RAPID: Transportable Energy Storage for Enhancing Power Grid Resiliency to Natural Disasters

New York University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

This project is motivated by the society-scale urgency of reducing the impact of natural disasters on power grids in the light of increasing frequency and damage of hurricane strikes in the US Atlantic and Gulf Coast region. One way to enhance the ability of power grid operators to withstand such disasters is to ensure availability of backup flexibility resources that can be timely deployed prior to the disaster. This flexibility can then be used to prevent critical equipment failures during the disaster and to accelerate post-disaster grid restoration. This project will develop and validate the concept of mobile energy storage (ES) units that can provide backup flexibility to power grids. Provided a timely disaster scenario, these units can be moved using public transportation routes from their stationary locations to the locations, where they can enhance power grid resiliency. This objective requires addressing two immediate research gaps. First, there is no decision-making strategy that can optimally route, reconfigure and control mobile ES units as needed to reduce the impact of the anticipated disaster. Second, existing ES technologies makes it difficult to reconfigure ES units on a short notice. Using the real-life predictions and ex-post data from Hurricane Harvey, this project will design a data-driven approach to enable the optimal routing, reconfigure and control of mobile ES units to enhance power grid resiliency. The proposed approach will be accompanied by the development of a new electrochemical ES mechanism that is capable of generating two transportable energy carriers: redox-active species (such as those used on redox flow batteries) and hydrogen (e.g. available in refineries along the US Gulf Coast). Methodologically, this project will advance techniques for solving multi-stage optimization problems with binary recourse decisions and grid-scale energy storage mechanisms based on electrochemical water splitting reactions with solution-based redox couples as intermediates for water electrolysis. The project will enhance the tool set and knowledge to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and will be made available to educate power grid utilities just in time for the following Atlantic Hurricane Season (2018). The PIs will aim to engage underrepresented groups in STEM research activities.