Distributed Energy Resources for Carbon Emissions Mitigation

The era of publicly mandated GHG emissions restrictions inthe United States has begun with recent legislation in California andseven northeastern states. Commercial and industrial buildings canimprove the carbon-efficiency of end-use energy consumption by installingtechnologies such as on-site cogeneration of electricity and useful heatin combined heat and power systems, thermally-activated cooling, solarelectric and thermal equipment, and energy storage -- collectively termeddistributed energy resources (DER). This research examines a collectionof buildings in California, the Northeast, and the southern United Statesto demonstrate the effects of regional characteristics such as the carbonintensity of central electricity grid, the climate-driven demand forspace heating and cooling, and the availability of solar insolation. Theresults illustrate that the magnitude of a realistic carbon tax ($100/tC)is too small to incent significant carbon-reducing effects oneconomically optimal DER adoption. In large part, this is because costreduction and carbon reduction objectives are roughly aligned, even inthe absence of a carbon tax