Stephen Comello is the director of the Energy Business Innovations focus area at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a senior research fellow at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy, Policy and Finance at Stanford University. He is also a techno-economic and policy lead for Stanford University’s Bits & Watts Initiative and StorageX Initiative, and co-instructor for the popular Building Energy Efficiency online course. His research focuses broadly on energy technology economics, policy, and innovation. In particular, by applying tools and methods within finance, economics, and systems analysis, he investigates innovation and competitiveness of low-carbon energy solutions in both developed and emerging economies.

Research Statement

Stephen Comello researches the effects of financing structures, business models, innovation strategy, and public policy on the development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies. His work makes use of tools contained within engineering, economics, management science, and finance.

Academic Degrees

• PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, 2013
• MS in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 2003
• BS in Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 2002

Publications

Transitioning to Clean Energy Transportation Services: Life-Cycle Cost Analysis for Vehicle Fleets

Stephen Comello, Gunther Glenk, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Applied Energy. March 2021.

The Emergence of Cost Effective Battery Storage

Stephen Comello, Stefan J. Reichelstein. Nature Communications. May 2019.

The Road Ahead for Solar PV Power

Stefan J. Reichelstein, Stephen Comello, Anshuman Sahoo. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. September 2018, Vol. 92, Pages 744-756.

Managerial Flexibility in Levelized Cost Measures: A Framework for Incorporating Uncertainty in Energy Investment Decisions

John E. Bistline, Stephen D. Comello, Anshuman Sahoo. Energy. May 2018, Vol. 151, Pages 211-225.

Carbon Capture and Utilization in the Industrial Sector

Peter C. Psarras, Stephen Comello, Praveen Bains, Panunya Charoensawadpong, Stefan Reichelstein, Jennifer Wilcox. Environment Science Technology. August 2017, Vol. 51, Issue 19, Pages 11440-11449.

Emerging Clean Energy Technology Investment Trends

A. Bumpus, Stephen D. Comello, Nature Climate Change, June 2017.

Enabling Mini-grid Development in Rural India

Stephen D. Comello, Stefan Reichelstein, Anshuman Sahoo, Tobias S. Schmidt, World Development, January 20, 2017.

Cost Competitiveness of Residential Solar PV: The Impact of Net Metering Restrictions

Stephen Comello, Stefan Reichelstein, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. November 16, 2016 (print version forthcoming).

The U.S. Investment Tax Credit for Solar Energy: Alternatives to the Anticipated 2017 Step-Down

Stephen Comello and Stefan Reichelstein, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, March 2016, Vol. 55, Issue March 2016, Pages 591–602.

Incentives for Early Adoption of Carbon Capture Technology

Stephen Comello, Stefan Reichelstein, Energy Policy, November 2014.

Firm-level ecosystem service valuation using mechanistic biogeochemical modeling and functional substitutability

Stephen D. Comello, Gabriel Maltais-Landry, Benedict R. Schwegler, Michael D. Lepech, Ecological Economics, April 2014.

Project-Level Assessment of Environmental Impact: Ecosystem Services Approach to Sustainable Management and Development

Stephen D. Comello, Michael D. Lepech, Benedict R. Schwegler, Journal of Management in Engineering, December 2011.