With increased renewable energy, natural gas power plants have become key players due to their relatively low fuel costs and ability to ramp up in response to changes in wind and solar resources. The focus of this project is to develop computational models that will evaluate the impact of increased renewable adoption on New England’ s coupled electric-natural gas system. I will examine whether the current natural gas infrastructure is appropriately sized and operated to fulfill shortfalls in renewable generation. Both physical and economic system domains will be studied, with a focus on developing recommendations to more efficiently manage the joint electricity-natural gas system and accommodate the growth of renewable generation.

I hope to gain experience in modeling and optimizing energy systems. I hope to apply knowledge about energy economics from my Energy Economics and Policy class, about the electric grid from my Fundamentals of Smart and Resilient Grids class, and on modeling physical systems my previous UROPs and internship. This will allow me to gain insights on how one form of energy generation affects other electric generation plants and infrastructures.