Optimizing Collaborative Energy Storage Systems, with Ogechi Vivian Nwadiaru, UMass Amherst

This New Energy talk from October 12, 2022, features Ogechi Vivian Nwadiaru, PhD student and NRT/ELEVATE Fellow, UMass Amherst and is moderated by Sarah Kelly, Irving Institute Research Associate and Lecturer, Dept. of Geography
About the Talk:
To support the delivery of an equitable and just transition, it is imperative to study models of ownership that can sustainably promote adoption. The aim of the study is to assess the benefits of co-operatively owned and operated storage systems. The underlying hypothesis is that there is a monetary and non-monetary value to residential storage. The hypothesis is built on the flexibility offered by storage as a demand response asset, which can be used by residents in price-based demand response programs and equally provides consumers with increased autonomy and reduced cost.
About the Presenter:
Vivian Ogechi Nwadiaru received her bachelor's in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering and an MS in Energy Engineering. Before joining UMass Amherst as a Ph.D. student, she completed an International Climate Protection Research Fellowship funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation at the Technical University of Berlin and the University of Oxford, investigating Nigeria's energy transition and proliferation of fossil backup generators. Her research with ELEVATE explores equitable demand response strategies, such as pricing schemes for deploying solar and storage technologies to reduce cost and improve reliability in low-income communities.