Beyond AEEI: Technical change in integrated assessment. Final report: DOE 43-400-54 ER62296

Richards, Kenneth ; Ashton, Brad

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN (United States)

关键词: Research Programs;    Solar Energy;    Expenditures;    Photovoltaic Power Plants;    National Government;   

DOI  :  10.2172/808539
RP-ID  :  NONE
RP-ID  :  FG02-96ER6229
RP-ID  :  808539

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

In order to address the issue of technological progress, most integrated assessment models have incorporated methods to account for autonomous energy efficiency improvement, the natural tendency of an economy to find more efficient ways to produce energy services. Although the treatment of technical changes as an autonomous event is a reasonable modeling convenience, it is not a statement of actual cause and effect. The purpose of this research project is to examine the responsiveness of a particular technology, solar photovoltaic electricity generation, to research and development expenditures by the government and private industry. The goal is to be able to model how the technology can be expected to respond to future government expenditures. The first step was to develop a database of government expenditures on solar photovoltaic research and development. The next step was to develop an analytical dynamic optimization model that would allow the characterization of the important factors in the R&D process and the demonstration of generalizable principles of optimal investment in the R&D process. There is now a solid starting point for research into the relation between government spending on technology research and the response of the technology in terms of technical efficiency.