Distributed Energy Resources for Disaster Resilience to Hurricanes in a Changing Climate

Abstract:

Distributed energy resources (DERs) are expected to increase the resilience of modern power systems to natural disasters by introducing multiple power-generation and -storage units close to the users. However, very few studies have focused on capturing the behavior of DERs during natural disasters to understand its true benefit and potential. This presentation will show findings from investigating solar generation during hurricanes under present and projected future climates to close this research gap. Exposed to high wind conditions and lower solar irradiance levels, solar panels can have drastically reduced capacity to generate energy. We present a methodology that combines hurricane hazard and vulnerability assessments with a newly proposed model to track irradiance decay during hurricanes. Our methodology is applied to the entire East and Gulf Coasts of the United States to highlight hotspots where solar generation is at the highest risk. We also analyze solar generation during hurricanes in future climate conditions to show the landscape of solar generation under climate change.