Courses at CBS: Sustainability and business – Energy markets, competition and regulation.
By Jens Asker Aarkrog Wahlgren
According to EPA, the electricity sector accounted for about 27 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in 2018.[1] As business students, we must help drive sustainable changes forward in energy markets to ensure a rapid, but also smooth, transition to renewable energy. To foster an efficient green transition, it requires people with expert knowledge on how energy markets work and what policy tools are more effective to regulate the energy sector to ensure affordable, clean energy. In this article, we zoom in on the course ‘Sustainability and Business: Energy Markets, Competition, and Regulation’ and ask student Sara Romby about her experiences with the course.
What is your name, age, nationality, and study program?
My name is Sara Romby, I am 23 years old, born and raised in Denmark, and I currently study my bachelor’s in international business and Politics.
What is the course about?
The course aims to give students an explanatory capacity of theory and models of the regulation and competition policy while applying it to the context of the energy sector. The course focuses on the economics and business behind the energy sector, how energy markets are governed and regulated, and how the energy sector is developing towards renewable energy, both focused on electricity, gas and heating.
Why did you choose this course?
I have a profound interest in sustainability and an increasing awareness of how important the energy sector is in mitigating climate change. The energy sector is arguably the most critical sector, and I wanted to expand my knowledge of how this sector is organized. Additionally, we have various projects on greener energy at my work, but quite often, I had little to no clue about what they meant when they said ‘, ‘power-to-X’ or ‘rate-of-return regulation’.
Whom would you recommend this course?
The easy answer is students who are interested in the energy sector. The course focuses on this sector with rather technical details on how energy is transmitted, how prices are established, who generates energy to whom, and so on. If you do not mind sometimes thinking you study at DTU rather than CBS, I think you would find this course interesting! For students who want more traditional, mathematically based economics, this course could also be for you to build greater knowledge on the sector and go into depth with calculations on your own – but do not expect the course to be mathematical (I did at first).
What are your key takeaways of the course so far?
A key takeaway for me has been the need for economists who understand the business of the energy sector. The need for interdisciplinary work between economics, politics, technology, and natural science is greater than ever. Another key takeaway is the complexity of competition and regulation in this sector – very interesting, but certainly also difficult without any clear-cut solutions. The last key takeaway is the economic limitations of wind and solar power due to a variable cost of zero, meaning that at some point integrating more variable renewable energy will exceed the benefits. This is a huge barrier towards a renewable transition.
How are you hoping to use the knowledge you acquire in this course for future studies or work?
I have found the course surprisingly useful. It is one of the most hands-on courses I have taken at CBS, and I now feel like I can actually contribute with something meaningful in discussion on the energy sector and renewable energy. This course has significantly increased my knowledge of the energy sector – knowledge that I can apply both at work and in current debates.
[1] EPA (2018): https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions