Energy Finance Lab
INTEGRATING FINANCIAL INSIGHT INTO DECISION-MAKING AND ADVANCING IDEAS TO FOSTER MORE CAPITAL INVESTMENT INTO THE ENERGY TRANSITION
INTEGRATING FINANCIAL INSIGHT INTO DECISION-MAKING AND ADVANCING IDEAS TO FOSTER MORE CAPITAL INVESTMENT INTO THE ENERGY TRANSITION
Energy Finance Lab
Reference Corner
Decarbonizing the global economy will cost tens of Trillions of dollars and public capital can realistically provide only a very small portion. Instead, the public sector needs to create vibrant enabling environments for private investment, and there is also ample room for the private sector to act on its own.
The Payne Institute brings vast experience from the financial industry, academia and the public sector, which we leverage in the Energy Finance Lab to bring a deeper understanding of the opportunities for financing decarbonization and the energy transition. We also advance ideas related to spurring private investment, encompassing financial products, the roles of investors, markets, policy and regulation.
PAYNE FINANCIAL FLOW
Snapshots of trends and financial tools in the energy transition
- DOI’s Orphaned Well Methane Leakage Insights and VCM Implications
- CCS’ Finance Gateway
- Governments Act On Their Own To Support Carbon Credits
- Carbon Finance Options Emerge for Plugging Old Oil Wells
- Insurers Grapple with Climate Tech Coverage
- Albermarle Initiates Lithium Auctions
- Largest CCS VCM Credit Issuance to Date
- Barclays’ New Rules for Financing Fossil and Transition Activities
- Lower Hanging Fruit in Filipino Coal Retirement
- VCM 2023 Update: Retirements Stable; Transaction Volume Falls
RESEARCH
Five Bipartisan Actions on Energy Security as Trump Returns to the White House 12/4/2024
Five Bipartisan Actions on Energy Security as Trump Returns to the White House
Payne Institute Director Morgan Bazilian, Accelerated Methane Program Manager Simon Lomax, and Roger Pielke, Jr. write about how Republicans and Democrats can meet in the middle on the complex set of issues that comprise energy policy – from emissions, to affordability, to reliability, to national security and geopolitics. In fact, for almost two decades, the U.S. has been a global energy leader, even as power has shifted back and forth between the two major political parties. December 4, 2024.
Locked up for the long-term: Financial risk mitigation for CCS 8/20/24
Locked up for the long-term: Financial risk mitigation for CCS
Payne Institute Program Director of the Sustainable Finance Lab Brad Handler, and Lindene Patton, Payne researchers Siddhant Kulkarni, and Felix Ayaburi write about how Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is widely considered an important tool in mitigating the global warming effects of excess CO2 in the earth’s atmosphere. August 20, 2024.
Locked Up for the Long Term: Risk Mitigation and Liability Assumption in the Geological Storage of CO2 8/5/2024
Locked Up for the Long Term: Risk Mitigation and Liability Assumption in the Geological Storage of CO2
The Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab looks at Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS is an integral activity in the effort to limit global warming and its harmful effects. That contribution requires a significant scaling of CCS operations, and initiatives for new CCS projects are indeed proliferating. August 5, 2024.
Geological Storage Risk Mitigation: The Way Forward 7/29/2024
Geological Storage Risk Mitigation: The Way Forward
Payne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler, Lindene E. Patton, and student researcher Siddhant Kulkarni write the fifth and last paper in a series that identified the operational, financial and business model risks through the lifecycle of a geological storage project. These papers then discussed steps that are being taken to mitigate each risk, as well as to ensure that adequate funds are available to pay for closure and for environmental damages should any occur. In addressing these risks, this series averred that the regulatory landscape appears adequate to address them. July 29, 2024.
Long Term Stewardship: Releasing Residual Liability 7/29/2024
Long Term Stewardship: Releasing Residual Liability
Payne Institute Program Director Brad Handler, student researcher Siddhant Kulkarni, and Lindene Patton write the fourth paper in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. In a carbon geological storage project, the final phase is referred to as Long Term Stewardship (LTS). It follows the Post Injection and Site Care (PISC) phase, i.e., after the injection well has been plugged, the developer has monitored the subsurface for any CO2 leaks for the prescribed period, and the site has been “closed.” July 29, 2024.
Financial Risk Management for Geological Storage 7/22/24
Financial Risk Management for Geological Storage
Payne Institute Program Manager Brad Handler, Lindene E. Patton, student researchers Siddhant Kulkarni and Felix Ayaburi, and Darshil Shah write the third paper in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. The U.S. government has implemented several policies designed to position Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) projects for growth. These include a regulatory framework and financial incentives such as Internal Revenue Service Section 45Q tax credits and grants. July 22,2024.
Preliminary Evaluation of Community-Oriented Risk Analysis of Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage in the United States 7/15/24
Preliminary Evaluation of Community-Oriented Risk Analysis of Carbon Capture, Transport, and Storage in the United States
Mines Civil and Environmental Engineering PhD student researcher Nicolas G. Perticari Pesci writes the second in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS projects are slated to be multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects comprised of carbon dioxide pipelines, capture sites, and injection wells for the sub-surface. While the technical feasibility of carbon capture projects is explained systematically, for example as part of the permitting application for Class VI wells for geological storage, the social implications of projects are equally important and must also be evaluated to better understand risks and holistic mitigation of liability for all involved parties. July 15, 2024.
GEOLOGICAL STORAGE: RISKS AND OPERATIONAL RISK MITIGATION 7/8/2024
GEOLOGICAL STORAGE: RISKS AND OPERATIONAL RISK MITIGATION
Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab Program Manager Brad Handler, Payne Institute CCS Program Manager Anna Littlefield, and student researcher Felix Ayaburi write the first in a series of papers on the use of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) as a climate mitigation tool envisions the permanent underground storage of CO2. The prospects for large scale adoption of geological storage has raised concerns regarding the risks — of property damage, environmental degradation, and to human health— if stored CO2 were to leak to the surface or into shallow water resources. July 8, 2024.
INTRODUCTION: RISK MITIGATION IN GEOLOGICAL STORAGE OF CO2 7/8/2024
INTRODUCTION: RISK MITIGATION IN GEOLOGICAL STORAGE OF CO2
The Payne Institute Sustainable Finance Lab writes the introduction to a series of papers that looks at Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS). CCS is an integral activity in the effort to limit global warming and its harmful effects. That contribution requires a significant scaling of CCS operations, and initiatives for new CCS projects are indeed proliferating. July 8, 2024.
More Reporting Clarity Can Help Fund U.S. Lithium Growth 5/29/2024
More Reporting Clarity Can Help Fund U.S. Lithium Growth
Colorado School of Mines’ Mineral & Energy Economics Master candidate Reese Epper, SFL Program Manager Brad Handler and Payne Institute Faculty Fellow Ian Lange discuss the role of recent SEC reporting changes in fostering more investment in Lithium extraction, including using Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) techniques. May 29, 2024.
Leadership
Brad Handler
Payne Institute Program Manager,
Energy Finance Lab, and Researcher
1600 Jackson Street, Suite 370
bhandler@mines.edu