Sandia helps Puerto Rico grid resilience

The days and weeks following a natural disaster are a critical time for residents, emergency response teams, and government entities to recover and rebuild infrastructure.

Example of a substation to be used in a Puerto Rico microgrid. (Photo by Robert Broderick)

Recovery can be time-consuming, and rebuilding after disaster presents a critical juncture that requires methodical planning; however, few communities rebuild with resilience in mind.

Sandia’s microgrid team hopes to change that.

The Sandia-developed Microgrid Design Toolkit (MDT) characterizes the tradespace and supplies a what-if analysis of design choices to provide quantitative insights to decision makers for hybrid energy solutions. Using MDT, utilities or other community stakeholders, such as universities, can identify vulnerabilities in infrastructure particularly susceptible to natural disasters and related consequences. Cities and communities can then use the model to inform future building plans, policies, and emergency response plans.

Click here to read the entire Lab News article and how Sandia developments will be used to help Puerto Rico recover from storm damage.