Elizabeth Wilson

Areas of Expertise

Energy and environmental policy; regulatory and legal analysis of emerging technologies; climate change; geologic carbon sequestration; public perception of emerging technologies

Biography

Dr. Elizabeth J. Wilson is an Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy and Law at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. She holds a doctorate in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University and masters in Human Ecology from the Free University of Brussels in Belgium. Her research focuses on the development of energy systems. Recent work examines the social, political, and legal contexts shaping low carbon energy deployment at the state level and the regulatory and legal considerations for deploying carbon capture and sequestration technologies. Several new projects focusing on Smart Grid technologies are underway. Prior to joining the University of Minnesota she worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. She spent the 2009-2010 academic year at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China as a McKnight Land Grant Professor and was selected in 2011 as a Leopold Leadership Fellow.

Curriculum Vitae (PDF)

Selected Writings

• Regulation of Carbon Capture and Storage
•    Pollak, MF, Meyer, B, Wilson, EJ (2010) Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Lessons from State Climate Action Plans. Submitted to Energy Policy, (in press).
•      EJ  Wilson,  Zhang, D., Li, Z. Socio-political Context for Deploying Carbon Capture and Sequestration in China. Global Environmental Change 21 324-235 2011. doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.01.012
•      M Fischlein, J Larson, D Hall, R Chaudhry, JC Stephens, TR Peterson, EJ Wilson.  Policy stakeholders and deployment of wind power in the sub-national context: a comparison of four U.S. states.Energy Policy 38 4429–4439, 2010. doi:
•      EJ Wilson, J Marshall, KJ Krizek, R Wilson. By Foot, Bus or Car: Children’s School Travel and School Choice Policy.  Environment and Planning A  42, 2168-2185 doi:10.1068/a435
•    JD Marshall, R Wilson, KL Meyer, SK Rajangam, N McDonald, EJ Wilson, Vehicle Emissions during Children’s School Commuting: Impacts on Education Policy. Environmental Science and Technology44(5), pp 1537–1543, 2010. doi: 10.1021/es902932n
•   H Zerriffi and EJ Wilson. Leapfrogging Over Development? Promoting Rural Renewables for Climate Change Mitigation. Energy Policy 38 (4)1689–1700, 2010.  doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2009.11.026
•    EJ Wilson and JC Stephens. Wind in a Carbon-Managed World: States, Resources, Policy and Discourse. Environmental Science and Technology 43 (24), 9063–9070. 2009doi: 10.1021/es900802s
•    A Boies, S Hankey, D Kittelson, J Marshall, P Nussbaum, W Watts, EJ Wilson. Reducing Motor Vehicle GHG Emissions in a State that is Not California. Environmental Science and Technology 43 (23), 8721–8729. 2009, doi: 10.1021/es902019z
•    M Fischlein, T Smith, EJ Wilson. Carbon emissions and management scenarios for consumer-owned utilities. Environmental Science and Policy 12(7) 778-790, 2009 doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2009.07.011
•   MF Pollak, EJ Wilson. Regulating geologic sequestration in the US: Early rules take divergent approaches. Environmental Science and Technology 43(9), 3035–3041. 2009,  doi: 10.1021/es803094f
•   L Schmitt-Olabisi, PB Reich, KA Johnson, AR Kapuscinski, S Suh, EJ Wilson. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions for climate stabilization: Framing regional options. Environmental Science and Technology43(6), 1696-1703. 2009,  doi: 10.1021/es801171a
•  M Pollak, EJ Wilson. Managing risks of carbon capture and storage projects in the Clean Development Mechanism. Climate Policy 9, 71–87. 2009, http://www.earthscanjournals.com/cp/009/cp0090071.htm
•   EJ Wilson, J Plummer, M Fischlein, T Smith. Implementing Energy Efficiency: Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Electric Cooperatives and Small Municipal Utilities. Energy Policy 36(9) 3383-3397. 2008 doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2008.05.007 
•    D Gerard and EJ Wilson. Environmental Bonds and the Challenge of Long-Term Carbon Sequestration. Journal of Environmental Management 90, 1097–1105. 2009, doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2008.04.005
•   JC Stephens, EJ Wilson, TR Peterson. Socio-Political Evaluation of Energy Deployment (SPEED): An Integrated Research Framework for Analysis of Energy Technology Deployment. Technological Forecasting and Social Change 75, 1224–1246. 2008, doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2007.12.003
•    EJ Wilson, M Granger Morgan, J Apt, M Bonner, C Bunting,  J Gode, C Jaeger, DW Keith,  SP McCoy,  R. S. Haszeldine, M. Pollak, D. Reiner, E. Rubin, A. Torvanger, C. Ulardic, S. Vajjhala, D Victor, I Wright. Regulating Geologic Sequestration of CO2. Environmental Science and Technology 42: 2718-2722. 2008. doi: 10.1021/es087037k

Courses Taught

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Fall 2012

• PA 5002: Introduction to Policy Analysis
• PA 5721: Energy and Environmental Policy

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