McCone Building
Email Address
jim.williams@miis.edu
Phone Number
831.647.6426
Language(s)
中文
Related Links
Latest Article: The Technology Path to Deep Greenhouse Gas Emissions Cuts by 2050
Jim Williams
Associate Professor
Dr. Jim Williams leads the energy and climate change track of the International Environmental Policy program at the Monterey Institute. He has worked in the energy and climate change fields for more than 25 years as a researcher, teacher, and consultant. As a practitioner, Dr. Williams is a specialist in energy technologies, markets, and policies for electric power systems, with experience ranging from regulatory policy and carbon market design to grid integration of renewable energy, transmission planning, energy efficiency and demand response, electric vehicles, energy storage, and distributed generation. As a scholar, Dr. Williams’ research focuses on the political economy and security dimensions of energy technologies, markets, and regulation, with a special interest in China and other Asian countries.
Dr. Williams is also Chief Scientist at Energy and Environmental Economics (E3), where he encounters the cutting-edge problems in the energy field that feature in his courses at the Monterey Institute. Prior to joining the our faculty, he was lead analyst on the E3 team that analyzed implementation of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB32) in the electricity and natural gas supply sectors for California state agencies. This work was a key analytical foundation for the AB32 Scoping Plan that lays out the step-by-step requirements for California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
Recent Accomplishments
In January 2012, Dr. Williams published a research article in the distinguished journal Science on the long-term technology and policy changes required to deeply reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. His work in this area has received global attention, and he has given invited presentations to researchers and officials in California state government, the U.S. federal government, the World Bank, the European Commission, the Swiss Parliament, and Chinese state research agencies, as well as to university audiences in Berkeley, Stanford, and Monterey.
Dr. Williams co-authored an article in the December 2011 issue of the electricity industry journal Public Utilities Fortnightly, which analyzes the challenges and benefits to utilities of promoting vehicle electrification, a key to long-term climate mitigation and energy price independence. In 2010, Dr. Williams co-authored an analysis of “Plan B” climate policy options after cap-and-trade legislation failed in the US congress. This work was featured on the Brookings Institution web site, and Dr. Williams went to Washington to brief Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and his staff on the analysis.
On the China front, Dr. Williams was co-author of “Challenges to China’s Transition to a Low Carbon Electricity System” in the July 2011 Energy Policy, in a special issue on global prospects for renewable energy. Co-authors on this paper include International Environmental Policy alumna Ding Jianhua (MAIEP 2010) and E3 colleague Fritz Kahrl. The three also teamed up on a policy briefing called “Four Things You Should Know about China’s Electricity System,” for the China Environment Forum (CEF) at the Woodrow Wilson Center. Dr. Williams also served CEF as expert panelist on assessment of environmental impacts from hydroelectric development in China.
In 2010, Williams, Ding, and Kahrl worked with China’s State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) on modeling technical and policy options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from China’s electricity sector. They also worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Regulatory Assistance Project on developing a Chinese-language software tool for use in planning energy efficiency programs and led a multi-day workshop in Beijing in which they taught the use of the tool to more than fifty government agency and grid company analysts. Later, the team gave an invited presentation on their experiences called “Electricity with Chinese Characteristics” at the Woodrow Wilson Center with co-presenter Jon Wellinghof, chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Dr. Williams was co-author on two 2011 publications in the field of energy security: in Energy Policy on the relationship between energy security and sustainable development, and in the Routledge Handbook of Energy Security on a framework for evaluating the impact of energy choices on energy security.
Teaching and Collaboration
Since 2008, Dr. Williams has developed and taught nine different courses related to energy, climate change, and the environment. His courses emphasize scientific and technical understanding as fundamentals of sound policy. “Quantitative Methods in Environmental Policy,” a core course in the International Environmental Policy program, is considered difficult by many students, yet is also perennially one of the most popular courses taught at the Institute, as students come to feel empowered to make their own calculations and scientifically analyze complex problems.
Dr. Williams’ basic energy analysis course is an introduction to the science, technology, environmental impacts, and economics of all forms of energy used in the global economy for electricity generation, transportation, buildings, and industry - oil and natural gas, coal, nuclear, solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass. A follow-on course offered for students pursuing the energy track is “Greening the Grid: The Past, Present, and Future of the Electric Power Systems” which teaches the basics of electricity, electric grid operations, generation technologies, electricity demand, utility economics, electricity regulation, and policy.
Dr. Williams also teaches an advanced energy research course for students who have taken his other courses, in which students work together on an article for publication. Six recent International Environmental Policy graduates are co-authors on a forthcoming article accepted in the Journal of Water and Climate Change that quantitatively analyzes the greenhouse gas emissions benefits of water efficiency measures in California. This is original work on a cutting-edge issue, taken on mostly by the students themselves. Students in the advanced seminar have taken more than 25 field trips to power plants, grid operations centers, venture capital firms, national laboratories, environmental agencies, regulatory bodies, high technology companies, and water desalination plants, which have led to summer internships and long-term employment.
Since energy is integral to many of the challenges the world now faces, Dr. Williams collaborates with other Monterey Institute scholars and programs on areas that overlap different fields. In the fall of 2011, Dr. Williams and Center for Nonproliferation Studies colleagues launched a new seminar and lecture series on climate change, international security, and the future of nuclear energy, bringing to the Institute a series of top experts from many fields to address this topic. With the opening of the new Center for the Blue Economy, Dr. Williams works with students and colleagues delving into the interactions between energy, climate change, and the marine environment, ranging from sea level rise and ocean acidification to the impacts on coastal ecosystems of using seawater for power-plant cooling.
Previous Work
During the 2000-2001 California electricity crisis, Dr. Williams managed the electrical demand reduction program for the 38-campus University of California-California State University system. From 1997-2000, he managed the North Korea energy program of the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development, leading an engineering team that electrified a North Korean village using wind energy. Previously, he created and directed the Native American Renewable Energy Education Project, a program of the US Department of Energy to facilitate sustainable energy development for American Indian tribes.
Dr. Williams received his MS and Ph.D from UC Berkeley’s Energy and Resources Group, where his dissertation topic was the history of science policy in China during the Mao era. His dissertation was chaired by Dr. John P. Holdren, now science advisor to President Obama. Dr. Williams continues to serve as a part-time lecturer at UC Berkeley, where he has taught and advised graduate students since 1995. He received his BS in Physics from Washington and Lee University. Dr. Williams has organized and led numerous academic conferences and workshops, including an international conference on the US, China, and Climate Change at UC Berkeley in 2006. He has also served as guest editor for special issues of Chinese Studies in Philosophy, History of the Physical and Biological Sciences, and Pacific Affairs.
Expertise
Interdisciplinary energy and environmental analysis, political economy of energy, science and technology policy, energy resources and policy, climate change policy, electric power systems, engineering-economic modeling, Asian energy
Education
Ph.D and MS, Energy and Resources, UC Berkeley. BS, Physics, Washington and Lee University.
Publications
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
Haley, B., J.B. Gallo, A. Kehr, M. Perry, D. Siao, W. Smallen, M.S. Torn, J.H. Williams, The 2020 emissions reduction impact of urban water conservation in California, Journal of Water and Climate Change (in press).
Williams, J.H., A. DeBenedictis, R. Ghanadan, A. Mahone, J. Moore, W. Morrow, S. Price, M.S. Torn (2012), The technology path to deep greenhouse gas emissions cuts by 2050: the pivotal role of electricity, Science, 335, 53-59.
Kahrl, F., J.H. Williams, J. Hu, J. Ding (2011), Challenges to China’s transition to a low carbon electricity system, in Renewable Energy Special Issue, Energy Policy, 39, 4032-4041.
Von Hippel, D., T. Suzuki, J.H.Williams, T. Savage, and P. Hayes (2011), Energy security and sustainability in Northeast Asia, in Asian Energy Security Special Issue, Energy Policy, 39, 6719-6730.
Mahone, A., C.K. Woo, J.H. Williams, I. Horowitz (2009), Renewable portfolio standards and cost-effective energy-efficiency investment, Energy Policy, 37, 774-777.
Williams, J.H. and F. Kahrl (2008), Electricity reform and sustainable development in China, Environmental Research Letters, 3, 044009 1-14.
Von Hippel, D., P. Hayes, J.H.Williams, C. Greacen, M. Sagrillo, and T. Savage (2008), International energy assistance needs and options for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), Energy Policy, 36, 541–552.
Orans, R., S. Price, J.H. Williams, and C.K. Woo (2007), A Northern California-British Columbia partnership for renewable energy, Energy Policy, 35, 3979-3983.
Williams, J.H. and R. Ghanadan (2006), Electricity reform in developing and transition countries: a reappraisal, Energy 31, 815-844.
Williams, J.H. and N. Dubash (2004), Asian electricity reform in historical perspective, Pacific Affairs, 77, 411-436.
Williams, J.H. and N. Dubash (2004), The political economy of electricity reform in Asia: introduction to Pacific Affairs special issue, Pacific Affairs, 77, 403-410.
Williams, J.H., and D. Von Hippel (2002), Fuel and famine: rural energy crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Asian Perspective, 26, 111-140.
Von Hippel, D. and J.H. Williams (2002), Case study of a rural energy survey in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Asian Perspective, 26, 77-109.
Williams, J.H. (1999), Fang Lizhi's big bang: a physicist and the state in China, Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, 30, 49-88.
Williams, J.H. (1990), Fang Lizhi's expanding universe, China Quarterly, 123, 459-484.
Harte, J. and J.H. Williams (1988), Arctic aerosol and arctic climate, Journal of Climatic Change, 13, 161-189.
Articles in Review
F. Kahrl, J.H. Williams, J. Hu, The political economy of electricity dispatch in China, Energy Policy (in review).
Book Chapters
Von Hippel. D., T. Suzuki, J. H. Williams, T. Savage, and P. Hayes (2011) Evaluating the energy security impacts of energy policies, in Benjamin Sovacool, ed., The Routledge Handbook of Energy Security, London: Routledge.
Dubash, N. and J.H. Williams (2006), The political economy of electricity liberalization, in Transforming Power: Energy as a Social Project, edited by John Byrne et al., pp.155-189, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.
Williams, J.H. (2000), Wind power in Inner Mongolia, in Methodological and Technological Issues in Technology Transfer, edited by Bert Metz et al., IPCC Working Group 3 Special Report, pp. 387-388, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Edited Volumes
Williams, J.H. and N. Dubash, eds. (2004), The political economy of electricity reform in Asia, special issue of Pacific Affairs, 77(1).
Carson, C., Pollack, E., Westwick, P. and Williams, J.H., eds. (1999), Physicists in the post-war political arena, special issue of Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, 30(1).
Williams, J.H., editor and translator (1991), in Fang Lizhi, Bringing Down the Great Wall: Writings on Science, Culture, and Democracy in China, 336 pp., New York: Alfred A.Knopf.
Williams, J.H., editor and translator (1988), Astrophysics and ideology in people’s China, special issue of Chinese Studies in Philosophy, 19(4).
Non-Peer Reviewed Articles, Reports, and Manuals
Mahone, A., B. Haley, R. Orans, J.H. Williams (2011), “Electric Vehicles and Gas-Fired Power: A Strategic Approach to Mitigating Rate Increases and Greenhouse Gas Price Risk,” Public Utilities Fortnightly.
Kahrl, F., J.H. Williams, J.H. Ding, (2011), Four Things You Should Know About China’s Electricity System, Cooperative Competitors Briefing Series, prepared for the China Environment Forum, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Kahrl, F., J.H. Ding, S. Price, J.H. Williams (2010), Energy Efficiency Power Plant Calculator, bilingual (Chinese-English) software model and documentation, prepared for the Regulatory Assistance Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council for use in China.
Mahone, A., W.Morrow, R. Orans, F. Pearl, S. Price, and J. H. Williams (2010), After Cap and Trade: An Alternative Climate Policy Strategy for the U.S., prepared for the Brookings Institution.
DeBenedectis, A., A. Mahone, W. Morrow, S. Price, J.H. Williams (2009), Meeting California’s Long-Term Greenhouse Gas Reduction Goals, prepared for Hydrogen Energy International.
Horii, B., A. Mahone, J. Moore, A. Olson, R. Orans, S. Price, M. Smart, J.H. Williams (2008), C PUC/CEC Greenhouse Gas Modeling Results and Documentation.
Goldman, C., N. Hopper, B. Horii, A. Mahone, J. Moore, S. Price, J.H. Williams (2008), National Action Plan for Energy Efficiency: Guide to Resource Planning with Energy Efficiency, prepared for U.S. DOE and U.S. EPA.
Williams, J.H., S. Price, J. Moore, W. Morrow (2007), Draft Methodology for the Evaluation of the Market Transformation Effects of the Self-Generation Incentive Program, prepared for California Public Utilities Commission.
Price, S., Dugan, R., E. Kollman, M. McGranahan, J. Moore, J.H. Williams (2006), Value of Distribution Automation Applications, report prepared for California Energy Commission, Contract 500-01-025.
Kammen, D.M. and J.H. Williams (2006), “Plug and Go: Hybrid Electric Cars Drive Away Oil Imports,” California, 117:5 (September/October 2006) 22.
Price, S., E. Kollman, J. Moore, J.H. Williams (2006), Energy Storage Valuation Tool: Modeling Stakeholder Costs and Benefits, software and report developed for Electric Power Research Institute.
Williams, J.H., R. Orans, S. Price, B. Horii, C.K. Woo (2006), Demand Response Rate and Program Design, Phase I, report prepared for California Energy Commission, Demand Response Research Center, DRRC-RON-02.
Williams, J.H., S. Price, C.K. Woo (2005), A Survey of Time of Use Pricing and Demand Response Programs, report prepared for U.S. EPA.
Von Hippel, D., J.H. Williams, and S. Eaton, Multi-Dimensionsal Issues in International Electric Power Grid Interconnections (2005), report prepared for U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, New York: UN/DESA.
Williams, J.H. (2003), Our energy future: between Iraq and a hard place, Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development working paper.
Williams, J.H. (2003), Our burning path: action or denial on global warming?, Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainable Development working paper.
Williams, J.H. (2003) International Best Practices for Assessing and Reducing the Environmental Impacts of High-Voltage Transmission Lines, report prepared for Third Workshop on Power Grid Interconnection in Northeast Asia, Vladivostok, Russia.
Von Hippel, D. and J.H. Williams (2003), Environmental Issues for Regional Power Systems in Northeast Asia, report prepared for Third Workshop on Power Grid Interconnection in Northeast Asia, Vladivostok, Russia.
UC/CSU Peak Load Reduction Program (2001), The University of California and The California State University Summer 2001 Electricity Peak Load Reduction Plan, report prepared for CEC Contract No. 400-00-019.
UC/CSU Peak Load Reduction Program (2001), Photovoltaics For UC And CSU Peak Demand Reduction: A Brief Guide, report prepared for CEC Contract No. 400-00-019.
Williams, J.H., D. Von Hippel, and Peter Hayes (2000), Fuel and Famine: Rural Energy Crisis in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, IGCC Policy Paper No. 46, San Diego: Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Williams, J.H., P. Hayes, D. Von Hippel, C. Greacen, M. Sagrillo. "The Wind Farm in the Cabbage Patch," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 55 (May/June 1999) 40-48.
Busch, J.F. , J. Elliott, T. Frank, V. Gratton, T. Starrs, and Williams, J.H. (1998), Native Power: A Handbook on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency for Native American Communities. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, LBNL-41004.
Williams, J.H., J. Elliott, T. Frank. “Good Energy: Native Americans Lead the Way,” Winds of Change, 12 (Summer 1997) 14-23
Williams, J.H. et al. "Tribal College Instructors Learn About Renewable Energy," Tribal College Journal, 8:4 (Spring 1997)
Courses
Courses offered in the past four years.
▲ indicates offered in the current term
▹ indicates offered in the upcoming term[s]
IPOL 8512 - Quant Mthd for Env Sci & Polcy
This course introduces the use of quantitative methods in environmental analysis. Students will learn how to apply basic principles of natural science to a variety of globally important environmental problems. Topics covered include estimation techniques and stock-flow modeling; population and resource use; biogeochemical cycles; acid deposition; climate change; stratospheric ozone depletion; toxic pollution and public health; and ionizing radiation. Coursework features weekly readings, bi-weekly quantitative problem sets, a mid-term exam, and a final exam. This is a challenging course for students with limited math and science backgrounds, but no student who works diligently will be left behind. The methods taught in this course have proven useful not only for aspiring environmental scientists, but also for those working in public policy, environmental law, ecological economics, international development, business, and journalism.
Fall 2009 - MIIS, Fall 2010 - MIIS, Fall 2011 - MIIS
IPOL 8548 - Interdisc Analys 4 EnergyPol
This course introduces interdisciplinary tools for energy analysis, including essentials of energy science and technology, energy resources and markets, environmental aspects of energy supply and demand, energy security, and energy regulation and policy. These tools are applied to topical modules on oil and gas; coal; nuclear power; renewable energy; energy efficiency; electric power; and transportation. Coursework will include lectures, weekly readings and discussion, quantitative homework, and written assignments including a semester research project. With energy in the news on a daily basis, there is no shortage of fodder for topical discussions and application of the tools developed in this course. The course may include field trips to energy facilities in the greater Monterey area, subject to availability and schedule. There is no pre-requisite for this course but taking IPOL 8512 first is helpful, as is other prior coursework in energy science and economics.
Fall 2010 - MIIS
IPOL 8621 - Sem: Climate & Security
IPOL 8624 - Sem:Adv Resrch in Energy Polcy
This seminar has two goals: to expose students to professional environments and career opportunities in energy and resources, and to use and integrate skills developed in earlier energy and environment courses in producing a research paper of professional caliber. There will be four main activities: (1) conducting a group research project and producing a high quality paper; (2) making visits to organizations working in energy and resources, in the public, private, and non-profit sectors; (3) attending guest lectures by professionals working in the field, covering both their current work and “tricks of the trade” for career-development; and (4) developing a database of information sources relevant to conducting research and finding jobs in energy and resources, which can be turned into a MIIS energy/climate website.
Spring 2010 - MIIS, Spring 2011 - MIIS
IPOL 8626 - ClimatMitigatnPolcy:PathTo2050
IPOL 8659 - Sem:AdvTopics/ElectrcPwrSystms
This seminar is about electric power systems and their role in modern economies and societies. It provides a basic introduction to the engineering, business, regulatory, and policy dimensions of electricity production and supply. Students who plan to work in the energy, development, or climate change policy fields will benefit from this course.
Fall 2009 - MIIS, Fall 2011 - MIIS
WKSH 8580 - Wks: Renewable Energy
WKSH 8583 - Wks: Energy & Development
This workshop brings together energy researchers and practitioners working in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America, to explore the issue of energy and development in emerging economies. Key
themes include: environmental and social impacts of current energy infrastructure; access to clean, affordable energy for basic needs; energy sector policies and institutions; developing country energy in a carbon-constrained world; north-south vs south-south technology transfer; and regional, urban-rural, low income-middle income, household, and gender perspectives.
Spring 2010 - MIIS
