EESOM: Electrical Energy Sourcing Optimization Model Department ...

EESOM: Electrical Energy Sourcing Optimization Model Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering Authors Jayson Bowlsby Shana Hoffman Nick Perkins Michael Rovito Advisors Peter Scott Walter Sobkiw Dr. John Keenan Project Overview The United States’ electrical energy sector faces a set of challenges that could undermine national security and destabilize the Earth’s ecosystem if left unaddressed. There is a clear need for a national energy system that is independent of foreign inputs and sustainable in nature. Questions such as when and where electrical energy is needed and how the resources that fuel its generation should be harnessed are integral to the development of a national electrical energy system. The answers to these questions are mutually dependent and highly interrelated. EESOM utilizes linear optimization to assess whether an independent and sustainable energy system is achievable and determines what the lowest-cost system would look like. The model ensures that electrical energy demand does not exceed supply and that resources-used do not exceed resources available while minimizing the total cost of the system. Issues addressed include: timing of demand and supply, location and intensity of natural resources, and energy transportation costs. Finally, the costs and capacities of various power generation technologies have been assessed and incorporated. EESOM’s output is the lowest-cost mix of power plants, including their general location, necessary to meet demand given the resources available. The model is capable of being run under a variety of scenarios, including carbon caps, enabling its use as a policy analysis and investment assessment tool. The most relevant finding is that the domestically available natural sustainable resources – sun, wind, and subterranean heat – are sufficient to meet more that double the current Unites States’ energy demand.