Education
2007
MPA, Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at the University of Washington
1988
BS, Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Awards and affiliation
2007
Pi Alpha Alpha, the National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration.
2005
Fellow, Henry M. Jackson Foundation
2005
Fellow, University of Washington Program on Climate Change.
2003
MacArthur Foundation Grant for Research and Writing (shared with Patrick Mazza).
Employers
2013 –
Hammerschlag LLC, Olympia, WA
Principal
2010 – 2013
Washington Department of Commerce, Olympia, WA
Senior Energy Policy Specialist
2007 – 2010
Stockholm Environment Institute – U.S., Seattle, WA
Senior Scientist
2000 – 2005
Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment, Seattle, WA
Founder and Executive Director
1997 – 1999
Electrokinetics, Inc., New York, NY
Project Manager
1995 – 1997
Digital Image Design, New York, NY
Project Manager
1990 – 1994
Boeing, Seattle, WA
Project Manager
Projects, 1999 – present
2024-
Environmental Impacts of Wind & Solar Energy. Develop programmatic environmental impact statements (PEISs) for the Washington State Department of Ecology, covering utility-scale solar and onshore wind energy developments constructed from present through 2045. As subcontractor to prime Anchor QEA.
2024-
Life-Cycle Assessment of Canadian Wood Pellet Fuels. Evaluate carbon balance of wood pellets manufactured in British Columbia and Quebec, exported for use in Great Britain. Includes quantifying impacts to Canadian forest carbon stock.
2024
Life-Cycle Assessment of Plastic Bottle Caps. Advisory role for a firm evaluating a novel manufacturing method for recyclable bottle caps. Ensure rational computational methodologies and ISO 14044 compliance.
2023
Corporate GHG Inventories and Projections. Advisory role to consulting firm Bridge Partners, supporting computation of GHG inventories and future projections for two large, technology-sector firms.
2023
University of Washington GHG Inventories. Advisory role to consulting firm Cascadia Consulting Group, supporting computation of calendar year 2019 and calendar year 2022 GHG inventories for UW, including medical facilities and including upstream emissions from energy and product consumption.
2022-
Vermicomposting Project Development. Compute carbon balance of dairy manure digested by worm-based biodynamic aerobic systems. For Biofiltro, Inc.
2022-2024
Launch Albedo Policy Development. Collaborate with NGO Climate Resolve to launch the Shine On Initiative. Includes facilitation of academic workshop on albedo impacts; science interpretation; journal article authorship; program workgroup facilitation.
2022-2024
Carbon Balance of Mechanical Vapor Recompression. Compute carbon balance of dairy manure processed to dry solids, aqueous ammonia, and water. For Sedron Technologies.
2022
Carbon Footprinting of Fuel Distribution Facility. Provide life-cycle GHG emissions of demolition and construction relating to a fuel distribution facility expansion, as well as life-cycle GHG emissions of customer fuels handled by the facility.
2021-
Biochar Project Development. Assist a biochar project developer with energy and mass balancing of industrial process design, and with GHG reduction monetization.
2021-2022
Cool Roofs Methodology Development. Develop a cool roofs methodology for approval in the Climate Action Reserve’s Climate Forward program. The methodology covers both an HVAC effect relating to the reduced demand for air conditioning energy; and an albedo effect relating to reflectance of solar radiation back into space. In collaboration with Climate Resolve.
2020-
Pipeline Gas from Digester Gas. Compute carbon intensities of renewable natural gas generated at various anaerobic digester projects throughout the U.S. for registration in low-carbon fuel regulatory systems in California, Oregon, and British Columbia.
2020
Methow Valley GHG Inventory. Compute 2019 GHG inventory of towns and forestland in the Methow River watershed. For Methow Valley Citizens’ Council.
2019-
Embodied Carbon in Building Materials. Review tools and methodologies available for assessing “embodied carbon” (extraction-, manufacturing- and transport-stage GHG emissions) of building materials. Recommend best practices for airport building projects. For the Port of Seattle.
2019-
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage. Implement heuristic model of carbon dioxide emissions and sequestration associated with deployment of bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS), including growth effects in harvested landscapes. For Nature Resources Defense Council.
2019-2020
Thurston Climate Mitigation Plan. Facilitate development of a plan to measure and reduce GHG emissions in Thurston County, WA. Coordination among a 33-member Climate Advisory Workgroup, five topic focus groups, a 15-member Steering Committee, and the Thurston Regional Planning Council. In collaboration with Cascadia Consulting Group.
2019-2020
University of Washington Sustainability Plan. Provide lead facilitation and analysis toward developing the University of Washington’s first Sustainability Plan. The plan is built around performance scoring accounted in the AASHE Sustainability Tracking Assessment and Reporting System (STARS).
2018-
LCFS Electricity from Digester Gas. Steward multiple novel fuel pathways through California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) carbon intensity certification process. These fuel path way deliver electricity generated with digester gas-to-energy projects at dairy farms.
2017 – 2018
Contribution analysis. Work together with ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, the City of Bellevue, and King County to develop a quantitative method for scaling drivers of change underlying GHG inventories of local governments.
2017 – 2018
Ground Transport Inventory Streamlining. Program a calculator utilizing best available data resources available at Seattle Tacoma International Airport, for estimating annual emissions associated with passenger and employee ground transport to and from the airport.
2016 – 2018
LA County Offset Projects Review. Work together with NGO Climate Resolve to quantify and evaluate GHG reduction projects proposed to mitigate emissions induced by the Newhall Ranch development in LA County, California.
2016 – 2017
Oil-Free Washington Support. Assess home heating GHG reduction potentials in Washington counties. Build a calculator computing GHG reductions from residential heating conversion projects. Negotiate policy strategies with a stakeholders’ coalition managed by Enhabit.
2015 – 2016
GHG emissions of waste management. Help a major waste hauler inventory operational emissions, as well as life-cycle emissions associated with hauled waste. Design GHG reduction programs, and develop institutional knowledge to assist the hauler’s customers with community waste GHG reduction programs.
2013 – 2014
Life-cycle assessment of wood pellet fuels. Assess impacts to the climate and to forests in the U.S. Southeast, induced by demands for wood pellet fuel from Drax Power Station in England. Includes forest vegetation modeling. For Natural Resources Defense Council.
2013 – 2014
University of Washington Climate Action Plan Implementation. Generate marginal abatement cost curve, and facilitate selection of proposed greenhouse gas reduction measures. Strengthen institutional greenhouse gas inventory process. Facilitate policy development around greenhouse gas targets, offset project development, and offset purchases.
2012 – 2013
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Performance Standard. Manage a stakeholder process and companion quantitative analysis to revise Washington State’s greenhouse gas emissions performance standard applying to electric utilities.
2013-
2013 Biennial Energy Report for Washington. Survey energy statistics and policy issues for Washington State. Includes literature review on greenhouse gas balance and costs of using natural gas to displace other fossil fuels.
2010 – 2012
Washington State Energy Strategy. Manage a stakeholder process and companion quantitative analysis to project energy resources and demands over a 30-year horizon, and recommend policies to minimize energy costs and greenhouse gases, and maximize green jobs in Washington State.
2009 – 2010
Consumption-based greenhouse gas emissions inventory for Oregon. Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions estimates associated with products and services consumed by Oregon’s citizens, businesses and institutions.
2009
Life-cycle assessment of alternative fates for forestry waste. Compare greenhouse gas and criteria air pollutant emissions from competing fates for slash resulting from Pacific Northwest logging operations. For U.S. EPA and Olympic Region Clean Air Agency.
2008
City of Seattle greenhouse gas policy analysis. Forecast impacts of existing and proposed policy instruments on the municipal greenhouse gas inventory.
2008
World trade modeling for forestry products. Apply global economic storylines to the GTAP trade model and scale down results to create scenarios for specific forests. In cooperation with Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
2007 – 2008
Washington State greenhouse gas policy analysis. Forecast impacts of existing and proposed policy instruments on the state greenhouse gas inventory. Includes significant work with U.S. EPA WARM model. For Center for Climate Strategies.
2007
Food, Feed & Fuels knowledge survey. Surveyed published and institutional knowledge on food and fuels pressures on land use. In cooperation with Dutch NGO Hivos.
2007
Meta-analysis of global land use models. Derive fundamental model parameters that determine forecasts of global capacity for biofuels.
2006
City of Seattle greenhouse gas inventory.
2006
University of Washington greenhouse gas inventory.
2005
Registries & verification for forestry offsets. Chapter author for a manual on quantification of greenhouse gas sequestration in forests. For Environmental Resources Trust.
2004
King County greenhouse gas inventory.
2003 – 2005
Energy efficiency and integrated resource planning. Represented the Washington State Attorney General’s office in proceedings relating to the integrated resource plans and energy efficiency programs of utilities regulated by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission.
2003 – 2004
Critical analysis of the hydrogen economy. Under a MacArthur Foundation Grant for Research and Writing.
2003
Seattle City Light greenhouse gas inventory audit.
2001 – 2005
Electric generator environmental validation. Validated environmental and energy specifications of renewable energy resources for the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.
2000 – 2002
State Registries Collaborative. Assisted the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the U.S. EPA to convene the State Registries Collaborative, providing state governments that are establishing greenhouse gas registries with a forum for sharing methodologies and experiences.
2000 – 2001
Life-cycle impacts of biomass energy. With Antares Group Inc. and NRDC.
2000 – 2001
Tradable renewable certificates policy development. For Environmental Resources Trust in Washington, DC evaluated possible roles of tradable renewable certificates in open and closed greenhouse gas markets.
1999
Emissions associated with distributed generation. For NRDC.
1999
Transportation emissions modeling. For NRDC.
Refereed journal articles
Hammerschlag, R. Bringing Albedo to the GHG Market. Greenhouse Gas Management (in production).
Hammerschlag, R. – Legislating the Highway Act of 1956: Lessons for Climate Change Regulation. Environs: Environmental Law and Policy Journal 31 (2007) 59-102.
Hammerschlag, R. – Ethanol’s Energy Return on Investment: A Survey of the Literature 1990-Present. Environmental Science & Technology 40 (2006) 1744-1750.
Pro, B.; Hammerschlag, R. & Mazza, P. Energy and Land Use Impacts of Sustainable Transportation Scenarios. Journal of Cleaner Production 13 (2005) 1309-1319.
Hammerschlag, R. & Mazza, P. Questioning Hydrogen. Energy Policy 33 (2005) 2039-2043.
Schaber, C.; Mazza, P. & Hammerschlag, R. Utility Scale Storage of Renewable Energy. Electricity Journal 17 (2004) 21-29.
Greene, N. & Hammerschlag, R. Small and Clean is Beautiful: Exploring the Emissions of Distributed Generation and Pollution Prevention Policies. Electricity Journal 13 (2000) 50-60.
Other publications
Washington State Department of Commerce. Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy: Transitioning to an Equitable Clean Energy Future. December 2020. (Contributor)
Stanton, E.A, Bueno, R., Ackerman, F., Erickson, P., Hammerschlag, R, and Cegan, J. Greenhouse Gas Impacts of Oregon’s Consumption: Technical Report. Somerville, MA: Stockholm Environment Institute-U.S. 2011.
Hammerschlag, R.; Johnson, F. X.; Lee, C.; Ziervogel, G.; Kemp-Benedict, E. & Kartha, S. – Food, Feed & Fuels: A Knowledge Survey and Framework. The Hague: Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries (Hivos) 2008.
Hammerschlag, R. & Schaber, C. Energy Storage, Transmission and Distribution. In Kreith, F. & Goswami, Y, (eds.), Handbook of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, CRC Press 2007 18-1 – 18-20.
Hammerschlag, R. Choosing a “Green” Car. Solar Today, Nov/Dec 2005 30-31.
Mazza, P. & Hammerschlag, R. Carrying the Energy Future: Comparing Hydrogen and Electricity for Transmission, Storage and Transportation. Seattle, WA: Institute for Lifecycle Environmental Assessment 2004.
Greene, N.; Hammerschlag, R. & Martin, J. From Plants to Power Plants: Cataloging the Environmental Impacts of Biopower. New York, NY: Natural Resources Defense Council 2002.