Policy implementation for microgrid implementation in Texas
- Conference
- Location
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Prairie View, Texas
- Publication Date
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March 16, 2022
- Start Date
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March 16, 2022
- End Date
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March 18, 2022
- Tagged Topic
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Diversity
- Page Count
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7
- DOI
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10.18260/1-2--39197
- Permanent URL
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https://peer.asee.org/39197
- Download Count
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637
Paper Authors
Olivia M Mills Texas A&M University
Jacqueline Estefane Torralba
Jacqueline Estefane Torralba is a senior electrical engineering student at Prairie View A&M University. She is currently working on learning more about the policies surrounding microgrids in Texas due to the recent 2021 Winter Storm that affected Texas. She is part of a program called Innovation X which is a joint partnership with Prairie View A&M University and Texas A&M University to help make more sustainable creations for the future.
Huei Hsin Lo Texas A&M University
A sophomore majoring in architectural engineering with a planned minor in Architectural fabrication and Product Design.
Madison Hawkins Texas A&M University
Lance Leon Allen White
Texas A&M University
orcid.org/0000-0002-1172-0500
Lance White is a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M University in Interdisciplinary Engineering with a thrust in Engineering Education. He is working as a graduate research assistant at the Institute of Engineering Education and Innovation at the Texas Engineering Experiment Station at Texas A&M University under director Dr. Tracy Hammond. Dr. Karan Watson and Dr. Pavel Tsvetkov are his co-chairs. He completed his M.S. in Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University under Dr. Yassin Hassan working on experimental thermal hydraulics, and completed his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at West Texas A&M University.
Xi Zhao Texas A&M University
Xi Zhao is a holder of Associate and Practitioner Certificates from the Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL), which is dedicated to improving the teaching of STEM disciplines in higher education. Ms. Zhao received a Bachelor of Engineering in Architecture and Master of Architecture. She is currently working on her doctorate in the field of building science, engineering, and design at Texas A&M University. Her research is partially supported by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) scholarships. In parallel to her doctoral research, Ms. Zhao teaches design studios at the architecture program as an instructor at Texas A&M University. Prior to that, she was a graduate teaching assistant for courses taught in the programs of Architecture, Architectural Engineering, and Interdisciplinary Engineering at Texas A&M University. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ms. Zhao taught Traditional Face-to-Face (F2F) classes. Throughout the pandemic, Ms. Zhao teaches by using various methods, including F2F with Remote Option, Remote Only, and Mixed/Hybrid.
Larry Powell
Texas A&M University
orcid.org/0000-0001-9525-0405
Filza H. Walters Texas A&M University
Filza H. Walters, FESD, FASHRAE, is a Professor of Practice in Architectural Engineering within the Department of Multidisciplinary Engineering at TAMU. With experience in academia and industry, and a passion for increasing success of women and minorities in STEMs fields, Walters developed the first ABET accredited baccalaureate-master’s architectural engineering degree program in Michigan and served as founding director. Currently she is webmaster for ASEE’s Architectural Engineering Division and serves in various roles and committee leadership in ASHRAE, ASCE, and AEI. With a focus on sustainable, net zero buildings, Walters has collaborated on studies, grants and industry sponsored projects for the US DOE, EPA, and Ford Motor Company.
Amanda Kate Lacy
Amanda Lacy is a PhD student at Texas A&M University in the department of Computer Science and Engineering. Her interests are broad, with an emphasis on applying computing to promote access to information and spaces, both virtual and physical. She holds a bachelors in Computer Science from the University of Texas at Austin, and currently works as a quality assurance tester for Apple.
Sarhan M. Musa Prairie View A&M University
Sarhan serves as Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Prairie View A and M University. His research interests are in AI/ML, computational methods in power systems and energy, control systems, computer
networks, and engineering education.
Tracy Anne Hammond
Texas A&M University
orcid.org/0000-0001-7272-0507
Dr. Hammond is Director of the Texas A&M University Institute for Engineering Education & Innovation and also the chair of the Engineering Education Faculty. She is also Director of the Sketch Recognition Lab and Professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering. She is a member of the Center for Population and Aging, the Center for Remote Health Technologies & Systems as well as the Institute for Data Science. Hammond is a PI for over 13 million in funded research, from NSF, DARPA, Google, Microsoft, and others. Hammond holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science and FTO (Finance Technology Option) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and four degrees from Columbia University: an M.S in Anthropology, an M.S. in Computer Science, a B.A. in Mathematics, and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Physics. Hammond advised 17 UG theses, 29 MS theses, and 10 Ph.D. dissertations. Hammond is the 2020 recipient of the TEES Faculty Fellows Award and the 2011 recipient of the Charles H. Barclay, Jr. '45 Faculty Fellow Award. Hammond has been featured on the Discovery Channel and other news sources. Hammond is dedicated to diversity and equity, which is reflected in her publications, research, teaching, service, and mentoring. More at http://srl.tamu.edu and http://ieei.tamu.edu.
Brandon RaShaun Beckwith Prairie View A&M University
My name is Brandon R Beckwith, and I am a veteran with ten years of service with the U.S. Army. I hail from the small town of Florence, AL, and made my home in Houston, TX, during my tenure with the military. I started Prairie View A&M University in the Spring of 2018. Now a Senior and with my strong desire to study Electrical Engineering, I am on the path to making a continuous effort to better the communities that help shape me into who I am.
Abstract
Various infrastructure vulnerabilities and the unprecedented weather across Texas in early 2021, led to the state’s ERCOT grid near complete collapse. This resulted in millions of people losing power for days in subfreezing temperatures and more than 200 people losing their lives. Therefore, the need to implement a reliable backup source for energy that the population can use in order to avoid immense suffering due to the increase of abnormal climate patterns is crucial. The last power outage in February 2021 left massive economic damage, estimated to be $130 billion in Texas alone. Despite Texas Governor Greg Abbot recently passing Senate Bill 2 as an effort to weatherize power plants it is still not enough to prepare for future extreme weather events. This issue could be resolved by the introduction of reliable emergency microgrids throughout urban and rural areas across Texas to power essential buildings in need at a decentralized level. In fact, Several cities across the United States have already begun establishing emergency microgrids. These microgrids could offer very low carbon emissions, create local energy independence, and motivate social capital within cities or towns in Texas. Despite all these benefits from microgrids, the most recent policy changes in Texas was the passage of a bill to counter federal subsidies for wind and solar power. There must be a change in these policies to allow renewable energy microgrids to be established in case of future weather or technical disasters. Texas, as it stands, may be the second largest economy in the United States, but the policies governing energy generation in this state are thoroughly motivated by antiquated energy solutions that offer little stability in extreme weather, ultimately rendering the state vulnerable in ways that could be solvable with existing technologies. This work will explore those options and various policy changes at local, state, and federal levels that could bring the electrical grid of our state and our nation to a new standard of reliability that meets the needs of Texans as a whole.
Mills, O. M., & Torralba, J. E., & Lo, H. H., & Hawkins, M., & White, L. L. A., & Zhao, X., & Powell, L., & Walters, F. H., & Lacy, A. K., & Musa, S. M., & Hammond, T. A., & Beckwith, B. R. (2022, March), Policy implementation for microgrid implementation in Texas Paper presented at 2022 ASEE Gulf Southwest Annual Conference, Prairie View, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--39197
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