Environmental Advisory Council

The Environmental Advisory Council shall provide guidance to the New York Independent System Operator on implementation of its policy to consider the environmental consequences of NYISO practices and operations and to balance, as reasonably as possible, the risks of harm to the environment against the benefits to be derived from the proposal actions.

The Council shall provide guidance, as requested, on identifying, evaluating and remedying, as necessary, the environmental implications of existing or planned activities regarding:

  • market design;
  • system operations and reliability;
  • electric system planning;
  • strategic planning; and
  • such other initiatives as may arise.

The Council shall also assist in ensuring that NYISO is aware of the environmental implications of both the NYISO's and the industry's future directions and shall assist the NYISO in exploring how ISOs and RTOs may assist in reducing the environmental impact of electricity generation in appropriate regions.

Council Agendas, Materials & Resources

EAC Meeting Agenda & Materials

EAC Resources

Environmental Advisory Council - Board Member Bios

Larry DeWitt

Larry is a private consultant in the energy/planning field. He currently consults with Pace Energy Project and NYSERDA. He was active in the New York Climate Action Program and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. He has also been involved in the Eastern Interconnect Planning Collaborative as an NGO caucus member. dewitt@nycap.rr.com.

 

Brendan Kirby

Brendan Kirby is a private consultant with numerous clients including National Renewable Energy Laboratory, AWEA, EPRI and others. He recently retired as a senior researcher with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Power Systems Research Program. He has 36 years of electric utility experience and has published over 150 papers, articles, and reports on ancillary services, wind integration, restructuring, the use of responsive load as a bulk system reliability resource, and power system reliability. He served on the NERC Standards Committee, the Integration of Variable Generation Task Force, and NERC standards drafting efforts. Brendan is a licensed Professional Engineer with a M.S degree in Electrical Engineering (Power Option) from Carnegie-Mellon University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University. Publications are available at www.consultkirby.com, e-mail kirbybj@ieee.org

 

Rich Cowart

Richard Cowart is a Director of The Regulatory Assistance Project. One of the nation’s most experienced regulatory commissioners, he served as Commissioner and Chair of the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) for thirteen years (1986-1999). He was elected President of the New England Conference of Public Utility Commissioners, and Chair of the NARUC Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment. He also served for four years as Chair of the National Council on Competition and the Electric Industry, an association of state and federal officials and legislators responsible for power sector reform in the U.S.

 

Susan Tierney

Dr. Tierney is a Managing Principal in the Analysis Group, an economic, financial and strategy consulting firm located in Boston.  Her work focuses primarily on the energy industry, where she frequently serves as an expert witness in private litigation as well as appearing before state and federal regulatory commissions. As a consultant for the last eight years, she has also provided strategic and advisory services to electric utilities, generation and transmission companies, independent system operators, investment companies, large power customers, power buying groups, and government agencies. She has assisted these and other organizations with such issues as industry restructuring, wholesale market structure, supply and delivery strategy, retail policy, power plant and transmission siting, and environmental regulation. STierney@analysisgroup.com

Michael Miller

Michael Miller is Director, Environment at EPRI.  He is responsible for leading EPRI’s environmental programs on global sustainability, air quality, climate, water quality, land/groundwater and EMF/T&D environmental issues.  He previously held positions as Product Line Director, Environment for air and climate, and Director, Environmental Control.  He received a Master in Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota and B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Prior to joining EPRI in 1980, he worked for Pacific Gas & Electric Company, URS Company and Northern States Power Company.  The focus of his professional career has been on environmental science, technology and policy issues.  mmiller@epri.com

Karen Palmer

Karen Palmer is a Senior Fellow at Resources for the Future and Associate Director for Electricity of RFF’s Center for Climate and Electricity Policy.  She specializes in the economics of environmental and public utility regulation, particularly on issues at the intersection of air quality regulation and the electricity sector. Her work seeks to improve the design of incentive-based environmental regulations that influence the electric utility sector. To this end, she identifies cost-effective approaches to allocating emissions allowances, explores policies targeting carbon emissions and other air pollutants, and analyzes efficient ways to promote use of renewable sources of electricity and end-use energy efficiency.  In 1996– 1997, she spent six months as a visiting economist at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  She is the co-author of two books on the economics and policy questions raised by restructuring of the electricity sector.  kpalmer@rff.org

 

William Schulze

William Schulze is the Robinson Professor of Public Policy in the Department of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University. He is also co-Director of the Center for Behavior Economics and Decision Research in the Johnson Graduate School of Management and Director of the Laboratory for Experimental Economics and Decision Research, His current work focuses on electric power market design, behavioral and experimental economics, and environmental economics. Research projects in these areas are currently funded by the Power Systems Engineering Research Center, the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions, the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency

 

David Mooney

David is the director of the Electricity, Resources and Building Systems Integration Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.  From 2007-2008, David was assigned by NREL to support DOE’s office of Assistant Secretary for Efficiency and Renewables where, among other responsibilities, he developed a technology-based analysis for quantifying greenhouse gas reduction potentials the DOE technology portfolio.  These have been used in international climate negotiations. David.Mooney@nrel.gov.

 

Daniel L. Shawhan

Daniel Shawhan has worked in the area of energy-and-environment policy since 1995.  He is currently an assistant professor of economics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  His research deals primarily with electricity policy, particularly its environmental aspects.  Previously, Shawhan was a consultant to state governments on energy-related environmental policy and on electric industry restructuring.  Prior to that, he was a research associate for the US renewable energy industry associations.  In his work with Maryland’s government, Shawhan worked on policies including the nation’s first tax credits for hybrid and electric vehicles; the nation’s second green buildings tax incentive; the first state law to use the LEED building sustainability ratings; Maryland’s renewable energy portfolio standard; and a set of energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment which have since been emulated in national law.
shawhd@rpi.edu