Sandia’s Grid Modernization team for PR100 report receives Secretary’s Honor Award

A multi-laboratory research team, including members from Sandia’s Grid Modernization group, received a 2023 Secretary’s Honor Award for its contributions to the Puerto Rico Grid Resilience and Transition to 100% Renewable Energy Study (PR100).The prestigious award recognizes the Department of Energy’s employees and contractors who make positive, lasting impacts on the department and the nation.

“The PR100 project was a valuable opportunity to team across the national laboratories complex to support a critical priority for the nation. I am proud of our team, whose technical expertise in resilient distributed energy was leveraged to meet urgent needs for informing stakeholders in service to our national security,” shared Summer Ferreira, manager of Sandia’s Renewable Energy and Distributed Systems Integration group.

Sandia’s specific contributions to PR100 included modeling and analysis of electric vehicles, social burden analysis, and distribution system impacts. The Sandia team also developed a roadmap in partnership with local Puerto Rico stakeholders to identify pathways to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2050, ensure resilience against weather events, and promote energy justice.

Sandia also executed the contract that enabled the involvement of students and staff from University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez, in the PR100 project.

“UPRM student input — based on both their technical expertise and their lived experiences in Puerto Rico — was invaluable in guiding the project. Based on the findings of the Sandia team, especially by utilizing the PR100 Roadmap, stakeholders in Puerto Rico will be able to make informed decisions as they execute the energy transition to 100% renewable energy,” said Matt Lave, Sandia’s PR100 lead.

The Roadmap synthesizes the technical aspects and major findings from the larger PR100 study into action items that will inform stakeholders in Puerto Rico during the energy transition to 100% renewable energy. Sandia’s technical contributions and the creation of the Roadmap leverage Sandia’s electric grid research capabilities.

“The Sandia team, while also collaborating with partner national laboratories and DOE, actively engaged key stakeholders in Puerto Rico to gain their perspectives and insights on their experiences when developing the PR100 Roadmap,” explained PR100 team member Cody Newlun.

In February, DOE and FEMA published a summary of results of the PR100 project and the final PR100 report, including the Sandia-led Roadmap, will be released in March 2024. Learn more at PR100.gov.

The Sandians who were part of the multi-laboratory research team are Summer Ferreira, Matt Lave, Emily Moog, Cody Newlun and Amanda Wachtel.