The Grid + Energy Poverty + Critical Minerals

News from MIT's front door for climate policymakers

As we kick off the new year, we have a lot to look forward to. With Karen Knutson as the new Vice President of Government Affairs for MIT, we’re planning to work with her to foster a deeper policy collaboration and engagement between the CPC and the MIT Washington Office.

This coming spring, we’re looking forward to hosting another US Congressional Staff Seminar on campus, sharing with an outstanding group of staffers how our research can inform policy. The event is in collaboration with the MIT Energy Initiative (MITei), the Office of the Vice President for Energy and Climate (MITVPEC), and the MIT Washington Office. MIT has hosted this influential event for decades.

This year, we’re also keeping a close eye on our Faculty Director Chris Knittel’s work on electricity and consumer costs, as the insights he can provide will likely prove even more relevant in 2026 and beyond. We’re also eager to learn more about MIT Sloan School of Management's new John C. Head III Dean, Rick Locke’s vision for how we can leverage policy-relevant research at MIT to inform the work of government.

Sincerely,

Bethany Patten, Executive Director, MIT Climate Policy Center

This new study by Faculty Director Christopher Knittel and his team outlines the tradeoffs among reliability, cost, and emissions for different US electricity grid expansion strategies.

A new MIT consortium convenes industry, academia, and policy leaders to navigate competing demands and reimagine materials supply. Faculty Director Christopher Knittel is co-director of this new initiative.

Concern: Recent funding allocations under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are not reaching the Americans who need the greatest assistance. Nearly one in three households in the US reports experiencing “energy poverty,” or the inability to meet their basic energy needs.

Where things stand: Based on formulas designed nearly forty years ago, when the weather in the US was notably different, LIHEAP allocations heavily skew towards cold-weather states while energy poverty is growing in warm-weather states.

Stakes & relevance: As the global climate changes, projections show a decrease in the demand for household heating and an increase in demand for household cooling, especially in the South.

Zooming out: While Congress typically appropriates more than $3.5 billion annually to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to administer LIHEAP ($6.1B in FY23), the program would need $17.9B to lift every American household out of energy poverty.

Key challenges: 1. Recent practice of overriding the funding allocation formula through the appropriation process is preventing LIHEAP funds from going to states with the highest energy poverty. 2. While Congress appropriated $6.1 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to administer LIHEAP in FY23, the program would need $17.9B annually to lift every American household out of energy poverty.

Clearing the air: This study from MIT designed an optimized LIHEAP allocation formula to demonstrate that available funds could be distributed more equitably and reduce the maximum energy burden faced by any household in the US. The HHS could mimic this formula using data they already collect.

The path forward with insights from the MIT study

1. For LIHEAP funds to follow the geographic shifts in energy poverty, the existing “hold-harmless” provisions in LIHEAP statute would need to be removed during reauthorization.

2. LIHEAP efficiency could be improved by conducting oversight of the existing requirement that states provide the greatest assistance to households with the highest energy burdens (42 USC §8624(b)(5)).

Read the policy brief here

MIT News: A new modeling tool developed by the MIT Energy Initiative can help energy-system planners explore options for developing infrastructure to support decarbonized, reliable, and low-cost power grids. Faculty Director Christopher Knittel discusses how he will use the tool.

CommonWealth Beacon: A dramatic proposed gas bill hike shocks ratepayers in Fall River, MA, and frustrates Governor Healy. Faculty Director Christopher Knittel weighs in on plug prices and the potential impacts of this new initiative.

Inside Climate News: Critics question whether carbon credit programs actually lead to overall emissions reductions. Faculty Affiliate John Sterman discusses his AVID+ framework for evaluating carbon credits.

New York Times: Aiming to compete with Chinese suppliers, a New Hampshire start-up recently began producing metal using new processing methods. MIT's Elsa Olivetti, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, gives her thoughts.