A Project of
Where We’re Going
Future Power Markets Forum investigates market design proposals for a deeply decarbonized electricity system.
We won’t know how to get there if we don’t know where we’re going.
Future Power Markets Forum brings practitioners, experts and regulators together to explore practical solutions for efficient and reliable power market design based on the observed trajectory of decarbonization.
The Forum looks for market structure and design solutions that are:
- Reliable: balancing load and generation in all hours
- Low carbon: incorporating high penetration of zero production cost resources such as wind and solar.
- Market-oriented: relying on markets and price signals as much as possible while addressing any market failures.
- Efficient: incentivizing least cost short-term operations to keep the system balanced.
- Economic: attracting and retaining a mix of capital assets that meet reliability and carbon objectives over the long term.
Our Latest Topic
Reliable, Efficient, and Low-Carbon Resource Portfolios
About This Topic
There are many technical paths to an efficient, low-carbon grid. Resource mix studies, like the four featured here, identify grid needs and resource options to meet those needs.
The Forum
Contributors
RTOs and ISOs; generation companies and utilities; and trade associations and think tanks use Future Power Markets Forum to study possibilities for electricity markets as variable generation expands.
Cheryl A. LaFleur
Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia SIPA
Jesse D. Jenkins
Princeton University
Christopher T. M. Clack
Vibrant Clean Energy
Ric O’Connell
GridLab
Arne Olson
E3 - Energy and Environmental Economics
Cheryl A. LaFleur
Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia SIPA
Christopher T. M. Clack
Vibrant Clean Energy
Ric O’Connell
GridLab
Arne Olson
E3 - Energy and Environmental Economics
Jesse D. Jenkins
Princeton University
Past and Future Topics
Past Topics
Explore the proposals for future power markets.
Differentiated Reliability
To what extent can or should individual end-users choose their willingness to accept the risk of outages? Can or should end-users have visibility on the costs and be willing to choose what they pay for central service reliability?
Federal Climate Policy and Power Markets
What would the impacts of a federal Clean Energy Standard be in electricity markets?
Resource Adequacy
How can markets support sufficient and efficient amounts of generation for current and future demand?
Integrating Long-Term Procurement Markets, Short-Term Markets and Integrated Resource Planning
How much central planning by state or regional entities is beneficial relative to each load-serving entity (utility or competitive retail supplier) making their own choices?
Activating Responsive Demand and Distributed Energy Resources
For 100 years, electricity generation has responded to load. That relationship may become a two way street to support reliable, least-cost decarbonization.
Ancillary Services: System Operation and Spot Market Design
Electricity isn’t only valued by the megawatt hour. Frequency, voltage support and other ancillary services are necessary for reliable service.
Decentralized Market Structures
Decentralized energy markets rely on active wholesale buyers to provide the certainty needed for new resources to be able to finance their investments at low costs.
Central Procurement Structures for Energy, Capacity, and Environmental Products
Centralized procurement methods provide a means of coordinating an efficient set of resources and providing longer-term certainty to supply and demand resources.
Reliable, Efficient, and Low-Carbon Resource Portfolios
The changing generation mix across the United States is one of the most pressing reasons to modernize electricity markets.
Future Topics
See which other topics will be covered this year.
Transmission Planning, Operations and Interaction with Power Markets
The transmission grid affects resource adequacy considerations and the reliable integration of zero-emission generation.
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Research Library
Future Power Markets Forum collects research on pathways to a low-carbon electricity system. While assumptions and methods differ, the scientific consensus is clear: an affordable, reliable and low-carbon grid is feasible in the United States and other regions.
Explore research on possibilities for electricity market design.
Survey Papers
Understand the challenges facing the electricity system
Resource Mix
Discover which resources complement each other for a reliable, low-carbon mix
Structural Options
Explore regulatory structures for a reimagined electricity system
Short Term Markets
Investigate options for products and market designs for short-term efficiency
Resource Adequacy
Look at how electricity markets incentivize investment for long-term reliability
Distributed Energy Resource Integration
Learn how DERs can provide maximum value to the grid