StorageX Research Group Meeting – Engaging Water Supply System Storage As a Distributed Flexible Energy Resource

StorageX is pleased to be kicking off its monthly StorageX group meetings. The objective of these group meetings is to create an opportunity for sharing research updates, sharing of ideas, and for informal social exchange of the StorageX ecosystem, analogous to a research group meeting.
We invite the students, researchers and faculty of the StorageX Seed fund awards to attend and give a semi-annual update on their research. The meetings are held hybrid. Lunch is provided.
Speaker
Erin Musabandesu, PhD
Postdoctoral Researcher
“Engaging Water Supply System Storage As a Distributed Flexible Energy Resource”

Erin’s research focuses on the optimization and control of water system operations to provide sustainable, reliable water supply and treatment, emphasizing translational research aimed at decarbonizing water sector operations through energy load shifting. Their research leverages data analytics, visualization, machine learning, and interactive frameworks to support the optimization of complex systems.
Talk Abstract:
Water supply systems can function as energy storage by exploiting flexible pump operations enhanced by widespread elevated water storage reservoirs and tanks throughout the system. This virtual battery mimics pumped hydropower; in lieu of turbines that would reclaim the stored energy, the gravitational potential energy is used to distribute water to urban consumers. This project will investigate the opportunities and limitations of leveraging excess water storage in water supply systems as a virtual battery to store energy and reduce carbon emissions. We will develop a multiobjective optimization framework that analyzes the capacity of water transmission and distribution systems to provide energy storage services and reduce carbon emissions while maintaining the core objectives of water quality and supply resilience. We will also conduct a broader survey of water distribution systems to estimate energy storage capacity over a range of network characteristics and identify investment opportunities to increase the capacity or flexibility of virtual energy storage.