SECURING RENEWABLE ENERGY THROUGH PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

Abstract

While the utilization of electricity to support human needs is a staple of modern society, the organizations and legal frameworks underlying the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity differ across world regions. In the United States, diverse public and private entities are enmeshed throughout the power grid and work to maintain electrical security, i.e., a stable and continuous supply of electricity to customers in the presence of threats. This cooperative relationship appears to be effective given legacy systems and economic structures. However, the incorporation of renewable energy technologies presents a challenge given new system complexity, economic structures, and organizational relationships they create. This thesis assesses the existing organizational structures and relationships that form between public and private electric power entities in the United States and their efficacy for ensuring electrical security given high penetration of renewable energy. Despite gaps in the partnership structure and a lack of renewable energy inclusion in federal electrical security policy, this thesis suggests that renewable energy security can be achieved with existing partnership structures. Future partnerships must continue to leverage information sharing, funding, and reform from lessons learned to successfully navigate future security challenges.