Alumnus Establishes Neil Moskowitz Economics Lecture Series

THIS SPRING, the Department of Economics hosted its first Neil Moskowitz Economics Lecture in Skinner Hall. The event was the first of a new, semesterly lecture series made possible by a gift from Neil Moskowitz, ECON ’80

“This new series of events will bring some of the world’s most influential economists and economic policy makers to our campus, and will bring our staff, faculty and students together to think about the biggest economics issues,” said Professor and Chair Andrew Sweeting

This lecture series is one of the latest shows of support from Moskowitz, an active member of the Economics Leadership Council and longtime friend and supporter of BSOS.

The inaugural event speaker was Daron Acemoglu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an expert in macroeconomics, political economy, labor economics, development economics and economic theory. He presented “Distorted Innovation: Does the Market Get the Direction of Technology Right?” •

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Read more at go.umd.edu/moskowitzlecture

Improving the Transition to Renewable Energy

IF THE UNITED STATES is going to achieve the Biden administration’s goal of having 100% carbon pollution-free electricity by 2035, it’s going to have to address some of the renewable energy challenges economists at UMD and the University of Wisconsin (UW) are uncovering.

With support from a $500,000 award from the National Science Foundation, Assistant Professor Chenyu Yang and UW Assistant Professor Sarah Johnston are analyzing data from the renewable energy generator companies that are trying to connect their wind-, wateror solar-powered energy source to the U.S. power grid. This process can sometimes take years, and it must happen before the companies can sell that electricity option to consumers.

“Looking at the data, the interconnection completion rate of renewable generators is lower than fossil fuel generators, and the time it takes for them to go through this process of interconnection is longer than the time it takes for fossil fuels to interconnect [to the power grid],” Yang said. “We’re asking why it’s taking so long for renewable generators to connect, and then once we identify those reasons, offering policy suggestions on how best to improve the interconnection process.”

Yang and Johnston have already identified two major contributing factors: A shortage of engineers who can determine whether a renewable energy applicant will dangerously overload the grid, and the consequence of triggering an overload on the grid. •

Read more at go.umd.edu/econenergy23