Dr. Fox-Penner is a Senior Fellow and Founding Director (2016 – 2021) of the Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy. He was formerly a Professor of Practice at the Questrom School of Business, where he co-directed and is now a Senior Fellow of the Impact Measurement and Allocation Program (IMAP) of research in sustainable finance.
In addition, he is a Partner and Chief Impact Officer of Energy Impact Partners, one of the largest dedicated clean energy private equity fund groups in the world and an academic advisor to The Brattle Group. He is on the global leadership council of the World Resources Institute and on the advisory boards of Mobility Impact Partners, and the National Regulatory Research Institute’s Training Initiative. He is also affiliated with the Energy Futures Initiative.
He formerly served as a senior official at the U.S. Department of Energy and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Prior to BU, he served for over two decades as principal and chairman of The Brattle Group, an economic consulting firm.
Dr. Fox-Penner is a frequent speaker on energy topics and the author of numerous published articles and books, including the highly acclaimed Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric Utilities (Island Press, 2010) and its sequel Power After Carbon: Building a Clean, Resilient Grid (Harvard University Press, 2020). His research has been widely cited, including in one Supreme Court decision.
His research and writing interests are in the areas of electric power strategy, regulation, and governance; energy and climate policy; sustainable finance; and the relationships between public and private economic activity.
Selected Publications
- Fox-Penner, P. (In Press). “Testimony before Boston City Council on Carbon-Free Boston”, Boston City Council
- Fox-Penner, P. (In Press). “Hewlett’s 2017 Climate Strategy Refresh Memo to the Hewlett Foundation”, The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation
- Fox-Penner, P. (In Press). “Prepared Statement Before the California Public Utilities Commission En Bank Hearing in Retail Choice”, California Public Utilities Commission
- Fox-Penner, P., Hledik, R., Lueken, R., Lee, T., Cohen, J. (2020). “Decarbonized Resilience: Assessing Alternatives to Diesel Backup Power”,
- Fox-Penner, P., Hledik, R., Lubershane, A. (2020). “FixedBill+: Making Rate Design Innovation Work for Consumers, Electricity Providers, and the Environment”,
- Fox-penner, P. (2020). “Power After Carbon”, Harvard Univ Pr
- Fox-Penner, P. (2020). “COVID-19 will slow the global shift to renewable energy but can’t stop it”, The Conversation
- Wing, J. (2020). Foreword. In Elisabeth, Montgomery. (Eds.), “The Banality of Greed: An American Businessman’s Essay on Ethics”, Self
- Fox-Penner, P. (2020). “Power After Carbon Building a Clean, Resilient Grid”,
- Cleveland, C., Ashmore, J., Cleveland, J., Plastrik, P., Barnhart, A., Fox-Penner, P., Coffee, J. (2020). “More urgency, not less: The COVID-19 pandemic’s lessons for local climate leadership”, Institute for Sustainable Energy
- Fox-Penner, P., Cassandras, C., Kelly, H. (2019). “Integrating Electric Mobility Systems with the Grid Infrastructure”,
- Ren, Z. (2019). “Melting the Ice Lessons from China and the West in the Transition to Electric Vehicles: The Critical Role of Public Charging Infrastructure”, Independently Published
- Walsh, M., Fox-Penner, P., Zheng, K., Pollack, A., Cleveland, C. (2019). “Carbon Free Boston: Energy Technical Report”, Institute for Sustainable Energy
- Maron, A., Zheng, K., Walsh, M., Fox-Penner, P., Cleveland, C. (2019). “Carbon Free Boston: Offsets Technical Report”, Institute for Sustainable Energy
- Cleveland, C., Stanton, L., Woods, B., Martin, A., Fortune, D., Walsh, M., Castigliego, J., Perez, T., Galante, E. (2019). “Carbon Free Boston: Social Equity Report”, Institute for Sustainable Energy
- Hatch, J., Lam, T., Fox-Penner, P. (2019). “Assessing the Potential for US Utility Green Bonds”,
- Cleveland, C., Walsh, M., Castigliego, J., Perez, T., Fox-Penner, P., Zheng, K., Pollack, A. (2019). “Carbon Free Boston: Summary Report”, Institute for Sustainable Energy
- (2018). “Spread of self-driving cars could cause more pollution – unless the electric grid transforms radically”, The Conversation
- Fox-Penner, P., Hatch, J., Cleveland, J., Silano, M. (2018). “Cities and Climate Change: Strategic Options for Giving”,
- Fox-Penner, P., Gorman, W., Hatch, J. (2018). “Long-term U.S transportation electricity use considering the effect of autonomous-vehicles: Estimates & policy observations”, Energy Policy, 122 203-213
- Fox-Penner, P. (2018). The Implications of Vehicle Electrification and Autonomy for Global Decarbonization. In Varun, Sivaram. (Eds.), “Digital Decarbonization: Promoting Digital Innovations to Advance Clean Energy Systems”, Council on Foreign Relations 55-55
- (2017). “Why solar ‘microgrids’ are not a cure-all for Puerto Rico’s power woes”, Salon
- (2017). “An Admiring but Cautionary Open Letter to France’s Political Establishment”, Huffington Post
- (2017). “Think Local, Not Global!”, Commonwealth Magazine
- Consultant, G., Broehm, R., Ledgerwood, S., Fox-Penner, P., Taylor, . (2015). “Market Power and Market Manipulation in Energy Markets From the California Crisis to the Present”,
- Zarakas, W., Sergici, S., Bishop, H., Zahniser-Word, J., Fox-Penner, P. (2014). “Utility Investments in Resiliency: Balancing Benefits with Cost in an Uncertain Environment”, The Electricity Journal, 27 (5), 31-41
- Fox-Penner, P. (2014). “Resilient and Sustainable Infrastructure for Urban Energy Systems”, The Solutions Journal 48-54
- Fox-Penner, P. (2013). “The Future of US Energy Utilities, AD”, The Oxford Energy Forum 18-18
- Fox-Penner, P. (2011). “Mission, Structure, and Governance in Future Electric Markets: Some Observations”, The Oregon Law Review
- Fox-Penner, P. (2002). “The Regulation of Competition in Wholesale Electric Power Markets”, Energy Law Journal, 23 (2), 281-348
- Fox-Penner, P. (2001). “Easing Gridlock on the Grid, , : Electricity Planning and Siting Compacts”,
- Fox-Penner, P., Basheda, G. (2001). “A short honeymoon for utility deregulation”, ISSUES IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, 17 (3), 51-56
- Fox-Penner, P. (1997). “Dear Mr. President … : An open letter on electricity restructuring”,
- Palmer, K., Simpson, D., Toman, M., Fox-Penner, P. (1993). “Electricity fuel contracting: Relationships with coal and gas suppliers”,
Selected Research Presentations
- Fox-Penner, P. Mobility and Infrastructure Introduction, HUCE Event, Boston University Questrom School of Business, 2019
- Fox-Penner, P. , Gorman, W. , Hatch, J. Long-Term Transportation Electricity Use Considering Autonomy: Estimates and Policy Observations, General Motors, 2019
- Fox-Penner, P. The State Agenda in Climate and Energy Policy, National Association of State Energy Officials, 2019
- Fox-Penner, P. EV Public Infrastructure and Policies: Selected Results from Melting the ICE and Carbon-Free Boston, Bloomberg New Energy Future of Mobility Summit, 2019
- Fox-Penner, P. Electric Vehicle Charging in China and the U.S., BNEF Mobility Forum, San Francisco, CA, 2019
- Fox-Penner, P. Decarbonizing the World’s Energy System: The Five+ Engineering Miracles Needed, Boston University Questrom School of Business, 2019
- Fox-Penner, P. Panelist, Engineering EXCOM Retreat, Boston, MA, 2019
Awards and Honors
- 2018, Invited to moderate invitiation only energy conference for Saudi Crown Prince, MIT
- 2018, Personally briefed Bill Gates, bcG3
