Improvement in energy efficiency (EE) has slowed globally since 2015 and is now falling short of the 2.6% per year target recommended by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, despite an abundance of EE opportunities. Barriers to EE have existed long before the rise in renewable...

Problem Definition: The challenge of optimally allocating a limited resource and its associated cost/benefit among consumers with heterogeneous income levels and private resource valuations arises in many situations. This paper tackles this challenge in the context of utility-led community solar...

Problem Definition: The flow of humanitarian aid, both monetary and in-kind, as a response to the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine was unprecedented. In this context, one of the most pressing issues is how to regulate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the final...

Problem definition: Energy efficiency programs and demand response programs, two popular approaches to energy demand management, are traditionally designed and evaluated independently. Breaking with tradition, we study the interactions between energy efficiency upgrades and participation in...

We discuss a few supply chain design concepts and optimization models that have been applied in the energy sector. It is not our intention to provide a comprehensive review of the vast literature. Our goal is to provide the reader with pointers to some interesting and challenging problems,...

Problem Definition: Energy storage has become an indispensable part of power distribution systems, necessitating prudent investment decisions. We analyze an energy storage facility location problem and compare the benefits of centralized storage (adjacent to a central energy generation site)...

We study supply function competition among conventional power generators with different levels of flexibility. Inflexible generators commit production before uncertainties are realized, while flexible generators can adjust their production after uncertainties are realized. Both types of...

Carbon emissions reduction initiatives have received considerable attention at the corporate level. Companies such as Daimler, Apple, and Amazon have publicly declared their goal of becoming carbon neutral or “net zero” in a near future. They are responding to a growing demand for...

False failure returns are products that are returned by consumers to retailers with no functional orcosmetic defect. The cost of a false failure return includes the processing actions of testing,refurbishing if necessary, repackaging, the loss in value during the time the product spends in...