Green Power Institute

The Green Power Institute is the renewable energy program of the Pacific Institute. Under the direction of Dr. Gregory Morris, the Institute performs research and provides advocacy on behalf of renewable energy systems and the contribution they make to reducing the environmental impacts of society’s energy systems.

The Green Power Institute has published a series of research reports on the environmental impacts of biomass and renewable energy systems and the implementation over the past decade of utility deregulation and renewable energy policy in California. Institute Director Gregory Morris testifies on behalf of renewable-energy policy at the California Legislature and at a variety of state agencies involved with the implementation of the state’s renewable energy program and the state’s global warming solutions act.

Our recent study, Bioenergy and Greenhouse Gases, provides a framework for understanding the greenhouse gas implications of using biomass and biogas resources for energy production. The study reports that converting forest residues, agricultural and urban biomass waste, and gases from manure and landfills into energy helps reduce biogenic greenhouse-gas emissions associated with the disposal of biomass residues and reduces the use of fossil fuels.

Green Power Institute Reports

Gleick, P., Morris, G., Norman, N., Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from the Operation of Energy Generating Facilities, Report of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, July, 1989.

Morris, G., Greenhouse-Gas Emissions from Wastewood Disposal, Report of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, May, 1992.

Morris, G., The Environmental Costs and Benefits of Biomass Energy Use in California, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-430-22765, May 1997.

Morris, G., Electric Utility Restructuring and the California Biomass Energy Industry, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-430-22766, May 1997.

Morris, G., The Implications of Deregulation for Biomass and Renewable Energy in California, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-570-24851, revised August 1998.

Morris, G., White Paper: The Economic Implications of Energy Production from Forest Residuals, Report of the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security, October, 1998.

Morris, G., The Value of the Benefits of U.S. Biomass Power, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-570-27541, November 1999.

Morris, G., Biomass Energy Production in California: The Case for a Biomass Policy Initiative, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-570-28805, November 2000.

Morris, G., Bioethanol Co-Location Study: August 15, 2000—February 28, 2002, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-510-33000, November 2002.

Morris, G., Biomass Energy Production in California 2002: Update of the California Biomass Database, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-510-33111, December 2002.

Morris, G., The Status of Biomass Power Generation in California, July 31, 2003, NREL Report No. NREL/SR-510-35114, December 2003.