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Professor Konstantin Turitsyn
PI at MIT
Professor James Wescoat
PI at MIT
Professor Ameena Al Sumaiti
PI at Masdar Institute
In this project, the interaction between electricity and water distribution systems will be investigated, in three respects.
First, this project will investigate the coupling of the electricity-water systems. The initial study will investigate autonomous urban and/or rural micro-grids, wherein water distribution and consumption makes up a non-trivial portion of total energy consumption and has a substantial effect on the power network. The project will explore both feedforward and feedback control strategies appropriate for different time-scales, and develop new algorithms for quantification of the system security and resilience.
Second, the project will explore the potential of providing virtual storage services to the power grid via the water system.
Finally, the project will analyze the potential for rural water and energy micro-grids. Alternative microgrid configurations and uncertainties will be incorporated into the water-energy nexus model.
Efficient and secure water and energy services are essential commodities demanded in all types of communities. Water supply, seawater desalination, groundwater pumping, and wastewater treatment account for a considerable amount of total energy use in cities like Abu Dhabi, and energy production may entail water cooling systems, as can household thermal regulation.
Meanwhile, climate change and population growth are dramatically changing supply and demand patterns, thereby posing new challenges for the integrated network--dealing with both energy and water--to satisfy surging demand, sustainability conditions and economic development.
This project will benefit Abu Dhabi’s long-term economic vision set by the Regulation and Supervision Bureau in 2013 to improve the overall efficiency and security of the entire energy-water nexus in smart grid demand-side management.
