ABOUT THE PACE ENERGY AND CLIMATE CENTER
The Pace Energy and Climate Center seeks to transform the way we supply and use energy and to address the challenge of climate change through effective engagement based on sound legal and policy research and analysis. The Center was founded as the Pace Energy Project in 1987 by Dean Emeritus Richard L. Ottinger upon his retirement from Congress. During the Center’s 24-year history, it has been active in utility regulatory matters throughout the Northeast. Through its objective, unbiased research and policy analysis, combined with effective engagement of policy makers and stakeholders, Pace has helped to achieve necessary market and regulatory reforms supportive of renewable energy, energy efficiency and clean distributed generation.
The Center is a go-to place for government agencies looking for technical, legal and policy advice on the complex energy and climate change issues of today. Recent contracts awarded to the Center include: a Renewable Fuels Roadmap and Sustainable Biomass Feedstock Supply study for New York State; a study of the economic and health impacts of the 2003 Long Island City power outage; a study of mandatory hourly pricing and its impacts on the economic viability of combined heat and power (CHP); a study of the use of biomass for small-scale CHP; a study on distributed energy and transmission/distribution planning; outreach efforts to educate decision makers and the public about wind power in New York State; serving as energy consultant for a small upstate community to prepare and implement a climate action plan; providing professional development for educators interested in the bio-economy for the U.S. Department of Agriculture; conducting an inventory and needs assessment for energy efficiency job training in New York State under the Green Jobs-Green New York program (GJ-GNY); outreach and technical communications for the Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation, and Protection (EMEP) program at the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA); and a study of the utilization of Brownfields in New York State as potential CHP locations.
In energy and climate change policy, PECC enjoys a “seat at the table” in energy groups, serving on the boards of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the New York State Independent System Operator (NYISO), the Public Service Commission’s energy efficiency efforts, GJ-GNY, and the New York City Energy Policy Task Force, providing it with deep knowledge of state energy programs. In addition, the Center serves as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Northeast Clean Energy Application Center, an organization providing education, policy support, and technical assistance promoting CHP and district energy throughout the seven-state New York-New England region.
In the area of international energy policy and sustainability, Dean Ottinger is currently leading a variety of projects at the Center to assist developing nations and to support wider adoption of renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. The Center conducts most of its international energy activities in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), on behalf of international agencies.
Students from Pace Law School are actively involved in the projects of the Center. Student interns are directly involved in the development of work products for both domestic and international projects, such as technical reports, presentations, publications, and materials for administrative proceedings. Former employees and students have gone on to careers and internships at institutions such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Energy Foundation, NYSERDA, the New York Power Authority, the New York Independent System Operator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and RGGI.
ABOUT OUR MISSION
The mission of the Pace Energy and Climate Center (PECC) is to reduce the environmental, social, and human health burdens of today’s predominant forms of electricity production and consumption and to promote climate change solutions. Our multi-disciplinary team aims to accelerate the world’s transition to clean, efficient and renewable energy alternatives.
In Spring 2008, the Pace Energy Project renamed itself the "Pace Energy and Climate Center." The name change reflects that the work undertaken by the organization currently and throughout its twenty year history – to reduce the environmental impact associated with the production and use of energy by promoting clean, efficient and renewable energy alternatives and addressing the barriers to implementation of clean energy technologies – relates directly to the issue of climate change.
The Pace Energy and Climate Center offers assistance to individuals, institutions, community organizations and governmental agencies involved in energy decisions:
- We provide analysis of the social and environmental costs and benefits of electricity and fuel production alternatives, including their impact on climate change.
- We propose market mechanisms and regulatory structures that will stimulate investment in energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean distributed generation technologies.
- We explore ways to break down the regulatory and market barriers that add cost, uncertainty and delay to the implementation of clean energy technologies.
- We train the next generation of sustainable energy advocates by actively involving student interns in all our work.
Pace Energy and Climate Center
E-House
Pace Law School
78 North Broadway
White Plains, NY 10603
Loretta Musial: (914) 422-4227