Nina Peluso

Education

• S.M. Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2021. Concentration in State & Local Energy Policy
• B.A. Public Policy, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, 2016. Focus in Energy Systems; Minors in Complex Systems; Science, Technology & Society

Experience

2025-Present

Senior Consultant, Energy Futures Group, Hinesburg, VT

2022-2025

U.S. Department of Energy, Grid Deployment Office, Remote

• Supervisor, Project Execution
• Senior Advisor, Policy & Program Management
• Acting Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Advisor

2021-2022

Form Energy, Somerville, MA

• Policy Advisor
• Senior Policy Analyst

2019-2021

Researcher, MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, Cambridge, MA

2017-2019

Synapse Energy Economics, Cambridge, MA

• Associate
• Research Associate

2016-2017

Research Assistant, Utility Planning & Power Markets, ICF, Fairfax, VA

2015-2016

Research Assistant, Social Science Data Analysis Network, Ann Arbor, MI

2015-2015

Policy, Strategy & Advocacy, Intern, DTE Energy, Detroit, MI

Selected Projects

North Carolina Governor’s Office. Manage stakeholder-driven modeling to inform North Carolina energy planning, as mandated by state executive order. Lead project execution including scenario analysis and sensitivity testing informed by a broad array of state stakeholders. Ongoing.

Maryland Public Service Commission. Support the Technical Methods Subgroup of Maryland’s Unified Benefit-Cost Analysis (UBCA) Phase II, which aims to develop standardized methods to quantify DER impacts for benefit-cost analysis. Ongoing.

Oklahoma Sustainability Network. Coauthored statement of position on pre-approval application for $1.2B in new generation capacity. Assessed appropriateness of ratemaking approach considering impending large load integration, proposed resource portfolio, and procurement process. 2025.

GridLab. Managed drafting and collaborated on paper that (1) assesses barriers to battery storage deployment in Eastern U.S. markets and (2) proposes preliminary reforms to interconnection, planning, and procurement processes. Ongoing. Supported GridLab’s IRP Reimagined Roundtable which brought together experts and advocates to identify driving issues in resource planning. 2025.

Environmental Defense Fund. Drafted comments on Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) proposed guidance on Site Suitability Assessments for clean energy infrastructure and Cumulative Impact Assessments in historically overburdened areas. Proposed clear documentation requirements, improved mapping methods, and refined scoring criteria. Providing ongoing support through rulemaking. Ongoing.

Citizen’s Action Coalition (CAC). Represented CAC in tech to tech working group and provided feedback on modeling for CenterPoint IN’s IRP update. Supporting IRP comments. (Ongoing) Represented CAC in technical and general working groups and provided feedback on modeling and scenarios for AES Indiana’s IRP. Supporting IRP comments. Ongoing.

Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, Coastal Conversation League, and Sierra Club.Supporting assessment of rate impacts of proposed capital projects in South Carolina. (Ongoing) Coauthored comments on Dominion Energy South Carolina’s 2025 IRP Update. Recommended improvements to fixed gas assumptions, diversified resource modeling, and improved stakeholder engagement. Participated in and provided comment on stakeholder sessions. 2025.

New Energy Economics. Coauthored comments on Evergy Missouri’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan update, identifying modeling and planning gaps. Recommended improvements to cost assumptions, load forecasting and interconnection standards. 2025.

U.S. Department of Energy. Established and managed the Project Execution Team, responsible for project management, program evaluation, and data systems across the Grid Deployment Office, to execute over $22B in federal funding. 2023-2025.

U.S. Department of Energy. Led community benefits plan (CBP) implementation across the Grid Deployment Office. Reviewed applications, trained evaluators, led negotiations for $1B+ award with major utility, and drafted regulatory text related to energy & environmental justice. 2022-2025.

U.S. Department of Energy. Oversaw major rulemaking and managed implementation of the Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations and Permits (CITAP) Program to streamline Federal authorizations and permits for transmission development. 2022-2024.

U.S. Department of Energy. Fulfilled operational and political Chief of Staff duties for new office with 100+ employees. Facilitated launch of $760 million economic development program and selection and announcement of $5.9B in award, incentive, and capacity contract dollars. 2023.

U.S. Department of Energy. Led financial evaluation team for the Transmission Facilitation Program, with $2.5B available for interregional projects. 2023.

U.S. Department of Energy. Collaborated on program design, application evaluation, and award negotiation for the Civil Nuclear Credits program. 2022-2023.

Form Energy. Led state policy development in New England and other Eastern Interconnect areas. Led successful state legislative advocacy campaign and developed positions on capacity value, storage procurement, and incentive programs, among others. 2021-2022.

Environmental Defense Fund. Consulting and writing on federal policy options to support an equitable energy transition with a focus on energy and vulnerable communities. 2021.

The Roosevelt Project. Lead author and researcher for MIT-Harvard research initiative related to a deeply decarbonized future. Research on regional industrial planning, automotive manufacturing communities, energy workforce, and the incorporation of equity principles into energy planning. 2019-2021.

New England Energy Efficiency Provider. Executed on regular ISO-NE capacity market strategy and supported strategy development for efficiency provider. 2018-2019.

Maine Renewable Energy Association. Led power system modeling of the ISO-NE region to inform research on the expansion of Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard. 2018-2019.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Maintained the U.S. EPA’s statistical avoided emissions impact tool (AVERT) in MATLAB, Excel, and COBRA. 2017-2019.

North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association and South Carolina Solar Business Alliance. Supported power system modeling for various forward planning scenarios in the Carolinas. 2018.

Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER). Led power system modeling for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Energy Plan. 2018.

Sierra Club. Led power system modeling to assess alternative portfolios following the retirement of the San Juan Generating Station. 2019. Led power system modeling on assessment of MISO coal fleet operations. 2018-2019. Comments on Michigan integrated resource planning parameters. 2017.

Avoided Energy Supply Component (AESC) Study Group. Led power system modeling for estimate of avoidable costs (energy, capacity, transmission & distribution) of the energy system in New England. Supported detailed excel model development. 2017-2018.

Earthjustice. Comments on Proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rules. Research on existing reliability mechanisms and coal fleet operations. 2017.

Food & Water Watch. Analysis of a renewable energy pathway for Los Angeles 2017-2018.

TANESCO. Built a ground-up database in the Integrated Planning Model (IPM) and ran scenarios in partnership with Tanzania’s governmental electric utility. Developed trainings for utility employees. 2016-2017.

Various U.S. Utilities. Modeled economic scenarios in the Integrated Planning Model (IPM) to inform long-term expansion planning and capital expenditures. 2016-2017.

Social Science Data Analysis Network. Researched geographical segregation patterns and complex systems theory, programming simulations in NetLogo. Ran weekly visualization series with U.S. Census data. 2015-2016.

DTE Energy. Supported the development of two major state energy bills. Compiled 30+ policy briefs and executive materials on electric and gas operations for internal use. 2015.

Selected Publications

Oklahoma Sustainability Network’s Statement of Position (OCC PUD 2025-000064). Prepared for Oklahoma Sustainability Network, December 2025.

Comments on Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB) Draft Proposed Regulations 980 CMR 15.00. N. Peluso, R. Jagetia, Prepared for Environmental Defense Fund, November 2025.

Comments on Massachusetts EEA Draft Guidance for Site Suitability Assessments for Clean Energy Infrastructure. N. Peluso, Prepared for Environmental Defense Fund, October 2025.

Comments on the Dominion Energy South Carolina 2025 IRP Update. Energy Futures Group, Prepared for Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, and Sierra Club, August 2025.

A Review of Evergy Missouri Metro and Evergy Missouri West’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan Annual Update. N. Peluso, A. Sommer, C. Pena, C. Hotaling, I. Urlaub, N. Jones, Prepared for The Council for the New Energy Economics, May 2025. Comments filed in Missouri and Kansas.

Electric Vehicles: The 21st-Century Challenge to Automotive Manufacturing Communities. Foster, N. Peluso… Environmental Justice Consultants, Center for Automotive Research, DTE Energy, Indiana University, Policy Matters Ohio. MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, March 2022.

Evolving Paradigms in State-Level Integrated Resource Planning. Peluso. Masters Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, June 2021.

Policy Options to Enable an Equitable Energy Transition. Raimi, A. Barone, S. Carley, D. Foster, E. Grubert, J. Haggerty, N. Peluso… & T. Reames. Resources for the Future, April 2021.

Transmission Transition: Modernizing U.S. Grid Policy to Support Decarbonization. Kasam-Griffith, N. Turkmani, M. Wolf, N. Peluso, T. Green. Volume I of the MIT Science Policy Review, December 2020.

Assessing the Role of Public Policy in Industrial Transitions: How Distinct Regional Contexts Inform Comprehensive Planning. Peluso, M. Kearney, R. Lester. MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, September 2020.

The Roosevelt Project. A New Deal for Employment, Energy, and Environment. Moniz, MJ. Kearney. MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, September 2020.

Playing with Other People’s Money: How Non-Economic Coal Operations Distort Energy Markets. Project Manager on supporting modeling analysis. Prepared for The Sierra Club, October 2019.

Expanding Maine’s Renewable Portfolio Standard: Creating Economic and Environmental Benefits for Maine. Knight, N. Peluso, C. Camp, P. Yuen, J. Gifford. Prepared for Maine Renewable Energy Association, May 2019.

North Carolina’s Clean Energy Future. Wilson, N. Peluso, A. Allison, Prepared for the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association, March 2019.

San Juan Replacement Study. Glick, N. Peluso, B. Fagan, Prepared for Sierra Club, February 2019.

Modeling Clean Energy for South Carolina. Wilson, N. Peluso, A. Allison, Prepared for the South Carolina Solar Business Alliance, January 2019.

Massachusetts Comprehensive Energy Plan: Commonwealth and Regional Demand Analysis. S. Hopkins, P. Knight, N. Peluso, Prepared by Synapse Energy Economics, Sustainable Energy Advantage and the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (MA DOER), December 2018.

Avoided Energy Supply Components in New England: 2018 Report. Lead electricity systems modeler on a team of 16 consultants, Prepared for The AESC Study Group (25 New England utilities, administrators, and advocates), March 2018.

Clean Energy for Los Angeles: An analysis of a pathway for 100 percent renewable energy in Los Angeles by 2030. Knight, A. Horowitz, S. Fields, N. Peluso. Prepared for Food & Water Watch, March 2018.

AVERT Fuel Type Analysis. Peluso, A. Horowitz, Prepared for Synapse Energy Economics Blog (Based on work for U.S. EPA), December 2017.

Comments on the United States Department of Energy’s Proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rules (FERC Docket RM18-1-000). A. Horowitz, A. Allison, N. Peluso, B. Fagan, M. Chang, D. Hurley, P. Peterson, Prepared for Earthjustice and 11 other energy and environmental advocates, October 2017.

Comments on Proposed Michigan Integrated Resource Planning Parameters. Horowitz, N. Peluso, Prepared for Sierra Club, October 2017.

Presentations

Community Benefits Planning for Grid Infrastructure. Energy Justice to the People Roadshow, 2023. On behalf of the Grid Deployment Office, U.S. Department of Energy.

Opportunities from the Grid Deployment Office. Minority Service Institution Technical Assistance Workshop Series, 2023.

Various Public Presentations for the Grid Deployment Office, 2023-2024.

Winner “Shark Tank” – Regulatory Style! New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners Symposium, 2022. On behalf of Form Energy.

Long-Duration Energy Storage. Michigan House Energy Committee, 2022. On behalf of Form Energy.

Various Public Comments for Form Energy, Massachusetts State Legislature, 2022.

The Decline of U.S. Lightbulb Manufacturing: How Distinct Regional Contexts Inform Comprehensive Planning. MIT Energy Night, 2020.

Modeling Storage for Long-Term Planning: Key Considerations for a Transforming Landscape. Energy Storage Association Annual Conference, 2019.

Modeling National Carbon Price Pathways in EnCompass: 2018-2050. MIT Energy Night, 2018.

The Avoided Emissions and Generation Tool – Webinar.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2018.