Motivation

There is a growing disconnect between traditional energy planning conducted at the state and utility levels, and individual energy decisions made at the household, business, and community levels. (i.e., distributed energy resources) This project can bridge this gap by involving diverse community members in energy planning, and by supplementing these decisions with comprehensive analytical tools.

Objectives

The Georgia Energyshed, or G-SHED, will develop a metropolitan energy planning organization that will be informed by an integrated modeling effort including technical, social, and community inputs. The team will conduct a series of simulations and use cases to assess the benefits, costs, and impacts of a variety of energy futures. The findings will be translated for a range of technical, civil, and policy-making stakeholders. The guidance will consider existing control authorities such that implementation can be made feasible and actionable, and that beneficial outcomes can be verified. The team will integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion into the modeling process, stakeholder engagement, and community outreach.

Participants

The Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) is the lead organization for this proposal and has two outstanding partners, the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and the Southface Institute (Southface). GT's vast experience includes conducting transformative convergence research at the intersection of technology and people, creating data driven models, presenting complex data in user-friendly dashboards, and convening interdisciplinary researchers around the world and within Atlanta to solve the world's toughest problems. ARC is comprised of the city of Atlanta and 11 surrounding counties. ARC's work covers a range of planning and program initiatives, including development and maintenance of the Atlanta Region's Plan. Southface is a community non-profit that implements sustainable, equitable, and scalable solutions in a diverse range of homes, workplaces, and communities.

Description

The team proposes to conduct the G-SHED effort via three distinct but interconnected tasks:

1. Oversight & Synthesis (GT): provide project coordination, integrate the energyshed planning and toolkit activities, and disseminate final deliverables
   Task lead: Richard Simmons (PI)
2. Energyshed Planning and Program Design (ARC, Southface, GT): establish an Energy Policy Committee, perform stakeholder engagement, and conduct broad public outreach
   Task lead: William Drummond (Co-PI)
3. Integrated Modeling & Simulation (GT): develop a tuned Energyshed model and toolkit informed by diverse community input, develop tools/guidance for public-facing groups. Impact. The team will develop first-of-a-kind simulations that combine technical energy data with diverse community input.
   Task lead: Jung-Ho Lewe (Co-PI)

Impact

The team will broadly share the methodologies and findings, and create a user-friendly dashboard for non-technical groups. The tools developed aim to accelerate the deployment of technologies, policies, and business innovations that can create a cleaner, more equitable, and more resilient energyshed.