loss of electricity, for businesses, including agriculture and the public sector, calls for a different approach than when the household sector is being studied. The objectives of the project can be summarized as follows:
- Estimate costs for power constraints and power outage for business and public sectors.
- Analyze factors that affect differences in costs between different industry sectors.
- Based on estimated costs, carry out scenario analyzes of different power limitations / power outages of different duration and at different times.
- Get a deeper understanding of the driving forces behind changes in the cost of power outages over time.
- Contribute to method development to estimate power outages.
Grant: 5 674 000 sek
Duration: January 2015 - June 2018
Funder: Swedish Energy Agency
Project manager and contact: Andrius Kazukauskas
Duration: January 2015 - June 2018
Funder: Swedish Energy Agency
Project manager and contact: Andrius Kazukauskas
A large literature argues that firms and households are not energy efficient and would therefore be able to reduce their energy use and costs. In the project report for SEA (Dnr 2013-003213) we have provided a rationale for policy makers to act on improving energy efficiency. The overarching purpose of this project is to bring the discussion on inefficiencies in energy use from theory to practical application. To accomplish this we will investigate inefficiencies in energy use relating to split-incentives and inattention. Social ‘nudges’ are one example of policy instruments which may have a significant impact on energy use. In this project we intend to implement a field experiment (in partnership with AB Bostaden in Umeå) which could help us to answer the question of how social norms affect energy use among Swedish households. We also plan to use survey data to study inattention and data from energy certifications of multi-dwelling buildings to study the split-incentives problem.
Grant: 1 500 000 sek
Funder: Energiforsk
Project manager and contact: Bengt Kriström
The project aims to study the effects of energy taxation from a general equilibrium perspective
Funder: Energiforsk
Project manager and contact: Bengt Kriström
The project aims to study the effects of energy taxation from a general equilibrium perspective
Funderes: Torsten Söderbergs Forskningsstiftelse
Duration: 2013-2014
Contact: Tommy Lundgren
An important part of the sustainability debate has been devoted to what companies can do to facilitate sustainable development, so called corporate social responsibility (CSR). Profit maximization doesn't have to be in conflict with social responsibility as this behaviour may be strategic. Many empirical studies focus on the effects of being socially responsible on firm profitability. To some extent there are also theoretical analyses of CSR, but this research is still in its infancy; more theoretical studies combined with econometric analysis are needed to understand the drivers behind CSR. Furthermore, empirical studies of CSR need a stronger theoretical foundation than what we have seen in literature thus far. Specifically, in the context of CSR, we want to more closely examine the role of preferences, uncertainty, causality, cost of capital, risk, and public policy. It will become evident that these significant elements of economics and finance research agenda are closely linked to CSR.
Duration: 2013-2014
Contact: Tommy Lundgren
An important part of the sustainability debate has been devoted to what companies can do to facilitate sustainable development, so called corporate social responsibility (CSR). Profit maximization doesn't have to be in conflict with social responsibility as this behaviour may be strategic. Many empirical studies focus on the effects of being socially responsible on firm profitability. To some extent there are also theoretical analyses of CSR, but this research is still in its infancy; more theoretical studies combined with econometric analysis are needed to understand the drivers behind CSR. Furthermore, empirical studies of CSR need a stronger theoretical foundation than what we have seen in literature thus far. Specifically, in the context of CSR, we want to more closely examine the role of preferences, uncertainty, causality, cost of capital, risk, and public policy. It will become evident that these significant elements of economics and finance research agenda are closely linked to CSR.
Grant: 1 590 000 sek
Funder: Energiforsk
Project manager and contact: Runar Brännlund
Funder: Energiforsk
Project manager and contact: Runar Brännlund
The project aims to estimate the added value lost as a result of various restrictions in household electricity consumption, and household expenses for short power failure, which gives a "price" on a targeted disconnection of electricity. The willingness of households to adjust their electricity use is governed by several factors - both economic and non-economic. One aim of the project is to analyze the extent to which households are willing to adapt to non-economic reasons, for example to facilitate the integration of renewable resources.
Funder: Swedish Environmental Protection Agency
Duration: 2016-2018
Project Manager: Gabriel Michanek, Uppsala University
Contact: Göran Bostedt
Duration: 2016-2018
Project Manager: Gabriel Michanek, Uppsala University
Contact: Göran Bostedt
According to a state report 2015, it will not be possible to meet the Swedish Environmental Objective "Sustainable Forests" with current or planned policy instruments. This is in part due to the lack of landscape strategies and environmental considerations in felling. Sweden is thus not capable to comply with international obligations to protect habitats according to e.g. the Habitats Directives. At the same time, timber production is essential, not least as biomass plays a significant role in the conversion of the energy system, which relates obligations according to the EU Renewables Directive. The purpose of the project is to explore ecological and legal preconditions for spatial planning of forest landscapes in order to promote a more sustainable and diverse management of forests, aiming at stronger protection of biodiversity in some areas and intensive forestry in other areas. In a first study, an ecological model for landscape strategies and planning-simulation is used, developing scenarios that are used as the basis for a subsequent legal study on landscape forest planning. This study explores how such planning in France is regulated and applied. The study also analyses if adaptive planning (used e.g. in the EU Water Framework Directive) could be used in planning of forest landscapes. Finally, legal complications related to the implementation of forest planning are explored and discussed, for example legal consequences for property rights related to forest resources. In order to create a self-supporting system, where costs for conservation of biodiversity are more evenly distributed among land owners, the project will bring forward and discuss an economic regulation where tree felling is taxed and taxed means are allocated to those land owners who are disfavoured by the restrictions of the plan.
Grant: 1 500 000 sek
Funder: Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius Stiftelse
Duration: 2014-2017
Project manager and contact: Ann-Kristin Bergquist
Funder: Jan Wallanders och Tom Hedelius Stiftelse
Duration: 2014-2017
Project manager and contact: Ann-Kristin Bergquist
Grant: 3 599 000 sek
Funder: Swedish Energy Agency
Duration: 2015-2017
Project leader and contact: Tommy Lundgren
In practice, the climate and energy policy decisions rarely account for the so-called rebound effect. This effect erodes the potential of achieving energy conservation from increasing energy efficiency. Therefore, the rebound effect should be considered when designing climate and energy policies. However, we argue that the knowledge about the effect is generally insufficient. For instance, we can find no empirical studies on Swedish industry that aim at discovering the actual rebound effect and its determinants based on historical firm level data. This is the general goal of this project, and it will increase the understanding of how climate and energy policy decisions may contribute to energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – highly relevant for all countries.
Funder: Swedish Energy Agency
Duration: 2015-2017
Project leader and contact: Tommy Lundgren
In practice, the climate and energy policy decisions rarely account for the so-called rebound effect. This effect erodes the potential of achieving energy conservation from increasing energy efficiency. Therefore, the rebound effect should be considered when designing climate and energy policies. However, we argue that the knowledge about the effect is generally insufficient. For instance, we can find no empirical studies on Swedish industry that aim at discovering the actual rebound effect and its determinants based on historical firm level data. This is the general goal of this project, and it will increase the understanding of how climate and energy policy decisions may contribute to energy conservation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions – highly relevant for all countries.
Main partner and funder: Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
Duration: Ongoing
Contact: Göran Bostedt or Runar Brännlund
The project is based on a survey from the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.
Duration: Ongoing
Contact: Göran Bostedt or Runar Brännlund
The project is based on a survey from the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management.