Residential solar panels are so popular in California that the state has enough solar power to provide over a quarter of its electricity. However, according to The Washington Post, “the state and its grid operator are grappling with a strange reality: There is so much solar on the grid that, on sunny spring days when there’s not as much demand, electricity prices go negative.”
John Helveston is an assistant professor of engineering management and systems engineering at the George Washington University. Helveston is interested in understanding the factors that shape technological change, with a particular focus on transitioning to more sustainable and energy-saving technologies. Within this broader category, he studies consumer preferences and market demand for new technologies as well as relationships between innovation, industry structure, and technology policy. He has explored these themes in the context of China’s rapidly developing electric vehicle industry.
Helveston is familiar with this phenomenon in creating what is known as a "duck curve", and now the belly of the curve is starting to even go negative. Helveston has published a number of studies on the mileage, resale value and incentives of buying electric vehicles. He says that if people charged their electric vehicles during the day (instead of overnight, when most currently do) it would really help with this issue.
If you would like to speak with Prof. Helveston, please contact GW Senior Media Relations Specialist Cate Douglass at [email protected].
-GW-
