Several ERGies recently contributed articles to an IEEE Special Issue on “Electricity for All: Issues, Challenges, and Solutions for Energy-Disadvantaged Communities.”
Current ERG PhD students Jonathan Lee and Isa Ferrall collaborated with individuals in the UC Berkeley Department of Computer Science on an article titled “Review and Perspectives on Data Sharing and Privacy in Expanding Electricity Access.” The article examines effective data management practices in the context of UN Sustainable Development Goal 7: expanding electricity access to all. These effective practices aren’t only about protecting the privacy of individual end users of electricity. There is the potential to create real value through systematic data collection and expanding access to more stakeholders, and improvements require considering the position of each stakeholder. The review article, describes 1) the stakeholders involved in the data ecosystem of SDG 7, 2) the types of data at play and how they are being used (or not used), 3) potential value and risks of sharing these to each stakeholder group, and 4) data management principles to incorporate moving forward. Their framework can serve as a foundation for initiatives to engage stakeholders in responsible and effective data sharing.
Recent ERG PhD graduate Juan Pablo Carvallo Boledon published an article titled “Distributed Resources Shift Paradigms on Power System Design, Planning, and Operation: An Application of the GAP Model.” The article applies Juan Pablo’s unique grid and access planning (GAP) model to conceptually study investment and operation decisions for a power system with and without distributed resources. He finds that, contrary to the current practice, hybrid systems that pair grid connections with distributed energy resources (DERs) are the preferred mode of electricity supply for greenfield expansion under conservative reductions in photovoltaic panel (PV) and energy storage prices. Additionally, when distributed PV and storage are employed in power system expansion, there are savings of 15%–20% mostly in capital deferment and reduced diesel use. Results show that enhanced financing mechanisms for DER PV and storage could enable 50%–60% of additional deployment and save 15 $/MWh in system costs. These results have important implications to reform current utility business models in developed power systems and to guide the development of electrification strategies in underdeveloped grids.
As one of the guest editors of the special issue, Professor Dan Kammen played a key role in compiling this unique collection of articles that “highlight the current state of knowledge associated with strategies for bringing clean, affordable, and sustainable electricity services reliably to energy-limited communities, based on local renewable energy sources and storage systems.”
See the full special issue here:
Proceedings of the IEEE (Volume 107, Issue 9, Sept. 2019)