Max Luke

Max Luke is a Consultant at National Economic Research Associates (NERA) with deep experience in the implementation of policies to deal with the evolving nature of utility business models. Max specializes in the economic, regulatory, and legal implications of emerging trends in the electric power sector. Max has analyzed the economic viability of electricity generators under evolving market conditions and tariffs. He has provided advice to regulators and policymakers undergoing electricity market reforms, and analyzed the impact of emerging technologies on electricity systems. Max has published and delivered numerous presentations on these and other topics. Prior to joining NERA, Max was a consultant at Kendall Energy Analytics, a firm that he founded to provide support to utilities and policymakers overseeing transformations in the electric power sector. Max was a principal researcher in the MIT Energy Initiative’s Utility of the Future study.

Max was a policy associate in the Energy and Climate Program at Breakthrough, where his research focused on a range of energy issues and topics including nuclear power, natural gas, renewables, energy efficiency rebound and backfire, national energy subsidies, and electricity systems. He is the co-author of “Lighting, Electricity, Steel: Energy Efficiency Backfire in Emerging Economies,” “Our High-Energy Planet” and “Coal Killer: How Natural Gas Fuels the Clean Energy Revolution.” During his time at Breakthrough, Max's writing was published in national media outlets including Politico, National Journal, Ensia, and the Energy Collective. His research and analysis have been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, the Huffington Post, Forbes, Conservation Magazine, the American Interest, KQED, and others. Max joined the Breakthrough Institute policy staff after completing a fellowship in summer 2012, where he conducted an assessment of clean energy deployment policies.

Max graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2016 with a Master of Science in Technology and Policy, specializing in economics, engineering, and regulation of electric power systems. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree at McGill University, majoring in Environmental Science (Honours) and minoring in Economics. Max is adept in statistical and mathematical programming languages including Stata, R, Python, and MATLAB. Max holds a certificate from Johns Hopkins University for his completion of JHU’s web-based data science specialization. Max is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level I Candidate.