Mr. Stephen Connors is director of the Analysis Group for Regional Energy Alternatives (AGREA) at MIT's Laboratory for Energy and the Environment (LFEE). In July 2001, Mr. Connors became the coordinator of the Alliance for Global Sustainability's (AGS) ¡°Near-Term Pathway to a Sustainable Energy Future¡± integrated research, education and outreach program. In this role Mr. Connors builds upon his expertise in integrated assessment research to develop and promote LFEE and AGS activities focused on how different technology and policy options affect long-term energy sector economic and environmental performance. In addition to these duties, Mr. Connors is also the MIT based co-director of the CMI Centre for Energy Security, along with Dr. William Nuttall at Cambridge University's Judge Business School.
Founded in 1988, AGREA's primary research focus is in strategy planning in energy and the environment, with an emphasis on regional energy infrastructures. AGREA lends its talents to projects across campus¡ªand the world¡ªthat need to look at how the deployment of alternative technology portfolios will impact the cost and emission of regional energy infrastructures, primarily electricity. Fundamental to AGREA's approach is the use of long-term planning tools within a multi-attribute tradeoff analysis framework. This approach automatically looks for costeffective ways to attain multiple goals of cost-competitiveness and environment quality, and also encourage public participation in the planning process, via stakeholder interaction and input. Over the years AGREA has employed its tradeoff analysis approach in several regions of the U.S., China, Europe and Latin America. From 1988 to 1996, the group looked at a broad range of options for New England power companies, utility and environment regulators, consumers, and environmental advocates. Aggressive conservation, solar and wind energy, the development of electric vehicles, repowering of old power plants, and trade regulations for NOx emissions were all topics explored on behalf of the project's multi-stakeholder audience. The tools and technique of this project have been used in numerous projects. Most notably are the AGS projects SESAMS¡ªSwiss Case Study and the China Energy Technology Program (CETP). AGREA's multi-scenario approach was also an integral component of AGS Mexico City Air Quality Program, which looked at all emissions sources from the Mexican megacity, not just electric power. Current projects include TRANSES (Alternatives for the Transition to Sustainable Energy Services) looking at Scandinavia, and research in the United States looking at renewable power generation, power system dynamics, and avoided power plant emissions by solar and windpower. The new ¡°Near-Term Pathway to a Sustainable Energy Future¡± program will consist of numerous regional studies, encompassing several key areas of energy supply and demand, such as sustainable mobility, future fuels and feedstocks, clean electricity supplies, and efficient and smart utilization.
Mr. Connors is the former head of the MIT Energy Laboratory's Electric Utility Program, and holds two degrees from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst (Mechanical Engineering and Applied Anthropology), as well as Master from MIT.
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