2023 Shultz Energy Fellowships: California Energy Commission, Office of Commissioner Kourtney Vaccaro

Regional-, state-, and city-level efforts are essential in our fight against climate change, especially in the field of energy. Stanford University is committed to helping by integrating its students into energy and climate ecosystems in the West through the Shultz Energy Fellowships program, an energy-related summer fellowship program for undergraduate and graduate students.

Named in honor of former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, one of the most widely admired American public servants of the past half-century, the program offers a suite of paid, energy-related public service fellowships for Stanford students in California, Colorado, Hawai'i, Nevada, and Utah during the summer. 

You will be one of at least two Stanford students placed at the California Energy Commission (CEC); and will be with the office of Commissioner Kourtney Vaccaro. The fellowship runs from Monday, June 26, 2023 to Friday, September 1, 2023.

Organization/Agency mission or role in state government

The California Energy Commission is the state’s primary energy policy and planning agency. Created by the Legislature in 1974 and located in Sacramento, the California Energy Commission has seven core responsibilities:

• Forecast future energy demand (electricity and natural gas) to assist in planning California’s energy infrastructure;
• Promote energy efficiency by developing, implementing and enforcing the state’s appliance and building energy efficiency standards, encouraging energy efficiency upgrades in existing buildings and implementing the California Clean Energy Jobs Act (Proposition 39);
• Certify and issue environmental permits for thermal power plants 50 megawatts and larger;
• Invest in energy research, development, demonstration, and technology commercialization;
• Support renewable energy development by providing incentives for solar photovoltaic systems on new residential buildings and new geothermal facilities, and implementing the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in collaboration with the California Public Utilities Commission;
• Develop and deploy low-carbon alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies and infrastructure; and
• Plan for and direct state response to energy emergencies in close partnership with the California Office of Emergency Services.

Potential Projects

The fellow will work in the office of Commissioner Kourtney Vaccaro under direct mentorship of the Commissioner and her advisors. Commissioner Vaccaro is the lead commissioner for the Siting, Transmission and Environmental Protection (STEP) division. The STEP division maintains a staff of technical experts, including engineers and scientists, who manage the Energy Commission’s power plant licensing and compliance processes and lead the Energy Commission’s efforts to implement new authority granted by Assembly Bill (AB) 205 and AB 209 (both adopted in 2022) to swiftly get new clean and renewable energy resources licensed and operational. The STEP division is also engaged in longer-term statewide infrastructure planning and land use considerations for future renewable energy resources, such as solar, terrestrial wind, offshore wind, and geothermal, that will be necessary to meet the goals of The 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018. Commissioner Vaccaro is also the lead commissioner for the Renewable Energy Division (RED) division which administers an array of programs, including the Geothermal Grant and Loan Program and development and implementation of rules for administration of the Renewables Portfolio Standard and Power Source Disclosure programs.

The fellow will conduct analysis and support efforts in Commissioner Vaccaro’s lead areas. The fellow will be expected to prepare for meetings with Energy Commission staff and stakeholders. Key areas of focus may include research and analysis of topics related to offshore wind energy planning and development, land use considerations in planning for new renewable energy resources, and the intersection of the Renewables Portfolio Standard with the state’s economy-wide climate goals.

In addition, the fellow may help prepare talking points, presentations, and other products to inform Commissioner Vaccaro’s lead areas. The fellowship will be project-oriented but will also include shorter-term tasks.

We anticipate CEC staff will have a flexible hybrid work policy for Summer 2023. If this is the case, the fellow will have the option to work fully in-person, partially remote, or fully remote, with partial or full in-person work highly encouraged. Otherwise, the fellowship will be fully remote. If the fellow prefers an office-based approach to work, the Commissioner and her advisors can readily accommodate that preference because they are typically in the office at least three days per week.

Potential Mentors

• Commissioner Kourtney Vaccaro
• Eli Harland, Advisor to Commissioner Vaccaro
• Andrea D. McGary, Special Advisor to Commissioner Vaccaro

2022 CEC Graduate Fellow

• Akruti Gupta, MS '23, CEE - Atmosphere/Energy Program
  Graduate Fellow, Office of Vice Chair Siva Gunda, California Energy Commission
• Learn more about Akruti's experience:
  • Blog post
  • Final project