Dartmouth Events

Renee Obringer, Assistant Professor of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State University will give our first online New Energy talk of fall term, "Investigating the Impact of Climate Change on Electricity Demand Through Domain-informed Machine Learning."

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About the Talk
Soaring temperatures and increased frequency of heatwaves have changed the way many people use electricity, often leading to higher consumption during the summer months. This trend is likely to continue as climate change progresses and temperatures increase. In order to ensure our electricity grid is prepared for these changes, it is important to develop accurate predictive models that account for climate-induced shifts in demand. Here, I will present results from two studies that leverage state-of-the-art data analytics to investigate the impact of climate change on electricity demand. The first study focuses on city-wide demand, while the second aims to evaluate changes in household-level air conditioning use. Together, these studies demonstrate the impact climate change is likely to have on the larger electricity grid, as well as the implications for residents. Understanding these shifts is a critical step to improving the resilience of our electricity infrastructure in the face of climate change. 

About the Speaker
Dr. Renee Obringer is an interdisciplinary researcher primarily interested in socio-technical systems. In particular, she applies computational techniques ranging from machine learning to agent-based modeling to explore the relationship between people, climate, and infrastructure systems. Currently, she is an assistant professor in the John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering at Penn State University. Her primary research aims to better understand the impact of climate change on energy systems by leveraging data analytics and other computational techniques. At Penn State, she is also affiliated with the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute and the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences.

About the Series
The New Energy: Conversations with Early-Career Energy Researchers series was created in 2020 to provide a platform to help advanced early-career energy and climate researchers share their research during a time when the pandemic prevented travel. The series has continued as an online opportunity to highlight some of the world's up-and-coming scholars in the energy and climate space.To learn more about the series and access videos of previous talks, visit dartgo.org/NewEnergy