CIVIC-PG Track B: Co-Design of Integrated Energy and Mobility Hubs for Service and Resiliency

University Of Puerto Rico Mayaguez, Mayaguez PR

Investigators

Abstract

This Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC) Project aims to develop decision support tools and designs that support community-led collaborative initiatives to improve energy and transportation services. Recent natural disasters have underscored the vulnerability of the nation’s electric power grids and transportation networks, as well as the catastrophic social, economic, and environmental consequences that follow their failure. In response to this reality, this project’s vision is that communities, particularly those most vulnerable, must have access to tools that can empower them to collaboratively establish resilient, decentralized, clean power generating systems that meet their basic electricity needs and that can drive their transition to emerging transportation modes and services. To this end, the project will advance research on the design and implementation of integrated energy and mobility micro hubs that can provide support, even in the aftermath of natural disasters, to the critical services required to ensure the health, prosperity, and welfare of communities. In addition, the research project will explore the development of education and training initiatives to prepare the workforce needed to install and maintain the micro hubs. Specific objectives of the project include: i) create analytical frameworks and tools that can aid in the co-design of low-cost, clean energy micro hubs (i.e., small scale power generation systems) that support more resilient electric power services, ii) use the frameworks to co-design, build and install prototypes of the energy micro hubs in communities in Puerto Rico, iii) develop strategies that leverage the power generated in the energy hubs to support new shared mobility options, iv) and develop models for the implementation of workforce development-training programs that help communities to implement and drive innovations that address their needs. Lastly, using the experiences in Puerto Rico with the service hubs, the project aims to identify lessons that can help other communities in the continental US bridge energy and mobility gaps. The planning grant objectives are to: i) identify energy, transportation, and workforce service gaps in rural communities located in Puerto Rico, ii) explore to what extent collaborative energy and transportation hubs can address the needs of the communities, and iii) explore and document models and data that can be leveraged to advance the design of the service hubs, while also advancing new workforce development and business models associated with the multi-use micro-hubs. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.