From debates over electricity rates to decisions about renewable energy deployment, many of today's energy challenges are shaped as much by economics as by technology. For students in Dartmouth's Master of Energy Transition (MET) program, understanding how energy markets influence policy outcomes is a critical step in developing effective and equitable solutions for the global energy transition.
This winter term, MET students are studying with Lecturer Dr. Chelsea Petrenko GR'15, associate director at energy consulting firm E3, in the Energy Markets & Economics course. The course builds a foundational understanding of the economic principles that underpin decarbonization efforts and evolving energy systems.
Petrenko brings an extensive background in energy leadership and the economics of the energy transition to the course, offering students both national and global perspectives in energy markets.
"We study how energy is sourced, traded, and utilized. This includes fossil fuels as well as renewables," Petrenko explained. "The course has a strong focus on electricity markets and renewables markets. Electrification is one of the key pillars of decarbonization — as we decarbonize our economy, we'll be transitioning toward electrifying end uses and using renewables to power them."
Along with examining real-world case studies focused on energy affordability, students explore the equity concerns related to how individuals and communities are impacted by energy system infrastructure and energy costs. For their capstone project, students will develop articles for publication in industry outlets and pitch ideas for industry solutions—work designed to encourage creative, practical approaches for advancing the energy transition.
In the interdisciplinary MET program, students study the energy transition through multiple lenses — technical, economic, and political, as well as climate science and social equity. Petrenko's course helps to tie together the policy and economic dimensions of the transition.
"Energy markets are extremely complicated but when you really strip it down to the basics, the key economic principles of scarcity, supply and demand, and opportunity cost, are what is driving the energy industry," she noted.
Petrenko emphasized that many of today's policy solutions are designed to address economic market failures, underscoring the close relationship between the economic challenges and the policies used to solve them.
"Whether you're leaning more toward the quantitative or policy side of the industry, you still need to have an understanding of why rate structures are the way they are, why rates are increasing, or why there's a debate about whether it's more economically efficient to build more renewables versus more fossil fuel infrastructure," explained Petrenko. "Everything goes back to these key issues in energy markets."
Petrenko serves on the climate pathways and electrification team at E3 (Energy+Environmental Economics), a San Francisco-based firm dedicated to clean energy transitions and electricity economics. Her work focuses on transportation electrification, the future of natural gas, and the affordability of the energy transition.
"It's paramount that energy is affordable, attainable, and accessible for all members of society," Petrenko said. "Energy is already a significant part of people's monthly bills and something our modern society depends on. Our work looks at ways to meet the goals of decarbonization and affordability at the same time—with a clear link to the action that can be taken."
Her recent projects include analyses of Massachusetts' decarbonization goals, New York's long-term energy plan, and, most recently, Rhode Island's climate action strategy. This latest project incorporated a survey of energy generation across New England as well as both economic and technical modeling to assess pathways for reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.
"I feel fortunate to be helping states to solve critical problems," Petrenko shared. "Our work spans from stakeholder engagement to understand different perspectives, to technical exercises comparing how different rate structures can make electric bills more affordable. Along with monitoring progress toward meeting emissions reduction targets, we look at how physical infrastructure needs to change—how many EVs and heat pumps need to be adopted, and how natural gas systems need to evolve."
While pursuing her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology through Dartmouth's Guarini School of Graduate and Advanced Studies, Petrenko researched ecosystem impacts—such as forest clear-cutting— and the effects on soil carbon storage.
She also traveled to Greenland through a National Science Foundation IGERT Traineeship with the Institute of Arctic Studies. There, Dartmouth fellowship cohorts from the Thayer School of Engineering, Department of Biological Sciences, and Environmental Studies Department conducted field research while studying policy, linguistics, and the impact of climate change on Indigenous communities.
"It was a very influential experience," Petrenko shared. "It shaped how I think about the intersection of science, policy, and industry, and where meaningful change can happen."
Following her doctoral studies, Petrenko completed a fellowship with the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI), which connected her with policy advocates, industry leaders, and early-career professionals across the energy landscape. She has drawn on that experience in shaping elements of her MET economics course.
"Some of the most valuable aspects of the fellowship were its focus on equity and affordability," she said about her time at CELI. "Those themes carry throughout the MET course."