Assessing energy policy for sustainability outcomes: a comparative study of different regulatory market structures across North America

Our modern world runs on electricity, and electricity is often produced using fossil fuel sources that contribute to global climate change. In a world with increasingly ambitious climate goals, it is vital to understand the relationship of energy markets where electricity is bought and sold and the renewable energy policies that exist to reduce fossil fuel generation. This thesis compares policies implemented in the continental US and Canada to explore potential relationships between renewable energy policies and energy market types (regulated markets vs. restructured markets) based on outcomes for reduced CO2 emissions, increased renewable generation, and decreased fossil fuel generation. This research uses statistical techniques to explore said relationships including OLS regression and multi-variate analysis of variance. This research contributes to Energy Policy and Sustainability literature with various findings, such as results showing there are no significant statistical differences between energy market types for impacts on renewable energy policy effectiveness. Findings are limited by the exploratory nature of this research and highlight the need for further study into the effectiveness of renewable energy policies