Tremont Brito, Rolando José

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    Microgrid design toolkit methodology for extreme events, hazards, and fragilities mitigation trade-off analysis for remote rural communities in Puerto Rico
    (2023-12-13) Tremont Brito, Rolando José; Aponte, Erick E.; College of Engineering; Darbali-Zamora, Rachid; O'Neill-Carrillo, Efrain; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Harmsen, Eric W.
    Distribution networks are often the first to fail during extreme weather events or other disruptions, making them a critical component of energy resilience. This thesis proposes and evaluates a methodology to implement extreme events, their associated hazards, and the fragility of power system components into a power distribution model representative of a rural community on the main island of the Puerto Rican archipelago. Mainly, methods from resiliency studies of power transmission systems are adapted to evaluate the effects of extreme weather events on power distribution and microgrid systems. The Microgrid Design Toolkit optimization software was used to develop the power distribution model and to implement the above-mentioned elements. Extreme events such as tropical storms, hurricanes, and earthquakes were integrated into the power distribution model. The included hazards consider strong winds from cyclonic events and peak ground motion (PGA) caused by earthquakes. Similarly, the fragility to these hazards on distribution lines/poles, and generation components such as diesel fuel generators, photovoltaic generators, and energy storage components, were incorporated. The necessary preliminary assessments of the rural community to develop the power distribution model are presented. A baseline model was developed to assess the effects of extreme events, hazards, and fragilities on the existing system of the rural community. Various mitigation methods were evaluated, including upgrading the existing poles, undergrounding the distribution systems, and the design and optimization of a resilient microgrid. Performance metrics and assumptions are presented to compare the different mitigation methods with the rural community's baseline model. Finally, the trade-offs of the mitigation methods are evaluated.