Dr. Chelsea Petrenko is an Associate Director at Energy and Environmental Economics, Inc. (E3), where she contributes to projects involving distributed energy resources, electric vehicles, and other facets of the clean energy transition. She joined E3 in 2021, bringing extensive experience in research design, execution, and publication, particularly in energy efficiency, distributed energy resources, and utility customer experience.

Dr. Petrenko earned her Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Dartmouth College in 2015, focusing her research on greenhouse gas emissions related to climate change and ecosystems. Her doctoral work included studies on the sensitivity of Greenlandic soils to warming temperatures and the impact of vegetative cover on belowground soil carbon dynamics.

Prior to joining E3, Dr. Petrenko held positions at Opinion Dynamics, where she led research on zero net energy buildings, distributed energy resources, and emerging technologies. She has also served as an independent consultant for organizations such as the International Council on Clean Transportation and Project Drawdown, contributing to studies on biofuels and climate change solutions.

In addition to her research and consulting work, Dr. Petrenko is an alumna and organizer of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute and a graduate of the National Science Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Traineeship. Outside of her professional endeavors, she enjoys hiking, cycling, gardening, playing music, and spending time with her family.