Director
Liz Mettetal

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Liz Mettetal

she / her / hers

Based in Boston, Dr. Liz Mettetal is an experienced economist and Director in E3’s Integrated System Planning practice. With over a decade of consulting experience, Dr. Mettetal specializes in helping energy industry clients evaluate questions related to electricity sector planning and the transition to a low-carbon future. Her work utilizes a range of electric sector modeling tools, including electricity capacity expansion, production simulation, and loss-of-load probability models, to inform large investments and provide actionable insights to decision-makers. Notably, Dr. Mettetal recently managed E3’s study evaluating electric sector reliability under resource portfolios consistent with New England achieving economy-wide Net Zero GHG emissions. She has also led several studies related to hydrogen and energy storage, including E3’s contributions to storage roadmaps in New York, Massachusetts, and Maine.

Liz is motivated by a strong desire to help energy industry stakeholders navigate a cost-effective transition to a low-carbon grid, and she came to E3 given its commitment to innovative, best-in-class modeling approaches and thought leadership. She also values the opportunity to collaborate with diverse clients and stakeholders on projects that directly influence the evolution of the energy sector.

A New England native, Liz has played an instrumental role in expanding E3’s impact on the East Coast. In her free time, Liz enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two children, as well as running marathons.

Education: PhD, public policy, Harvard University; BS, environmental engineering science with a minor in economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Publications

Projects

Energy Storage Market Update and Long Duration Storage Study | Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, 2023

In collaboration with the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and Department of Energy Resources (DOER), E3 conducted a study that assesses the current state of energy storage in the Commonwealth, the market outlook for emerging mid- and long-duration storage (LDES) technologies, and potential applications of mid- and long-duration storage, all in the context of providing benefits to ratepayers and achieving the state’s ambitious decarbonization goals.

The study included several modeling and stakeholder engagement elements. Leveraging E3’s pro forma financial model of storage technology costs and a custom-built storage dispatch model, the project team analyzed several storage use cases to help the state understand impacts of current incentive programs. Assessment of future storage value involved loss-of-load probability modeling of the entire ISO-NE footprint using E3’s RECAP model. E3 engaged stakeholders throughout the study process through interviews with more than 50 key stakeholders and two public stakeholder workshops. In the study, E3 shows that the role of energy storage changes to suit grid needs, but that storage requires well-designed state support to encourage deployment and innovation that targets these needs. In addition to writing a report providing study findings, the team worked with DOER to translate findings into policy recommendations for the state.

Read the detailed project description.

WRI United States Decarbonization Scenarios | World Resources Institute, 2021

E3 worked with the World Resources Institute (WRI) to develop four scenarios of increasing ambition to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all sectors of the United States economy using E3’s US PATHWAYS and RESOLVE models. E3 collaborated with WRI to develop robust scenario definitions, collect publicly available data and assumptions, and create interactive spreadsheet results. The goal of the study was to understand the effect of high-impact federal policies on achieving 50% emissions reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050. The analysis demonstrates the importance of key near-term building blocks, including: 1) aligning economics for customers and companies to adopt clean energy technologies; 2) aligning policy and institutions to remove barriers to technology deployment; 3) increasing consumer awareness and education to unlock higher levels of adoption; and 4) creating a transition plan for fossil fuel jobs to ensure a smooth transition.

Read the detailed project description.


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