NSF Award
2332104
There is an urgent imperative to tackle global warming, climate change, and the growing energy demand. The purpose of this planning grant is to initiate a new research effort that will contribute to the integration of renewable energy resources with building heating, air conditioning, and lighting systems. This integration will support the decarbonization of buildings, bolster climate mitigation efforts, foster cost reductions and support equitable access to resilient power systems for remote underserved communities. This planning grant is a first step in creating and sustaining a long-term multi-disciplinary research program at Tennessee State University (TSU), a historically Black university, that combines faculty expertise in renewable power, power grid security and resilience, and building energy systems. The grant supports the TSU faculty team in fully developing their long-term research plans and seeking partnerships with national laboratories and other universities for a multi-year collaborative research effort.<br/><br/>This planning grant aims to build collaborations and establish high impact research at Tennessee State University with access to industry partners and national labs. The planning grant provides an opportunity to strategically plan the collaboration's scope and align research areas related to the integration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and Grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) by assessing available resources and facilities. DERs have been increasing in popularity as a sustainable source of energy to combat issues that could affect future generations. Most sources of energy that are supplied in the U.S. are nonrenewable such as coal, and fossil fuels, which make up about 88%, and the other 12% comes from renewable sources. DERs can include behind-the-meter renewable generation such as rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) units, wind turbines, fuel cells, and battery energy storage. Buildings account for 75% of all U.S. electricity use and 40% of the nation's total energy and account for 35% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions. The large portion of energy use provides promising demand flexibility, resilience and energy saving potential. GEBs are energy efficient buildings with smart technologies, which actively employ DERs to optimize energy consumption for grid services, cater to occupant requirements and preferences, contribute to climate mitigation efforts, and achieve cost reductions. By establishing strong relationships and effective collaboration practices during the planning phase, the grant serves as a foundation for long-term collaboration between the involved research institutions. This sets the stage for future joint projects, grant applications, and sustained intellectual collaboration.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
