USAEE 2024 Virtual Case Competition

The United States Association for Energy Economics (USAEE) Virtual Case Competition is a one-of-a-kind opportunity for student teams to apply their knowledge of economics, engineering, and policy analysis. Participants demonstrate their skills and ideas for potential employers, contribute to solving challenges in the field of energy economics, and compete for monetary prizes.

The case problem for 2024 was related to economic policy and regulatory issues associated with the integration of Small Modular Reactors (SMR) into existing energy systems. Participating teams worked on the designated case problem over a period of three weeks and submitted a written report detailing their methods and solution to USAEE.

The two teams with the best solutions were invited to present their results at a virtual event in September. The competition winners and runners up were invited to attend the 41st USAEE/IAEE North American Conference, November 3-6 in Baton Rouge, LA with registration fees waived to receive their prizes at the Awards Luncheon during the conference.

First Place:

Atomic Owls Consulting Group | Rice University

Marcia Lee
Mauricio Parilli
Rowan Ghosh
Sierra Fredenrich
Paula Gonzalez Gago

Runner Up:

Envision Energy Consultants | Bauer College Of Business - University Of Houston

Allan Joseph
Mohan Vedala
Shreevevi Nandam
Aishwarya Sai Yadav Bura

The prizes were:

                                                    · $3,500 for the first-place team         · $2,500 for the second-place team

The competition is annually open to students from all over the world. Teams need not be USAEE/IAEE members to register and send in an entry. Any combination of students is permitted (mixed majors, mixed undergrad/grad, mixed universities). For additional details, refer to the Case Competition Registration Form. Team registration forms were submitted by Friday, July 26, 2024. Case packets were distributed to the teams on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.

Prizes are provided by long-term sponsor the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC). In addition to KAPSARC's participation, the  Saudi Association of Energy Economics (SAEE) has joined the evaluation committee for the case competition.