Engineers Study National Energy Policy, Technology Impacts

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Ohio State and Ohio Supercomputer Center have received a four-year, $1.675 million federal grant to develop a computer tool that researchers, government leaders and the public can use to study and understand changes in energy-related technology, policy and pricing.

Researchers will develop a computational system called the Integrated Computational System for Energy Pricing and Policy, which models the national power grid. The system will enable analysis of various scenarios, including the cost of adding electric vehicles to the grid, the effect of various pricing and incentive structures for users, changes in the demand on the system and resulting environmental impacts.

“Concerns about our country’s reliance on fossil fuels have increased the incentive to reduce our dependence with solutions including increased renewable energy, energy storage, and plug-in hybrid and battery electric vehicles,” says Ramteen Sioshansi, assistant professor of integrated systems engineering and the leader of the project. “However, it is important to understand economic and policy questions regarding these new solutions, as well as resulting trade-offs in initial cost, local air quality, climate change, technology and energy independence. Other factors, such as locational differences in the benefits of certain technologies, need to be considered as well.”

The project is funded by a National Science Foundation grant shared by Ohio State’s College of Engineering; College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; and the Ohio Supercomputer Center.

“This award exemplifies Ohio’s leadership in linking higher education research to measurable and long-lasting economic and environmental results,” says Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. “Getting NSF recognition is a validation of the state’s approach to excellence as outlined in the 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education.”

Contact:
Ramteen Sioshansi, Integrated Systems Engineering, (614) 292-3932, sioshansi.1@osu.edu

Category: Research