Alex Hopkins directs the Energy Transition Initiative at the UNC Institute for the Environment. He joined the IE team in July 2022 as a Research Associate and has led the ETI’s efforts since January 2023.
UNC-IE’s Energy Transition Initiative: A New Program to Tackle New Challenges
When I joined the Institute’s Energy Transition Initiative (ETI) in July 2022 as a research associate, I did so thrilled by the prospect of building out a new research and stakeholder engagement program focused on the future of the power sector. Representing about a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and central to our daily lives, the opportunity to help decisionmakers move the power sector toward a cleaner future felt significant and timely. What I didn’t know was just how timely the opportunity would be.
It was only a month into my time at IE that the entire landscape of the U.S. energy transition changed with the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in August 2022. Suddenly, many of the assumptions underpinning the economics, technology, and regulatory frameworks that impact the energy transition were dated. New federal funding was rolling out, new analyses were being written, state-level policymakers were asking questions, and the ETI’s mission seemed even more relevant.
The ETI, originally conceived as a partnership between the Institute for the Environment and the Center for Climate, Energy, Environment & Economics at the UNC School of Law, was established in September 2022 to expand UNC’s focus on climate and energy transition issues at a time when the energy system at the state, regional and national level is undergoing rapid change.
Housed in the Institute, the ETI’s overarching goals are to:
- deepen energy stakeholder engagement across North Carolina and the southeast region through strategic partnerships;
- pursue new avenues of timely research and policymaker convenings; and
- socialize the issues at the core of the energy transition across the Carolina Community while harnessing the topic as an educational opportunity for UNC students.
Supporting State Action on Energy and Climate Issues
A major component of ETI’s work is convening workshops for state-level energy and environmental leaders. These state officials come from utility commissions, departments of environmental quality, air quality offices, consumer advocates, and state energy offices, among others. Despite working toward common goals, often these officials and their work are siloed; we try to change that.
To do this, we leverage UNC’s convening power, and strategic partnerships with other universities like Duke’s Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, to bring energy and environmental leaders to the table. I spend a lot of my time managing these relationships, understanding the analytical gaps states are encountering and, to fill those gaps, designing convenings that bring together state-level decision-makers with federal partners, like the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to have frank, nonpartisan, data-driven conversations about the critical value choices confronting them.
Recent topics have included unpacking the impact of rising electricity demand due to artificial intelligence-driven investments in data centers in the southeast, and how to balance major priorities like grid reliability and cost, or ambitious decarbonization goals with infrastructure bottlenecks. The ETI also contributes to a project that provides technical assistance to states participating in EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program, which was funded by the IRA.
Meeting states where they are at is crucial because decisions made at the state level will affect energy prices and environmental impacts for decades to come. I’m inspired to do this work because constructively engaging with the people making those choices is imperative if we are to guide the electricity sector in North Carolina and beyond to an affordable, reliable, clean, and equitable future.
Bringing the Energy Transition to Life at Carolina
This work is inherently future-oriented, and deeply interdisciplinary. I think that’s why so many students at UNC feel drawn to get involved, whether it is through an internship with ETI or as part of the many organizations on campus who touch on energy transition issues.
One of the best parts of my job is finding creative ways to engage students in my projects and connect my work at the state, regional, and national level to what is happening on campus and around town. I’ve been fortunate to do this through partnerships with my colleagues at IE, the NC Collaboratory, student-led organizations, and faculty across campus. Building on these efforts and relationships is a major priority for the ETI going forward, and I am always looking for new ways to collaborate with other members of the Carolina Community.
To learn more about the Energy Transition Initiative listen to the Sustainable Carolina Podcast “Engaging Through the Energy Transition Initiative.”