MIT 15.031J Energy Decisions, Markets, Policies, Spring 2012

This course examines the choices and constraints regarding sources and uses of energy by households, firms, and governments through a number of frameworks to describe and explain behaviour at various levels of aggregation. Created by MIT OpenCourseWare.


Average Course Length

35 hours


Skill Level

Intermediate



Pick a lesson


1: This Course and The U.S. Energy System
2: Comparative Energy Systems
3: U.S. Energy Problems
4: The Market and The State
5: Path Dependence in Energy Systems
6: Climate Science and Policy
7: Economics of Energy Demand
8: Energy Use by Individuals and Households
9: Normative Frameworks for Business Decisions
10: Business Decisions in Reality: CHP at Hexion
11: Organizational Decision-Making: Biodiesel at MIT
12: Developing Profitable Strategies
13: Innovation and Energy Business Models
14: Non-Renewable Energy Resources
15: Shale: Opportunities & Challenges
16: (Yesterday's &) Today's Electric Power System
17: Tomorrow's Electric Power System
18: Making Public Policy
19: Social Movements
20: U.S. Environment Policy
21: Economic Development & Green Growth