PhD position energy economics

Your PhD work is embedded into projects funded by Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Clean energy infra-structure, such as electrolysers, CO2-pipelines, PV-battery systems etc. are characterised by high up-front investment cost and risky returns due to uncertain offtake agreements, first-mover risk, and or cannibaliza-tion effects in case of growing investment levels.

Your work will focus on reducing clean energy investment cost by designing and evaluating financial de-risking mechanisms for SAF and PV deployment in Switzerland, such as contracts for difference, central procurement models and/ or double-sided auctions, drawing on international experience and the market design literature. Your potential tasks include:

Literature review, evaluation of proposed and implemented concepts in other countries
Developing skills in contract and auction design for investment de-risking
Simulating clean energy investment and dispatch decisions under different contract designs
Critically analysing simulation results and writing reports and papers
Your profile
Master’s degree in economics or a related field
Strong interest in microeconomics
Knowledge in or passion for energy economics
Ability to work independently and collaboratively, with a strong ambition to publish high-quality research
More info: https://www.zhaw.ch/de/jobs/offene-stellen/stelleninserat/job/detail/3844755