690713 event 1781040331 1781040413 <![CDATA[Ph.D. Dissertation Defense - Amanda West]]> Title:  Addressing the Energy Trilemma: From Switchgear Dielectrics to Power System Optimization and Community-Level Impacts

Committee:

Dr. Daniel Molzahn, ECE, Chair, Advisor

Dr. Valerie Thomas, ISyE

Dr. Constance Crozier, ISyE

Dr. Sakis Meliopoulos, ECE

Dr. Johanna Mathieu, Umichigan

]]> This dissertation addresses the global energy trilemma—achieving equitable, secure, and sustainable energy systems—through a set of tools that integrates technical power systems analysis with energy justice principles across most levels of the electricity infrastructure. Foundational research on sustainable dielectric materials through supercritical fluid viscosity characterization supports the development of next-generation electrical infrastructure for environmentally friendly energy systems. Novel contributions include a multi-objective optimization framework for wildfire-related public safety power shutoffs that prevents disproportionate impacts on vulnerable populations, and an energy burden-based rate optimization that explicitly incorporates household economic constraints into power system planning. This work introduces locational marginal burden (LMB), a pioneering metric that bridges power systems engineering with energy burden analysis by differentiating electricity prices with respect to socioeconomic factors, alongside a fair load delivery model that uses bi-level optimization to maximize load delivery fairness while minimizing load shed. The culminating work presents a regenerative energy community framework showing how strategic investments in distributed solar photovoltaics empower communities to revitalize themselves economically, socially, and technically. Collectively, this dissertation provides power systems engineers and energy policymakers with quantitative tools to address energy justice concerns at every level of the electricity system while maintaining technical and economic feasibility.

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