ERE & ISEP Webinar Series Vol. 16 - Energy Poverty: Measuring and Planning
February 23, 2021 12:30 pm - 1:30 pmThere are many decision makers and constituencies in energy system planning, each of which may make decisions or influence decisions according to their own versions of the desired goals. It is clear that the future electricity generation mix of the power system will change, but the most equitable solution will be based on a country's starting point, and their goals. This research discusses a new metric we propose for measuring energy poverty in the USA, called the Energy Equity Gap (EEG). We then tie this with an energy planning tools, which can help us design a more equitable system. The research team has worked focused in energy poverty in the USA and in Sub-Saharan Africa. There will be a discussion regarding stakeholder how the planning landscape varies in developed and developing countries. Then we will discuss our method for incorporating social equality into the sustainability analysis framework, thus displaying how social facets of sustainability impede or support an equitable energy transition.
Bio:
Dr. Destenie Nock is an Assistant Professor in Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE), and Engineering and Public Policy (EPP). Her research is focused on applying optimization and decision analysis tools to evaluate the sustainability, equity, and reliability of power systems in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa. One of her current projects include developing a framework for understanding the sustainability and equity trade-offs for different power plant investments. Another project involves quantifying the air pollution emissions associated with electric transmission and distribution systems. Dr. Nock holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she was an NSF Graduate Research Fellow, and an Offshore Wind Energy IGERT Fellow. She earned a MSc in Leadership for Sustainable Development at Queen's University of Belfast, and two BS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Applied Math at North Carolina A&T State University. She is the creator of the PhD-ing It Blog site which posts articles about graduate and undergraduate advice, and research updates in energy and sustainability.