What is Center for Energy Studies?
Mission
The Center for Energy Studies conducts, encourages, and facilitates research and analysis to address energy-related problems or issues affecting Louisiana's economy, environment, and citizenry. The Center's goal is to provide a balanced, objective, and timely treatment of issues with potentially important consequences for Louisiana.
The Center for Energy Studies was created by the Louisiana Legislature in 1982 as the embodiment of recommendations made by an independent group of experts and at the urging of Louisiana business and public interest groups, as well as the University.
Programs and Capabilities
The Center is mandated to provide energy information and analysis that responds to the needs of the legislature, public agencies, and business and civic groups. Faculty and staff respond regularly to requests from a wide variety of individuals and institutions for specialized energy data and information.
With the assistance of its Advisory Council, the staff tries to identify issues with important implications for the state's economy and citizenry, and then design studies which address them in a timely and effective manner.
In recent years, the Center’s research staff has gained national credibility and visibility and has diversified its multidisciplinary breadth, extended its topical expertise, and expanded its cooperation with other departments. It has implemented an effective program of public outreach, education, and technology transfer.
The Center's research and policy analysis projects examine policies and trends affecting the energy industry, especially with respect to offshore developments. These projects aim to
- measure the economic, safety, and environmental performance of the oil and gas industry;
- analyze the effects of deepwater development on the Gulf Coast economy;
- model the economics of the installation, removal and operation of offshore oil and gas platforms to forecast and evaluate regulatory and policy alternatives;
- identify trends and behavior important for planning, management and regulation of the industry at both the federal and state level.
The Center's personnel also act in an advisory or expert capacity for legislative, executive, and regulatory branches of both the state and national governments and represent the state on energy-related organizations at both the regional and national level.
Maintaining and strengthening our current relationships with the state agencies dealing with energy, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE), and the Department of Energy are the Center's highest priority objectives.
The capability necessary to accomplish the basic mission of the Center is funded by state appropriation. The resources to conduct or to participate in larger-scale interdisciplinary projects have come historically from grants and contracts from the federal and private sectors. From 1982 to the present these have totaled more than $22 million.
Policy Analysis Division
CES's organizational imperative is to continue to strengthen and improve the links between its informational and analytical resources, as well as those of the wider university, and the state- and national-level constituencies concerned with energy issues and policies.
Building and maintaining these links does not imply that CES's research is one-sided and promotes a preconceived argument or position. There are many consulting and government relations companies that are able to provide research and analysis that support any given case. In contrast, CES' "distinctive competence," in planning jargon, is that its studies and reports are objective, balanced and credible.
To protect its credibility, CES encourages its staff to publish research derived from reports in refereed and professional journals and to participate actively in professional meetings and associations. All studies are under the control of CES and are available to the public.
Recent CES research efforts have addressed
The status, potential and policies for combined heat and power in Louisiana
Analysis of the potential economic impacts of the boom in unconventional natural gas production in the state
The offshore drilling industry and rig construction market in the Gulf of Mexico
Crude oil exports and the Louisiana economy
Decommissioning cost estimation in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico
The impact of renewable energy potential on renewable portfolio standards adoption
Offshore wind development costs
Energy Information and Data Division
The division provides reference service related to energy research and policy to the academic community, government agencies, non-profit organizations, business and industry, and the general public. The division maintains a database of statistics on oil and gas reserves; drilling and production; refining and refined products; electricity generation, cost, and consumption; and energy employment, wages, prices, taxes, and revenue.
Research and Development Division
The Research and Development Division is the coordinating unit for multidisciplinary energy research within the University and within the state. The division helps coordinate gathering the necessary expertise, securing funding and providing research management services for the performance of basic and applied research upon request.