The Economics of Offshore Wind Investment in California

This webinar occurred on Wednesday, July 24th from 2:00-3:00pm ET. This was presented by Jack Hausler and Goggy Parksuwan. A recording and slides from this presentation are not currently available.

Offshore wind is a clean renewable energy source that utilizes wind turbines to generate electricity for household/commercial use. Coastal wind farms have advantages over land-based ones, being located in areas with stronger airflow. They also provide short and long-term employment through construction and maintenance, as offshore farms are prone to destructive maritime weather that would further affect the price of energy in the economy.

In our case study, we will look at how the installation of offshore wind along California’s coast affects the regional economy. Our study will show the effects of offshore wind on utility prices, such as the short-term change in electricity prices, through an energy pricing model. Electricity price can be based on the size of a wind farm project and the supply of external energy. Furthermore, the E3+ model will gauge the effects of a change in carbon consumption and an increase of clean energy use, leading to forecasts that measure the influence of carbon tax and long-term renewable electricity that is a result of renewable wind.

US EV Automotive Outlook and USMCA Adjustment

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The automotive industry is in rapid transition, with the Biden Administration hastening the move to electric vehicles through subsidies, regulations, and tariffs.  This webinar presents:

•       The US electric vehicle industry outlook
•       Alternative scenarios for the industry under varying policy regimes
•       REMI simulations on modeling the potential economic impacts of changes to USMCA to indicate China as a Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) to prevent low cost Chinese EV imports from entering the US and Canada market.

 

Yen Chen is a leading expert on the economics of the North American automotive industry.  In this webinar, he will outline the current state of the EV market in the United States, cost changes in EVs relevant to Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) vehicles, market share and cost changes in critical minerals, and EV market share projections under different policy scenarios. REMI will present impact scenarios reflecting tariffs and potential USMCA policy changes.

 

 

Measuring the Economic Impact of Entrepreneurship in the East Central Florida Region

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The National Entrepreneur Center (NEC) stands as a transformative force in shaping Orlando’s entrepreneurial landscape. The NEC helps propel aspiring and established entrepreneurs towards success by offering an array of assistance services and resources vital for business formation and growth. Since its inception, the NEC’s partners have helped to empower over 300,000 entrepreneurs and facilitated over $320 million in business loans. It has also attracted attention from both national and international governments seeking to replicate this successful model. In 2023, the NEC partnered with the ECFRPC to undertake an economic valuation analysis of the region’s entrepreneurship system with the objective of quantifying the collective impact of the seven technical providers within the NEC.

In this webinar, Luis and Belinda will explain how the NEC helps foster small businesses. They will also note the regional economic impacts of the robust entrepreneurial landscape that the NEC has helped shape. These presenters will use REMI PI+ to help quantify these impacts.

 

Presenters:

Luis Nieves-Ruiz
Director of Economic Development
East Central Florida Regional Planning Council

Originally from Puerto Rico, Luis serves as Director of Economic Development for the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council, a council of governments located in Orlando, FL. Through his 21+-year career, he has made significant contributions to the fields of economic development, regional food systems, and community revitalization. This includes using the REMI PI+ model to estimate the economic impact of a variety of investments and activities including tourism, sea level rise, and early learning education, among others. Because of his many career accomplishments, Luis was inducted as a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners in 2022. That same year, he was also awarded the Professional of the Year Award by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro Orlando and Prospera.

Belinda Kirkegard
President
National Entrepreneur Center

Belinda Ortiz Kirkegard is the President of the National Entrepreneur Center. Prior to joining the NEC team, Belinda worked the last 13 years for the City of Kissimmee as its Economic Development Director, working with a leadership team that believed in building an incredible quality of life for residents and businesses alike. Her professional experience also includes the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, Orange County’s Business Development Office, as well as having worked for a couple of Central Florida elected officials.

She is a nationally certified Economic Development Finance Professional and has a Master’s degree in Public Administration. Belinda currently serves on a few community boards, and is the Treasurer for the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, which oversees the Orlando International Airport, which has a $600 million annual operating budget and $3 billion for capital improvements.

Unforeseen Events, Natural Disasters, and Insurance Rates

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Recent unforeseen disasters, like the East Palestine train derailment, the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, and general increases in extreme weather in certain regions of the United States have created discussion about infrastructure resilience and recovery. Supply chain disruptions often have severe long-term economic impacts at the regional and national level, and it is important to conduct resilience analysis to understand the economic impacts of these disruptions and how they could be mitigated. In addition to affecting broad economic factors like employment, GDP, and wage level, these destructive events also hurt individuals due to increased insurance rates, which may incentivize these people to migrate or decrease spending.

Join us for a webinar as we explore the connection between unforeseen events, including supply chain disruptions and natural disasters, and insurance rates. Using REMI PI+, we will discuss how some regions are impacted more than others, and we will also explain which demographics are most hurt by these trends. We will also discuss why doing resilience analysis is crucial to ensuring regions are prepared for supply chain disasters, and fully understanding the crippling effects of disruptions of varying length

Wild Pig and Foreign Animal Disease Outbreaks: Understanding Spread, Mitigation, and Economic Impacts

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This webinar was presented by Lirong Liu, Ph.D. and Steven Shwiff, Ph.D. from Texas A&M University Commerce, and Stephanie Shwiff, Ph.D. from the United States Department of Agriculture.

This presentation will explore results related to a study examining the relative economic impact of ASF and CSF in swine and FMD in swine and cattle on the U.S. economy. An epidemiological disease spread model was used to predict the potential spread of these diseases. Spread results were then analyzed using REMI PI+ to estimate the relative economic impacts on the U.S. domestic economy and exports. Outbreaks started in locations with the highest risk of introduction tended to be small, frequently only infecting a few animals due to the disconnect between introduction risk and the presence of the livestock industry.

The overall economic impacts primarily reflected the results of import bans placed on U.S. products by other countries, which turned out to be consequential, inducing between three and four billion dollars in loss in gross domestic product (GDP) in the first year. The worst-case scenarios involved more than a fourth of the domestic cattle population in the case of FMD and almost the whole domestic swine population for the three diseases affecting swine. In the year of disease spread, the loss in GDP was estimated at $65 billion if both cattle and swine were involved, despite a government infusion of $7.5 billion for the euthanasia and disposal of slaughtered animals and cleaning and disinfecting of facilities.