The Ford School's Catherine Hausman spoke on a panel for a Hamilton Project and Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability event titled "Powering a Clean Energy Future." The event focused on analyzing the ways we can move toward renewable energy through policy levers.
Hausman commented on the Inflation Reduction Act as a "win-win" where economic setbacks (such as inflation) and the need for clean energy can be addressed at the same time. Specifically, Hausman discussed how she believes we can move both of these aspects forward with innovation. Hausman supported this idea stating "clean energy is needed and innovation gives space for the economy to grow."
Furthermore, Hausman urged that two factors will allow us to get the most "bang for our buck" with clean energy innovation. She advocated for stability and high-risk high-reward practices in clean energy innovation. Talking about these two necessary factors, Hausman explained that stability presents itself with "long-term" projects. Excluding those projects that will be taken back with administration or economic changes. She went on to encourage high-risk high-reward innovations advising that we will only be able to achieve "really beautiful" and meaningful innovations with some project failures along the way.
The panel also discussed transmission policy where Hausman proposed transmission be considered as a "microcosm" of the many energy and economic policy issues. She asserted that "when you build new transmission lines, power prices are going to equalize. That's going to be great in some places and some generators are going to lose out, as well they should, because there's cheaper generation available elsewhere. I think transmission is really important for all of those reasons."
