Economist
Economist

Biography

Adrienne Rackley is an economist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory whose work focuses on the socioeconomic impacts of energy and building policies, with an emphasis on affordability, resilience, and infrastructure planning. She works with federal agencies, communities, and industry partners to apply rigorous economic and statistical methods to understand how energy and housing policies affect households, communities, and regional economies.

At PNNL, Rackley serves as principal investigator and project manager on efforts spanning energy storage, buildings, and nuclear and hydrogen infrastructure. She is the principal investigator for the Energy Storage for Resiliency Hubs program, where she and her team develop metrics and analysis to help partners understand the resilience and economic benefits of energy storage investments. In the buildings sector, she contributes to projects that use open data, cost models, and policy scenarios to characterize building stock trends and assess the rental affordability implications of building performance standards. She also leads socioeconomic impact assessments for nuclear and hydrogen projects, supporting robust, science-based evaluations under regulatory and planning frameworks.

Rackley’s work often involves turning complex quantitative results into clear written products, briefings, and visual tools for non-technical audiences. She frequently uses geospatial analysis and dashboards to help sponsors, local governments, and community partners interpret technical findings and compare policy or investment options.

Before joining PNNL, Rackley worked in affordable housing finance and global risk management, developing models to evaluate long-term funding strategies and policy scenarios for public and nonprofit organizations. Rackley holds a MS in applied economics from Purdue University and a BBA from Gonzaga University. Rackley is active in the professional community, including service on the board of the Association for Women in Science and membership in the United States Association for Energy Economics.

Research Interests

  • Socioeconomic impacts of energy, infrastructure, and building policies
  • Housing and energy affordability and resilience
  • Policy and regulatory impact analysis
  • Spatial distribution of costs and benefits across communities
  • Methods for translating technical research into accessible insights for non-technical audiences

Education

  • B.B.A., (with Honors), Gonzaga University
  • M.S., Applied Economics, Purdue University

Affiliations and Professional Service

  • Association for Women in Science
  • United States Association for Energy Economics

Publications

2024

  • Antonopoulos C.A., T.L. Fuentes, K.H. McCord, A. Rackley, and S. Biswas. 2024. "Regional assessment of household energy decision-making and technology adoption in the United States." Energy Policy 185. PNNL-SA-189245. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113940
  • Biswas S., T.L. Fuentes, K.H. McCord, A. Rackley, and C.A. Antonopoulos. 2024. "Decisions and Decision-makers: Mapping the sociotechnical cognition behind home energy upgrades in the United States." Energy Research & Social Science 109. PNNL-SA-187245. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2024.103411
  • Rackley A., H.K. Farr, J.A. Shipley, I.K. Van Dyke, K.J. Morrice, Z.E. Miles, and K.M. Jones, et al. 2024. Preliminary Workforce Development and Environmental and Co-use Management Plans for a Floating Offshore Wind Platform - CRADA 609 (Final Report). PNNL-36138. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Preliminary Workforce Development and Environmental and Co-use Management Plans for a Floating Offshore Wind Platform - CRADA 609 (Final Report)

2022