Nikit Abhyankar

Nikit Abhyankar

Energy/Environmental Policy Research Scientist/Engineer
(510) 486-5681
eta.lbl.gov/people/Nikit-Abhyankar
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Bio

Dr. Nikit Abhyankar, a Scientist in the International Energy Analysis Department at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He is also an Affiliate and Senior Scientist at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley.
 
Dr. Abhyankar has conducted extensive research and policy analysis on a range of key energy issues such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and energy access in United States and key emerging economies such as India, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In particular, his research focuses on the following areas: (i) renewable energy resource assessment and grid integration, (ii) electricity markets and policies, (iii) technology and policy / program assessments for appliance efficiency improvement, (iv) impact of transport electrification on the grid, and (v) technology solutions for expanding energy access. 
 
Dr. Abhyankar has published over 40 peer reviewed journal papers, research reports, and conference papers, and his research has been widely covered in the media, for example - The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, The Verge, The Hindu, Fountain Ink, Outlook India, Live Mint , InsideClimateNews, DailyEnergyInsider, NewsWise, Down to Earth, Listening Brief etc. 

 

Prior to joining LBNL, Dr. Abhyankar worked with Prayas Energy Group in India where he analyzed the prevalent regulatory and policy issues in the Indian power sector such as reforms, rural electrification, tariff design, and RPS, etc. 
 
Dr. Abhyankar received a PhD from Stanford University in Environment and Resources. He has a master’s degree in Economics and an undergraduate degree in Electrical Engineering.

Awards

Societal Impact Award: IEAD Power and Transport Team -  November 18th 2021

Recognizing the pathbreaking research done by Amol Phadke, Nikit Abhyankar, and Umed Paliwal in decarbonization of the US grid and transportation systems which laid the foundation for the United States’ Nationally Determined Contribution and goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.

Spot: Power Systems Analysis Team -  September 02nd 2020

Extraordinary contributions to advance power systems analysis and capabilities at LBL

Publications

2022

Actions for reducing US emissions at least 50% by 2030

Authors: Bistline, John; Nikit Abhyankar; Geoffrey Blanford; Leon Clarke; Rachel Fakhry; Haewon McJeon; John Reilly; Christopher Roney; Tom Wilson; Mei Yuan, and Alicia Zhao.
05/2022

Feasibility and Impact of Biomass and Renewable Energy Hybrid Systems

Authors: Khandekar, Aditya; Shruti M. Deorah, and Nikit Abhyankar.
03/2022

Pathways for Electrification of South Asia’s Transportation Sector

Authors: Deorah, Shruti M.; Aditya Khandekar; Deepak Rajagopal, and Nikit Abhyankar.
03/2022

Large balancing areas and dispersed renewable investment enhance grid flexibility in a renewable-dominant power system in China

Authors: Lin, Jiang; Nikit Abhyankar; Gang He; Xu Liu, and Shengfei Yin.
02/2022

Electricity demand in South Asia – data gaps and pathways for research and modeling

Authors: Karali, Nihan; Nikit Abhyankar, and Shruti M. Deorah.
02/2022

2021

Policy and Regulatory Recommendations to Support a Least-Cost Pathway for India’s Power Sector

Authors: Kahrl, Fredrich; Shruti M. Deorah; Lakshmi Alagappan; Paul M. Sotkiewicz, and Nikit Abhyankar.
12/2021

Assessing the Key Requirements for 450 GW of Renewable Capacity in India by 2030

Authors: Deorah, Shruti M.; Nikit Abhyankar; Siddharth Arora; Kanika Chawla, and Amol A. Phadke.
12/2021

Least-Cost Pathway for India’s Power System Investments through 2030

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Shruti M. Deorah, and Amol A. Phadke.
12/2021

Enhancing grid flexibility under scenarios of a renewable-dominant power system in China

Authors: Lin, Jiang; Nikit Abhyankar; Gang He; Xu Liu, and Shengfei Yin.
08/2021

Illustrative Strategies for the United States to Achieve 50% Emissions Reduction by 2030

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Priyanka Mohanty, and Amol A. Phadke.
04/2021

2030 Report: Powering America's Clean Economy

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Umed Paliwal; Taylor McNair; David Wooley; Michael O’Boyle, and Amol A. Phadke.
04/2021

2035 The Report: Plummeting Costs and Dramatic Improvements In Batteries Can Accelerate Our Clean Transportation Future

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Nikit Abhyankar; Jessica Kersey; Taylor McNair; Umed Paliwal; David Wooley; Olivia Ashmoore; Robbie Orvis; Michael O’Boyle; Ric O’Connell; Utkarsha Agwan; Priyanka Mohanty; Priya Sreedharan, and Deepak Rajagopal.
04/2021

Why Regional and Long-Haul Trucks are Primed for Electrification Now

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Aditya Khandekar; Nikit Abhyankar; David Wooley, and Deepak Rajagopal.
03/2021

2020

2035 The Report: Plummeting Solar, Wind, And Battery Costs Can Accelerate Our Clean Electricity Future

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Umed Paliwal; Nikit Abhyankar; Taylor McNair; Ben Paulos; David Wooley, and Ric O'Connell.
06/2020

Estimating the Cost of Grid-Scale Lithium-Ion Battery Storage in India

Authors: Deorah, Shruti M.; Nikit Abhyankar; Siddharth Arora; Ashwin Gambhir, and Amol A. Phadke.
04/2020

Rapid cost decrease of renewable energy and storage offers an opportunity to accelerate the decarbonization of China’s power system

Authors: He, Gang; Jiang Lin; Froylan Sifuentes; Xu Liu; Nikit Abhyankar, and Amol A. Phadke.
03/2020

Rapid cost decrease of renewable energy and storage offers an opportunity to accelerate the decarbonization of China’s power system

Authors: He, Gang; Jiang Lin; Froylan Sifuentes; Xu Liu; Nikit Abhyankar, and Amol A. Phadke.
03/2020

EMPIRICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLIANCE-LEVEL LOAD SHAPE AND DEMAND RESPONSE POTENTIAL IN INDIA

Authors: Karali, Nihan; Nikit Abhyankar, and Aditya Khandekar.
02/2020

Economic and environmental benefits of market-based power-system reform in China: A case study of the Southern grid system

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Jiang Lin; Xu Liu, and Froylan Sifuentes.
01/2020

Rapid cost decrease of renewables and storage accelerates the decarbonization of China’s power system

Authors: He, Gang; Jiang Lin; Froylan Sifuentes; Xu Liu; Nikit Abhyankar, and Amol A. Phadke.
01/2020

Accelerating the Transition to More Energy Efficient Air Conditioners in Indonesia

Authors: Letschert, Virginie E.; Sarah K. Price; Ambereen Shaffie; Won Young Park; Nihan Karali; Nikit Abhyankar; Nihar Shah, and Ari Darmawan Pasek.
01/2020

Cost-effective decarbonization of California’s power sector by 2030 with the aid of battery storage

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Nikit Abhyankar; Ranjit Deshmukh; Julia Szinai, and Anand R. Gopal.

2019

Reduced grid operating costs and renewable energy curtailment with electric vehicle charge management

Authors: Szinai, Julia; Colin Sheppard; Nikit Abhyankar, and Anand R. Gopal.
11/2019

Providing reliable and financially sustainable electricity access in India using super-efficient appliances

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Won Young Park, and Nikit Abhyankar.
09/2019

Grid Impacts of Electric Vehicles and Managed Charging in California

Authors: Sheppard, Colin; Julia Szinai; Nikit Abhyankar, and Anand R. Gopal.
09/2019

Economic and environmental benefits of market-based power-system reform in China: provincial versus regional grid optimization

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Jiang Lin; Xu Liu, and Froylan Sifuentes.
08/2019

Accelerating Cooling Efficiency in Indonesia

Authors: Letschert, Virginie E.; Nihar Shah; Won Young Park; Nihan Karali; Ambereen Shaffie; Sarah K. Price; Nikit Abhyankar; Ari Darmawan Pasek; Edi Sartono; Hari Kusmardianto, and Andi Novianto.
06/2019

Modeling India’s energy future using a bottom-up approach

Authors: de la Rue du Can, Stephane; Aditya Khandekar; Nikit Abhyankar; Nina Khanna; David Fridley; Nan Zhou, and Amol A. Phadke.
03/2019

Improving fuel efficiency for heavy-duty vehicles of 3.5–12 tonnes in India: Benefits, costs, and environmental impacts

Authors: Karali, Nihan; Nikit Abhyankar; Ben Sharpe, and Anup Bandivadekar.
02/2019

2018

The Case for All New City Buses in India to be Electric

Authors: Khandekar, Aditya; Deepak Rajagopal; Nikit Abhyankar; Shruti M. Deorah, and Amol A. Phadke.
12/2018

Leapfrogging to Electric and Smart Vehicles: Key Challenges and Opportunities

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit.
09/2018

The 1,000 Power Plant Question:Cooling the Planet Sustainably

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit.
09/2018

2017

Assessing the Cost-Effective Energy Saving Potential from Top-10 Appliances in India

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Nihar Shah; Virginie E. Letschert, and Amol A. Phadke.
09/2017

GREENING THE GRID: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India’s Electric Grid, Vol. I—National Study EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Authors: Palchak, David; Jaquelin Cochran; Ranjit Deshmukh; Ali Ehlen; Sushil Kumar Soonee; S.R. Narasimhan; Mohit Joshi; Brendan McBennett; Michael Milligan; Priya Sreedharan; Ilya Chernyakhovskiy, and Nikit Abhyankar.
06/2017

GREENING THE GRID: Pathways to Integrate 175 Gigawatts of Renewable Energy into India’s Electric Grid, Vol. I—National Study

Authors: Palchak, David; Jaquelin Cochran; Ranjit Deshmukh; Ali Ehlen; Sushil Kumar Soonee; S.R. Narasimhan; Mohit Joshi; Brendan McBennett; Michael Milligan; Priya Sreedharan; Ilya Chernyakhovskiy, and Nikit Abhyankar.
06/2017

Techno-Economic Assessment of Deep Electrification of Passenger Vehicles in India

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Anand R. Gopal; Colin Sheppard; Won Young Park, and Amol A. Phadke.
05/2017

TEST: Sb–Cu–Li electrochromic mirrors

Authors: Liu, Gao; Thomas J. Richardson, and Nikit Abhyankar.
05/2017

Data for development: The case for an Indian energy information administration

Authors: Rai, Varun; Rahul Tongia; Gireesh Shrimali, and Nikit Abhyankar.
03/2017

Technical and Economic Aspects of Designing an Efficient Room Air-Conditioner Program in India

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Nihar Shah; Amol A. Phadke, and Won Young Park.

Accelerating Energy Efficiency Improvements in Room Air Conditioners in India: Potential, Costs-Benefits, and Policies

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Nihar Shah; Won Young Park, and Amol A. Phadke.

2016

Techno-Economic Assessment of Integrating 175GW of Renewable Energy into the Indian Grid by 2022

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Nikit Abhyankar, and Ranjit Deshmukh.
12/2016

Cost-Benefit of Improving the Efficiency of Room Air Conditioners (Inverter and Fixed Speed) in India

Authors: Shah, Nihar; Nikit Abhyankar; Won Young Park; Amol A. Phadke; Saurabh Diddi; Deepanshu Ahuja; P.K. Mukherjee, and Archana Walia.
06/2016

2015

Battery electric vehicles can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make renewable energy cheaper in India

Authors: Gopal, Anand R.; Maggie Witt; Nikit Abhyankar; Colin Sheppard, and Andrew Harris.
06/2015

Considerations in Standardization for Demand Response Ready Air Conditioners in India

Authors: Shah, Nihar; Nikit Abhyankar; Amol A. Phadke, and Girish Ghatikar.
03/2015

2014

Empirical Analysis of the Variability of Wind Generation in India: Implications for Grid Integration

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Nikit Abhyankar, and Poorvi Rao.
06/2014

Avoiding 100 New Power Plants by Increasing Efficiency of Room Air Conditioners in India: Opportunities and Challenges

Authors: Phadke, Amol A.; Nikit Abhyankar, and Nihar Shah.

2013

Modeling Clean and Secure Energy Scenarios for the Indian Power Sector in 2030

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit; Amol A. Phadke; Jayant A. Sathaye; Ranjit Bharvirkar; Alissa K. Johnson; Ranjit Deshmukh; Cathie Murray; Bob Lieberman, and Ajith Raoc.
05/2013

2011

Impact of Large Scale Energy Efficiency Programs On Consumer Tariffs and Utility Finances in India

Authors: Abhyankar, Nikit, and Amol A. Phadke.
01/2011