Weekly Report 9

Friday 07/22 to Wednsday 07/31

Author

Parsa Khayatzadeh

Published

July 12, 2024

part one: Energy module:

Week 07 & 08: - We need data for energy sector within Navajo Nation - In time t, are they exporting or importing energy - For the forecast, national level is available and we need to develop future trend of energy sector for the Navajo Nation

Week 06: Energy: 1. Task: Start gathering related information (some works are done by Yordan) i) Projecting electric growth and its impacts - Projections of energy demand - by energy type and amount: 2. Task: Navajo Nation: Coal plants(?), PV solar farms
3. Task: Search the U.S. electric grid regions - Interesting topic: Import/Export of power for the Navajo Nation.

Week 6 outcomes:

  1. U.S. energy grid is consisted of 3 major interconnections and the Navajo Nation is located in the grey region of the Western interconnection. It means the energy distribution is done regulated and all utilities are managed by the governement.
  • How does it help the model design? It gives us a clue for the pricing mechanism for the area. However, there is a possibility that in the future, states vote for a deregulated energy grid system.

What should be done? (Top priority)

  • Energy sector analysis

Week 09 updates:

the goal of this study on energy sector is translation the impact of climate change on the energy sector and then translating change in energy sector to economics.

How do authors look at this two processes? - Climate to energy: global impact and local impact - Energy to economy: global study and local study

We are not going to track other paradigmic changes due to other dynamics.

However, is there any factor that changes the sensivity of Day 0 Wednsday:

  • Question: (w08) In time t, is Navajo Nation exporting or importing energy?

First: we should devide the reservation into on-grid and off-grid which thi percentage is changing over time.

For the off-grid:

As these systems are isolated from the regulated power distribution, power is not sold so that the power market is not the matter in this context. The amount of energy consumption could be usable to estimate the economic impact of the economy of household-installed renewables.

The consumption trend is not useful as there is no system for colleting household data overtime. We do not have access to any forecast and even historical data regarding the off-grid consumption. Options?

  • Ask Michael: alternatives?

Is there any data for electricity access rate in Navajo Nation? Or the number of PV installations accross the reservation.

Louie et al. (2023):
“Some homes are as far as 70 km from the grid. There is little expectation that the grid will be extended to reach all the homes, with the estimated cost exceeding $350 million (Bain, Ballentine, DeSouza, Majure, Smith, & Turek, 2004). At the present rate of grid extension, it will be 40 years before every home is connected (Gallucci, 2019)”

Energy Extraction Raised Revenues, Exported Power:
- link: https://www.energy.gov/indianenergy/articles/memorandum-understanding-supports-navajo-nations-energy-transition “But the Salt River Project’s financial decision to close the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in 2019[5] dealt a devastating blow to the Nation’s economy. Approximately 1,000 people lost their jobs and the closure also significantly reduced tribal revenue, impacting all facets of the tribal economy.””

Historical trends Forecast: transitioning away from coal to renewbales:

  • For the forecast: export the trends of IEA and make it usable fo the use and understanding:

  • national level is available and we need to develop future trend of energy sector for the Navajo Nation

References

Louie, Henry, Stanley Atcitty, Derrick Terry, Darrick Lee, and Peter Romine. 2023. “Daily Electrical Energy Consumption Characteristics and Design Implications for Off-Grid Homes on the Navajo Nation.” Energy for Sustainable Development 73: 315–25.