PPRE students Margo Stokebrand (SuRE 22-24) and Abdullah Abu Sayed (SuRE 22-24) present research at the University of Oldenburg’s Day of Teaching. The two students presented their findings for a simulated renewable based micro-grid in Puerto Rico and the system’s response to Hurricane Maria’s destruction.
For the past 8 months, Margo Stokebrand and Abdullah Abu Sayed have worked together to build a renewable based model of the national energy grid in Puerto Rico. Their project which aimed to evaluate how micro-grid systems could better distribute the energy across Puerto Rico in case of a hurricane like Hurricane Maria, came to a conclusion with their successful poster presentation and paper publication with the University of Oldenburg’s Research Center.
During the course of their work, they build a micro-grid model using PYPSA (Python for Power System Analysis). After simulating the existing energy production of Puerto Rico, they began replacing all fossil fuel generation with solar and battery systems. The model utilized a simplified grid structure using six nodes with each containing all connected PV plants, batteries, and loads within the node’s region. The model was dynamic and able to output results for various connection scenarios between nodes and focused on the isolated and partially connected cases. The isolated case was sized to ensure that surviving systems would supply ample energy during crisis, with the partially isolated case observed to understand distribution behavior across the country. In both cases, the model showed PV and battery fully capable of supporting full loads and a more resilient grid system. The poster with the project’s findings is displayed below.