Team: 3
School: Multi Schools-
Area of Science: Environmental Science
Interim: How Climate Change Affects Power Outage and the Distribution of Power
Team Number: 3
Team Members:
Nancy Avila navilad.735@gmail.com
Candis Canaday candisc101@gmail.com
Gwenevere Caouette gweneverecaoutte@gmail.com
Kyreen White hellu.kittycat2004@gmail.com
Teacher(s):
Sharee Lunsford lunsford@aps.edu
Sponsor:
Karen Glennon kglennon25@gmail.com
Area Of Science: Environmental Science
Definition of the Problem
With the increase of CO2 and heat in our planet, many issues caused by climate change have surfaced over the years. With added heat in the planet, many more power outages have been present. Around 90% of power outages result from failure in electrical distribution systems and poor planning. If poor planning and climate change is an issue with the power grid and its functionality, what can be done to further prepare power plants to transition into resourceful energy sources.
Our Progress
Earth’s Digital Twin is a digital simulation with live sensor data from the real world system which keeps the model up to date. Using this tool, one may be able to analyze what can be done to combat climate change. Digital earth allows us to simulate earth’s climate ten, twenty, or even thirty years from now. Scientists are able to understand how water moves through earth and use that information to understand the changes that take place during the years to come (spectrum.ieee.org). Tracking the earth’s climate could help solve the problem between the power grid and the rise in temperature. A program in Hawaii uses sun power to combat the continual use of energy that feeds into the CO2 emission. This program could provide a model that demonstrates CO2 displacement through emissionless power generators (hawaiianelectric.com). With the use of a digital earth and schools powered with solar power, one may be able to connect these devices to further introduce renewable energy as a main energy source.
We have contacted PNM.
We hope to find experts to understand the power grid and climate change. To further understand how it works, we will be using a computer model to demonstrate the power plant and its connections.
Coding Plan
For this year, our main coding language is called NetLogo. With this language, we will be able to demonstrate how a power plant works and its connections to individual houses. With increase in heat caused by CO2 emissions, the simulation will show the effects that take place when those two variables come into contact. We plan to use the coding program to demonstrate how CO2 is impacting houses and in return causes power outages that further impact the houses.
Expected Results
For the continuation of our project, the team hopes to gather more information. We will be looking for more resources regarding how the power grid operates, how it is constructed, and how it is affected by climate change. The team will successfully be able to demonstrate a solution to the power grid and the problems it faces with climate change.
References
Climate impacts and the power grid - blackouts, explained. Climate Nexus. (2022, January 21). Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://climatenexus.org/climate-issues/climate-change-power-grid-blackouts/
Gent, E. (2021, November 29). Can Earth's digital twins help us navigate the Climate Crisis? IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://spectrum.ieee.org/climate-models
Thompson (2021, July 27). Climate change wreaks havoc on the electricity grid. High Country News – Know the West. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.hcn.org/issues/53.8/infographic-climate-change-wreaks-havoc-on-the-electricity-grid
MacMillan, D., & Englund, W. (2021, October 24). Longer, more frequent outages afflict the U.S. power grid as states fail to prepare for climate change. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/24/climate-change-power-outages/
Navigation. Systems - pnmprod. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.pnm.com/systems
Sun Power for Schools - Oahu. Hawaiian Electric. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://www.hawaiianelectric.com/community-and-education/smart-power-for-schools/sun-power-for-schools
U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. Energy | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2022, from https://toolkit.climate.gov/topics/energy-supply-and-use
Team Members:
Kyreen White
Candis Canaday
Nancy Avila Do
Gwenevere Caouette
Sponsoring Teacher: Karen Glennon