Michigan Energy Symposium
Date & time
Location
Registration required. Please visit http://umenergysymposium.com/ for full schedule and registration information.
About the symposium:
Climate change is a potential threat to the welfare of mankind and its mitigation is becoming urgent. Nuclear energy, which provides one-fifth of U.S. electricity generation, is currently the leading utility-scale, carbon-free baseload power source in America. But it is expensive, controversial, and regulated in a way that poses challenges to technological innovation. So how does nuclear power fit into U.S. climate change mitigation goals going forward?
In what way can nuclear power be a major factor in the portfolio of options being considered to lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change? With the rapid growth of natural gas production in the United States, how has the economics of nuclear power changed? What are the social, policy and technological challenges to nuclear power in the United States? What are the challenges to developing and deploying new technologies and designs?
In September 2016, the University of Michigan, a global leader in nuclear engineering research, will explore the various obstacles to the wider deployment of this carbon-free energy source. From regulation to reactor design, speakers will discuss the economic, safety, security, policy, and social issues that will define nuclear power’s future role as a climate change mitigation tool.
The Ford School's assistant professor Catie Hausman is among the conference organizers. Her work focuses on environmental and energy economics. Her research has appeared in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, the American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, and the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.