Abstract:
The energy transition will deepen interactions between sectors, requiring models that co-optimize objectives across sectors. I will present three studies that co-optimize between different sectors. The first will focus on the intersection between the buildings and the electricity sector. Electrifying buildings using heat pumps is essential for decarbonization but may exacerbate trade-offs between the sometimes-conflicting objectives of building occupants, power systems, and society. To navigate these trade-offs, we develop a modeling framework that rapidly co-optimizes home energy bills, indoor temperatures, power system air pollution externalities, and the monetized cost of meeting peak demand. The second study will estimate the impact of controlled charging of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and vehicle-to-home charging on lifetime GHG emissions and homeowner utility bills. Compared to uncontrolled charging, optimizing charging and using EV batteries to optimally shift electricity purchases for other household loads, a strategy referred to as V2H, could reduce emissions from non-EV loads by more than EV charging increases emissions in 69% of U.S. counties, covering 62% of the population. V2H could cut costs by $3800 (5th-95th percentile range $2400-$5600) or 61% (37%-91%), and life-cycle emissions by 38tCO2e (24tCO2e-57tCO2e) or 89% (50%-150%). In the third study, we present a consequential emissions analysis of vehicle to grid charging of BEVs, which accounts for induced structural changes in the power system. This induced investment reverses V2G’s emission effects: estimates ignoring capacity changes show BEVs increase grid emissions externalities by $240–610 per BEV-year, whereas estimates accounting for induced renewable investments show adding BEVs reduces grid emission externalities by $2200 per BEV-year with V2G.

Biography:
Parth Vaishnav is an Assistant Professor of Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan. His research aims to understand how technology can ameliorate the environmental and human health consequences of energy production and use, promoting energy and environmental justice. His work has been published in Nature Energy, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Environmental Science & Technology, and Nature Materials. It has been discussed in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Popular Science. He holds a PhD in Engineering & Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon University, and an MPhil in Technology Policy from Cambridge University.