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How data centers can better manage energy use
A new study suggests flexibility in the timing of electricity consumption could lower consumer costs.
Jun 26, 2026
Knittel earns Professor of the Year Award
June 14, 2024
Faculty
Christopher Knittel
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Christopher Knittel is the Associate Dean for Climate and Sustainability, the George P. Shultz Professor and a Professor of Applied Economics at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Prior to MIT Sloan, Knittel taught at the University of California, Davis, and at Boston University. His research focuses on industrial organization, environmental economics, and applied econometrics.
Knittel is an associate editor of The American Economic Journal— Economic Policy, The Journal of Industrial Economics, and the Journal of Energy Markets. His research has appeared in The American Economic Review, The Review of Economics and Statistics, The Journal of Industrial Economics, The Energy Journal, and other academic journals. He also is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in the Productivity, Industrial Organization, and Energy and Environmental Economics groups.
Knittel holds a BA in economics and political science from California State University, Stanislaus; an MA in economics from the University of California, Davis; and a PhD in economics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Honors
Knittel wins IJIO award
December 1, 2020
Publications
"Who Bears the Burden of Climate Inaction?"
Clausing, Kimberly A., Christopher R. Knittel, and Catherine Wolfram. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. Forthcoming.
"Implications of Policy-Driven Transmission Expansion on Costs, Emissions, and Reliability in the United States."
Senga, Juan Ramon L., Audun Botterud, John E. Parsons, S. Drew Story, and Christopher R. Knittel. Nature Energy Vol. 11, No. 2 (2026): 240-243. Download Preprint.
"Flexible Data Centers Reduce Power System Costs but can Increase Emissions."
Senga, Juan Ramon L., Shen Wang, and Christopher R. Knittel. iScience (2026).
"Renewables and Electricity Affordability: Untangling Correlation from Causation."
Espiritu Argosino, Fischer J. and Christopher R. Knittel, Working Paper. December 2025.
"Using Machine Learning to Target Treatment: The Case of Household Energy Use."
Knittel, Christopher R., and Samuel Stolper. The Economic Journal Vol. 135, No. 672 (2025): 2377-2401. NBER Working Paper.
"From Tank to Odometer: Winners and Losers from a Gas-to-VMT Tax Shift."
Knittel, Christopher R., Gilbert E. Metcalf, and Shereein Saraf, MIT Sloan Working Paper 7349-25. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, June 2025. NBER Working Paper No. 33894.
Recent Insights
Press
Why climate change is costing U.S. households hundreds of dollars a year
From insurance premiums to energy bills, a new study from MIT Sloan shows how Americans are already paying the price of climate change, and climate inaction, driven by extreme weather.
Apr 7, 2026
Media Highlights
Press
CommonWealth Beacon
Our study didn't ignore grid costs. We measured them — and utility-scale solar lowers them.
Associate dean Christopher Knittel and co-author wrote: "A simple accounting check shows why our estimated magnitude isn't a stretch. In Massachusetts, fixed costs make up roughly 60 percent of total system costs, and about 13 percent of customers have rooftop solar and pay very little, if anything, toward those costs because net metering zeroes out their bills. When this happens, the fixed cost of running the grid doesn't shrink; it just gets divided over a base that's 13 percent smaller."
Press
The New York Times
Trump sharply scales back fuel economy rules for new cars
A paper by associate dean Christopher Knittel and co-authors argued that the administration's calculations contained major inconsistencies, such as in its assumptions about how consumers value the benefits of saving fuel. "If you do the analysis right, we found that revoking these standards does not save consumers money," said Knittel.
Press
Bloomberg
Soaring US fuel prices deepen pains of unending Iran conflict
In Houston gas cost nearly $1.10 more on August 31 than it did on the day before the war began, according to data from GasBuddy. A one-dollar increase in prices equates to $60 more a month for the average household, said associate dean Christopher Knittel. Rural drivers pump more gas, driving more miles in less fuel-efficient vehicles, according to Knittel.
Press
WBUR
With more fuel-efficient cars and EVs on the road, we need to rethink how we tax auto travel
Associate dean Christopher Knittel and visiting professor Gilbert E Metcalf wrote: "If the goal is to make drivers pay for the roads they use, the right unit of taxation is not vehicle ownership. It is miles driven. A household that drives an electric vehicle 3,000 miles a year does not impose the same road-use burden as one that drives 20,000 miles a year. A flat annual fee treats them as if they do. That is not a user fee. It is a registration surcharge."