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About the ForumThe fourth annual University of Texas (UT) Energy Forum is a two-day conference led by students from across UT’s graduate programs. The Forum brings together UT faculty, students and staff along with energy industry professionals, government officials and NGO partners. The goal of the Forum is to showcase UT research and foster discussion between the different academic disciplines and energy related industries.

Table of ContentsSECTION .................................................................................................... PAGE

About the Forum ............................................................ 1

Volunteers & Special Thanks ....................................... 2

Welcome Letter ............................................................... 3.

Forum Schedule .......................................................... 4-5

Keynote Speakers ....................................................... 6-9

Panel Discussions .................................................. 10-23.

Texas Energy Research Challenge ................... 23.-55

Venue & Parking Information ............................ 56-57

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CONFERENCE VOLUNTEERSConference Chair | Clare Magee & Conference Vice Chair | Griselda Blackburn

FINANCE ................................................................................................................ Chair | Andrew Williams

LOGISTICS ................................................................................................................. Chair | Natalie Ballew

MARKETING ................................................................Co-chairs | Maggie Griffin & Eric Zimmerman

RESEARCH .....................................................................................................................Chair | Robert Fares

SPEAKERS ................................................................................... Chairs | Faith Martinez & Jason WIble

SPONSORSHIP ..............................................................Co-Chairs | Shawn Schmidt & Corey Howell

COMMUNITY DEELOPMENT ......................................................................... Chair | Margaret Cook

VOLUNTEERS

Alan BarrazaMiriam Anderson

Cindy TroyJulie Meyer

Abigail OndeckColleen Dawes

Jill KjellsonJP Gips

Krista Rasmussen

John Dinning John King Zach Greene

Allison Pace Carson StonesHannah Zellner

Jesse Libra Lin McGroary

Darcia DatshkovskyNicholas Harris Will White Prachi Mehta

David Cranston John A. MartinJonas TraphonerErin Keys

Kate McArdle Kristen CetinUmul Aman Carl Grote

Jamie OlsonStephanie Redfern Sam MaslinSean Pool

Brandon Duck Kyle Gabb Logan TusseyLandon Klein

Mario Bravo

Abhinav Singhal Caroline Bovay Emily Ashby

Akil ChittaluruAlex Dey

Chris Fox Elleen Scholl

Stevenson Bunn

FOCUS GROUP BREAKFASTS ......................................................................................................................

Ariel ShalinNicole Hughes

Matthew Kraxberger Michael Sciortino

3

to the 4TH annual UT Energy Forum.

I’m exceedingly proud to share that our conference is planned entirely by graduate students. We’re engineers, JD and MBA candidates, policy students and

earth science students. It was this diverse group that voted on the panel topics for the fourth annual event. The panel topics represent what we believe to be the most contemporary and urgent energy issues that the U.S. faces. These are the questions that our research explores and the concerns that we aim to address in our future careers.

The UT Energy Forum is founded on the premise that interdisciplinary collaboration is critical to identifying solutions to today's and tomorrow’s energy problems. The issues we discuss cannot be surmounted in an isolated laboratory, voting booth or boardroom. Decisions made in the energy sector reverberate in national security, the environment and the global economy. Our energy challenges therefore require substantial collaboration among the best and brightest from every sector of society. These are challenges that demand pragmatism and subject matter expertise, not dogma or ideology.

We are honored to host approximately 40 speakers and a dozen research competition judges who are among this elite group of pragmatic subject matter experts. While graduate students worked tirelessly to plan this conference, we are deeply grateful to our sponsors, speakers and research competition judges, who generously responded with their time and resources.

Lastly, the 2014 UT Energy Forum has always attracted extraordinarily well-informed attendees. We are thrilled to host each of you in the audience, who contribute greatly through your articulate questions. This conference wouldn’t be the dynamic conversation we intend it to be without you. Thank you so much for joining us.

Sincerely,

Clare Magee

Chair, 2014 UT Energy ForumPresident, Longhorn Energy Club

WELCOME LETTER

Welcome

4 FORUM SCHEDULE

5FORUM SCHEDULE

6 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Bob Inglis Executive Director of Energy and Enterprise Institute - George Mason University

Bob Inglis is the Executive Director of the Energy and Enterprise Initiative based at George

Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

Inglis founded and launched the national, grassroots organization in July 2012. E&EI is guided

by the conservative principles of free enterprise and economic growth, limited government,

liberty, accountability and reasonable risk avoidance to solve our nation’s energy and climate

challenges.

Inglis represented South Carolina’s Fourth Congressional District (Greenville, Spartanburg,

Union counties) for 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives (1993.-98 and 2005-10). He

was first elected to Congress in 1992 after having never run for public office. He spent six

years in the U.S. House and unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings

in 1998. In the fall of 2004, he was re-elected to the open House seat he had previously held

and went on to serve another six-year stint in Congress. In the midst of the financial crisis in

2010, he lost his bid for re-election.

Inglis grew up in Bluffton, S.C., graduated from Duke University with a degree in political

science and earned his law degree from the University of Virginia. He and his wife Mary Anne

have five children (a son and four daughters) and live on a small farm in northern Greenville

County, South Carolina.

7KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Don Santa CEO, Interstate Natural Gas Association of America

Donald F. Santa, is the President and CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America

(INGAA), the North American association representing the interstate and interprovincial

natural gas pipeline industry.

Mr. Santa brings an extensive background in government and in the energy industry to his

position at INGAA. He served as majority counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy

and Natural Resources from 1989-1993., where he worked on enactment of the Natural Gas

Wellhead Decontrol Act of 1989 and the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Mr. Santa was nominated

in 1993. be a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he served until

1997. During his tenure as a commissioner, he worked on major FERC initiatives including

Order No. 888 (open access rule for electric transmission) and implementation of Order No.

63.6 (the rule restructuring natural gas pipeline services).

Upon leaving the government, Mr. Santa joined LG&E Energy Corp in Louisville, KY, where

he served as Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning from

1997-2001. Most recently before joining INGAA, he was a partner in the Washington, DC office

of the Troutman Sanders LLP where he was a member of the law firm's federal regulatory

practice group. Prior to assuming his current role at INGAA in August 2003., Mr. Santa had

been the association’s Executive Vice President since January 2003..

Mr. Santa is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Law and the Duke University

Trinity College of Arts and Sciences. He resides with his wife and two children in Edgewater,

MD.

8 KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Sara Ortwein President ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company

Sara Ortwein was appointed president of ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company in September 2010.

A native of Houston, Ms. Ortwein earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at the

University of Texas at Austin before joining Exxon Company, U.S.A. in 1980 as a drilling engineer. In 1997,

she was named reservoir evaluation and planning manager for Exxon Ventures, CIS (Commonwealth of

Independent States), focusing on new venture pursuit and capture in Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

Following that assignment, Ms. Ortwein was named reservoir engineering manager for Exxon

Production Central Technology in 1999, where she led the corporation’s worldwide production reservoir

engineering program. In 2001, she became a corporate upstream advisor to senior management at

ExxonMobil headquarters in Irving, Texas. Three years later, she was named production manager for

ExxonMobil’s operated U.S. production operations.

Ms. Ortwein was named vice president of engineering for ExxonMobil Development Company in 2006.

She served as a development company executive until assuming her current leadership position

with the upstream research company. As president of ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Ms.

Ortwein is responsible for developing and maintaining an industry-leading array of differentiating and

proprietary technologies in support of the Corporation’s global resource pursuit and leadership position

in exploration, development, production and gas commercialization.

In 2009, she was honored by The University of Texas as a Distinguished Engineering Graduate. Ms.

Ortwein is a member of the Board of Directors for the Houston Zoo and Rebuilding Together Houston.

She is also an executive member of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas

(TAMEST), and serves as chair of the organization’s Industry and Community Affiliates committee. Ms.

Ortwein is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and serves on the Houston Independent

School District’s Energy Institute High School Advisory Board and the University of Texas Engineering

Advisory Board.

9KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

JC Shore Founder & CEO - Circular Energy

JC Shore is the founder and CEO of Circular Energy, one of the fastest-growing downstream solar solution providers in the southern United States. He actively directs the company’s expansion strategy and execution of its service & financing platform across both residential and commercial markets. Prior to Circular Energy, Mr. Shore served as vice president of Sales for Amdocs, a $5B publicly-traded Enterprise Software company serving utility and communications clients, West Coast Managing Partner of BusinessEdge Solutions, a boutique technology consulting company later acquired by EMC, and management consulting roles for nearly six years at both Accenture and Ernst & Young. Mr. Shore graduated from the University of Texas with a BBA in Finance.

10 PANEL 1

Wednesday 10:45am - 11:45am CONNALLY BALLROOM

Energy storage has risen in importance with the diffusion of renewable generation. Because many renewable

sources are intermittent, harnessing their production at times of low demand in order to increase capacity

during peak hours is key to their successful and widespread implementation. What are the most promising

distributed storage applications on the market today? What types of technologies are currently in development,

and how will this affect the storage market in five years? What are the factors limiting widespread deployment

of storage? How are utilities participating in the demonstration and commercialization of these technologies?

Future of Energy Storage

Susan Babinec Sr. Enineering Scientist - University of Texas at Austin

Sue Babinec is a Senior Commercialization Advisor at the Advanced

Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), guiding commercialization of

breakthrough energy storage technologies in the Technology-to-Market

function. She has spent her career focused on research in materials, electro-

active materials, displays, sensors, and electrochemistry, and recently has

extensive experience in both technology and commercialization of energy

storage for both grid and transportation. Prior to ARPA-E, Babinec led

several research groups as a Technical Director for A123. Systems, Inc.. Prior to that, she spent

the first 20+ years of her career at The Dow Chemical Corporation, where she was awarded the

Inventor of the Year Award and was the company’s first woman Corporate Fellow.

Mike Lewis Sr. Enineering Scientist - University of Texas at Austin

Mr. Michael Lewis is a Sr. Engineering Scientist at The University of Texas

at Austin's Center for Electromechanics. In his 15+ years at CEM he

has been on the cutting edge of research and development related to

high-speed motors and generators, as well as advaced flywheel energy

storage systems. In addition, he leads the Center's research activities

involving alternative fuel vehicles technologies, with a focus on all-electric

and hydrogen fuel cell powertrains and energy storage. Currently his

research team is developing a novel free piston linear motor compressor under a Department of

Energy ARPA-E award aimed at providing home refueling for natural gas vehicles and accelerating

market adoption and penetration of NGV's.

MODERATOR

11PANEL 1

Mark Hardin Director, Product Marketing - Xtreme Power

Mark Hardin has been working in the grid scale energy storage industry

for over four years since joining Xtreme Power in the spring of 2009. In

his current role as Director of Product Marketing at Xtreme Power, Mark

is responsible for identifying market opportunities for storage, working

with engineering and product development to design a storage system

that meets the market need, and interfacing with the sales organization

to communicate product capabilities and value to customers. Mark has a

bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of California Los Angeles and an

MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Michael Breen Chief Executive Officer - Xtreme Power

Michael is an experienced entrepreneur skilled in Raising, Investing,

Preserving and Optimizing the capital companies need to grow. He is

responsible for helping the company reach its market potential and grow

one small step ahead of how the industry grows. Leveraging 25+ years

as an executive and capital markets focused professional in Energy,

Clean Tech and across an array of other industries. As co-founder

and CFO of Xtreme Power, successfully led the company from its first

invested dollar through more than 200 employees and a sales pipeline in excess of $100million.

With deep network within the Clean Energy Venture Capital Industry with broad knowledge of the

market dynamics across the entire Clean Tech sector. Strong qualification in Finance. Member of

several Boards for Non Profits, early stage companies and industry trade organizations. Michael

holds a Computer Science degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in Finance

from University of Texas at Austin. Michael started his career at Deloitte & Touche Consulting and

worked as an investment banker for 10 years before Xtreme Power.

Clayton Burns Principal Engineer - Smart Grid

Clay Burns earned BSEE and MSEE degrees from Lehigh University, and

is a licensed Professional Engineer in NYS. He has worked in both the

steel and utility industries over the last 3.3. years. Since 1983., Clay has

been involved with many of the technical aspects of the utility business

including, generation, T&D, electric research, power quality, and complex

metering. He began working on National Grid's smart metering and

smart grid efforts in 2006.

12 PANEL 2

Energy startups face uniquely high capital costs and a resilient status quo. While venture capital

(VC) is more difficult to secure, private equity (PE) investments have remained above average

since 2006. How will fossil energy and clean tech investments fare as a share of the national VC

industry in the short term? What do these investments tell us about the long-term trajectory of

the energy industry? What kinds of strategic investments are oil and gas majors making, given

their perception of the industry’s evolution? How have federal policy and programs — such as

more stringent carbon regulations, ARPA-E and the DOE loan program — influenced the energy

VC space?

EVOLUTION OF PRIVATE EQUITY IN ENERGY STARTUPS

Rebecca Taylor Venture Principal - Shell Technology Ventures

Rebecca Taylor is a venture principal at Shell Technology Ventures

(STV) as a Venture Principal. STV is Shell’s Corporate Venture Capital

organization. Its purpose is to identify promising technologies that can be

applied to significant operational challenges in Shell’s global operations,

and selectively invest in the very best to accelerate their availability and

market acceptance. Learning from 14 years of experience in corporate

venturing, STV has developed new approaches to open innovation with

entrepreneurs and achieving operational excellence within Shell. I am thrilled to be a part of

this team. In addition to the standard sourcing, vetting and closing of a deal, my role includes

mentoring/coaching CEO and founding team executives on growing their businesses, as part of

a Shell investment.

MODERATOR Bob MetcalfeFounder & Managing Director - SURCE Accelerator

Bob Metcalfe is Professor of Innovation and Murchison Fellow of Free

Enterprise in The University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of

Engineering. Dr. Metcalfe was an Inter net pioneer at MIT starting in 1970

and in 1973. received his PhD from Harvard for “Packet Communication.”

He invented Ethernet in 1973. and founded 3.Com Corpora tion (now part

of HP) in 1979. Dr. Metcalfe has received numerous industry awards and

recognition including the ACM Grace Hopper Award in 1980, the IEEE

Alexander Graham Bell Medal in 1988, the IEEE Medal of Honor in 1996, the National Medal of

Technology in 2005, induction into to the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2007, and the Fellow

Award from the Computer History Museum in 2008. In November

Wednesday 12:15pm - 1:00pm CONNOLLLY BALLROOM

13PANEL 2

Clark Jernigan Venture Partner - Austin Ventures

Clark Jernigan, Venture Partner, joined Austin Ventures in 2001 and focuses

on hardware, clean tech, and technology services investing. Previously, he

spent four years with Cirrus Logic as Vice President and General Manager of

the Communications Products Division and Vice President of New Business

Development. Before joining Cirrus Logic, he spent twelve years in product

development engineering at AMD and one year as a Sell-Side Research

Analyst at Alex Brown, covering electronics manufacturing services. Clark

holds an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University, an

MS in Electrical Engineering from Rice University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from Texas

A&M University.

Charles Davis Managing Partner - Houston Ventures

Chip Davis is a Managing Partner of Houston Ventures III, a private equity

fund launched in 2011 that is focused on energy technology. He also

manages PEG I and PEG II, launched in 2004 and 2006, respectively, which

target growth-oriented technology, energy, and healthcare investments.

He has over 15 years experience investing in early stage technology

businesses, a deep energy industry network, and extensive deal

structuring experience. He is currently a board member or observer of

RigNet Communications (NASDAQ: RNET), NuPhysicia, Zilliant, LiquidFrameworks and Geoforce.

Prior to founding the Funds, Chip served in the Small Business Audit division of PriceWaterhouse

and the Tax Division of Arthur Andersen. He is a graduate of Washington & Lee University and is

a CPA in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Kirk Brand Coburn Founder & Managing Director - SURGE Accelerator

Kirk Coburn is an entrepreneur and start-up advocate who founded three

successful companies before starting SURGE Accelerator, the world's

only mentor-driven seed fund and accelerator focused on enabling

entrepreneurs to solve the world¹s energy and water problems. Under

Kirk¹s leadership and direction, SURGE has recruited over 150 industry

leaders, scientists, investors, policymakers, customers, and entrepreneurs.

SURGE has raised two funds and invested in 23. early-stage energy and

water startups in its first two years. SURGE Alumni have raised more than $18.6 million in funding,

landed over 75 enterprise and pilot customers, and created over 100 jobs.

14 PANEL 3.

Wednesday 2:3.0pm - 3.:45pm CONNALLY BALLROOM

Economic Ramifications of the Coal to Gas Transitions

EPA regulation is expediting the transition from coal to natural gas. What kind of grid capacity constraints could surface as a result of the mandates for coal-fired facilities? What will be the impact on U.S. power prices – and the consequent toll on the U.S. economy – from the increased exposure to natural gas pricing? How will the economics of both fuels be affected? What is the financial viability of this transition, and what project financing strategies exist to support it? Along what time horizon should this transition occur, and what would be the impact of EPA regulations being finalized in 2015?

MODERATOR Frank Wolak Director of Program on Energy & Sustainable Development at Stanford University

Frank Wolak is the Holbrook Working Professor of Commodity Price

Studies in the Economics Department and the Director of the Program

on Energy and Sustainable Development at Stanford University. He

received his undergraduate degree from Rice University, and an S.M. in

Applied Mathematics and Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University.

He specializes in the study of privatization, competition and regulation in

network industries such as electricity, telecommunications, water supply,

natural gas, and postal delivery services. Wolak’s recent research has focused on design and

monitoring of energy and environmental markets.

15PANEL 3.

Charles Patton President & CEO - Appalachian Power

Charles Patton is president and chief operating officer of Appalachian

Power, serving approximately 1 million customers in West Virginia, Virginia

and Tennessee. He has authority for distribution operations and a wide

range of customer and regulatory relationships. Patton has approximately

28 years in the electric utility business and has served in numerous

capacities throughout AEP. He received a bachelor’s degree cum laude

from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and a master’s degree from

the LBJ School of Public Policy at the University of Texas at Austin. Patton was appointed to the

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s board of directors for a three- year term beginning Jan. 1,

2014. America. He has received numerous awards, most notably the NAACP's President's Award

for his support in Texas. Mr. Patton also serves on the Advisory Board for the School of Natural

Sciences at the University of Texas.

Rob Jones Executive in Residence - Energy Management & Innovation Center at UT Austin

Mr. Rob Jones was formerly the Co-Head of Bank of America Merrill

Lynch Global Commodities (“MLC”), a leading global commodities trading

business. An investment banker for over 20 years, with Merrill Lynch

and First Boston, Mr. Jones has worked extensively with a variety of

energy and power clients, with a particular focus on the natural gas and

utility sectors. He has been involved in over $100 billion of advisory and

financing transactions in the energy and power industry. Mr. Jones is a

graduate of the University of Texas at Austin where he received a BBA with a degree in Finance

and an MBA with high honors and was a Sord Scholar.

Mike Loreman Mercuria Energy Trading Inc.

Mike Loreman is 3.5 year veteran of the coal industry beginning his

professional career with Shell Mining Company 1980 after graduating

with a BS in Mining Engineering from the University of Idaho. Mike has

held a number of technical and commercial positions with Shell Mining

and Zeigler Coal Holding Company prior to joining Koch Carbon in 1998

to develop a coal trading business. Mike has since headed up Coal and

Emissions trading for Williams Energy, Citadel, and DTE Coal Services. Mike

now is responsible for North American Coal Origination for Mercuria Energy Trading Inc. based

in Houston, TX. Mercuria, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is in the top five independent global

commodities trading companies.

16

Shale development across the U.S. has increased concern with regard to water quality and quantity.

Drought obligates water conservation, yet oil and gas exploration motivates greater water consumption.

How soon can we expect cost-effective solutions for water reuse and treatment in hydraulic fracturing,

and what are the obstacles barring the use of brackish water? How will water law influence the oil

and gas industry? For example, what are the consequences of subsurface water migration potentially

constituting a trespass, or stricter regulation of waste water disposal? Can Texas lead in policy and

technological innovation? Are there any lessons to be learned from California, New York and Colorado?

Wednesday 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm CONNALLY BALLROOM

WATER MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS IN HYDRAULIC FRACKING

PANEL 4

MODERATOR John Corrigan Vice President - Booz & Company

John Corrigan is a Vice President with Booz & Company specializing in the

Energy, Chemicals and Utilities sector. Mr. Corrigan has over 12 years of

consulting experience as well as 10 years of industry experience in the

energy trading and natural gas midstream space. Mr. Corrigan’s work

includes helping clients with market strategies, mergers and acquisitions,

and financial planning and performance. His clients include oil and

gas companies, utilities, energy trading firms, private equity firms and

manufacturers serving the energy sector. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin

with a degree in Economics and The University of Texas at Dallas with an MBA degree.

Jim Summers Chief Operating Officer - Energy Water Solutions

Mr. Summers is the Chief Operating Officer for Energy Water Solutions,

a produced water recycling company with operations in the Eagle Ford

and Colorado. Mr. Summers is a veteran of the energy industry having

held key leadership roles with Conoco, BP and within the renewable

energy market. An Industrial Engineering graduate from the University of

Oklahoma, Mr. Summers is uniquely qualified to comment on the state of

water within the energy industry.

17PANEL 4

James Welch Global Business Development Manager, Water Solutions, Halliburton

James Welch has 3.0 years of industrial water management experience

including chemical and mechanical treatment, with six years focused

on produced water management involving commercial and business

development, technology evaluations, regulatory compliance, water

logistics strategies. He has held commercial leadership and new business

development positions with Siemens, Baker Hughes and Halliburton. In his

current role, James focuses on integrated water management strategies

to cost effectively minimize waste and fresh water requirements in fluid system applications. The

Halliburton process leverages mechanical and chemical water conditioning while considering

chemical compatibilities, water logistics with advanced fluid system design to maximize the use

of impaired water sources.

Christi Craddick Commissioner, Texas Railroad Commission

Christi Craddick was elected to serve a six-year term as Texas Railroad

Commissioner in November of 2012. A native of Midland, Commissioner

Craddick is an attorney specializing in oil and gas, water, tax issues, electric

deregulation and environmental policy. She earned her bachelor’s degree

as a Plan II graduate and received her Doctorate of Jurisprudence from

The University of Texas at Austin. Ms. Craddick served as the chief political

and legal advisor to the Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives,

Tom Craddick from 2002-2011. She serves the community as an active member of a number of

organizations including the State Bar of Texas, University of Texas Liberal Arts Alumni Advisory

Council and Dell Children’s Medical Center Foundation.

Cal Cooper Director of Emerging Technology - Apache Corporation

Cal Cooper has enjoyed an exciting career challenging the limits of

science and technology essential for commercial success in the oil and

gas industry. In recent years he has focused on hydraulic fracturing and

water treatment technologies, while pursuing innovative concepts for

carbon dioxide separation from natural gas streams and greenhouse gas

mitigation, in addition to his expertise in subsurface geoscience.

Prior to joining Apache, Dr. Cooper was Corporate Science Fellow, Chief

Geologist and Geosciences Technology Center manager for a major oil company, and served on

the boards of numerous international science organizations. He earned a doctorate in geology

and geophysics from Rice University and still returns to campus almost daily.

18 PANEL 5

REGULATION IN OFFSHORE EXPLORATION

Andy Radford Senior Policy Advisor, American Petroleum Institute

Mr. Radford graduated from Penn State University with a degree in

Petroleum Engineering in 1986. Following a brief stint with Halliburton

performing cementing and hydraulic fracturing operations, Mr. Radford

began his career with the US Mineral Management Service as a Reservoir

Engineer in 1988 in the Atlantic OCS region. While at the MMS Mr. Radford

moved into the Regulatory Operations Group with responsibility for

developing regulations for the US offshore oil and gas industry, and obtained

an MBA from George Mason University. In 1996, Andy joined API’s Standards Department with

responsibility for developing and publishing industry standards on exploration and production

equipment and practices.

Wednesday 12:15 pm - 1:30 pm CONNALLY BALLROOM

As it becomes increasingly cost-effective to develop unconventional oil resources, exploration is moving into

ultra-deep water and high pressure, high temperature wells. Drilling in the Arctic and further into the Gulf

is becoming necessary to support global consumption. What technologies are in place to surmount these

challenges? What R&D is being pursued to ensure that offshore exploration is both efficient and safe? In light

of these technical challenges and the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, what is the

future of regulation for offshore drilling? Who will be oversee resource development in these sensitive marine

environments?

MODERATOR John NorthingtonPricipal, Northington Strategy Group

John Northington is a seasoned energy industry veteran with more

than 3.0 years of experience in various aspects of energy and its related

fields—most recently as the founder, president, and principal owner of the

Washington, D.C.-based government relations firm Northington Strategy

Group. Mr. Northington is a frequently cited authority on energy issues and

has appeared on C-Span and Fox News to discuss various energy topics.

The Hill newspaper has twice named Mr. Northington as one of the top

ten energy consultants in Washington. He has also served on the National Petroleum Council, an

oil and natural gas advisory committee to the Secretary of Energy, since 2002. During the 2004

presidential campaign, the National Journal magazine mentioned John as a possible nominee for

the position of Secretary of Energy.

19PANEL 5

John Rynd CEO & President - Hercules Offshore & Vice Chairman, National Ocean Industries Assoc.

Mr. Rynd has served in various executive level positions since joining

Hercules Offshore in September 2005. Prior to joining the Company, Mr.

Rynd spent 11 years with Noble Drilling Services, Inc., where he served

in a variety of management roles, including Vice President Investor

Relations and Vice President Marketing and Contracts. Mr. Rynd also

served in various management roles at Chiles Offshore, culminating in

Vice President of Marketing. His experience also encompasses 10 years

of service for Rowan Companies Inc., where he served in various roles of increasing levels of

responsibility on offshore rigs. Mr. Rynd serves as Vice Chairman on the Board of Directors

and the Executive Committee for National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), the Executive

Committee of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), the Board of Directors,

Executive Committee and the Education Outreach Advisory Board for the Offshore Energy Center

(OEC), the Board of Directors for Hornbeck Offshore, Inc. (HOS) – NYSE, and the Advisory Board

for Spindletop International Charities. Mr. Rynd graduated from Texas A&M University with a

Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Dr. Eric Van Oort Proffessor, The University of Texas at Austin

Dr. Van Oort holds a PhD in Chemical Physics from the University of

Amsterdam. He joined Royal Dutch Shell in 1991 where he has spent 20

years with Shell in a variety of technical and managerial roles, starting out

as a research scientist in The Hague and ending his career at Shell last

year as Wells Performance Improvement and Onshore Gas Technology

manager in Houston. He joined UT Austin in early 2012 to return to his

passion for teaching and R&D as B.J. Lancaster Professor in Petroleum

Engineering. He is also one of the founders and current chairman of the board of directors of

Genesis RTS, a company specializing in real-time drilling, completion and production technologies,

and owns his own consulting company. His interests include: deepwater well construction, drilling

automation, real-time operations centers and remote command & control, drilling optimization &

NPT/ILT mitigation, rock-fluid interactions and wellbore geomechanics, drilling fluid design, zonal

isolation, fit-for-purpose rigs and well manufacturing, hydraulic fracturing and associated water

management.

20

Net Energy Metering (NEM) is the method by which distributed solar output is credited in most states.

NEM has provided crucial financial support for rooftop solar, but crediting at the retail rate of electricity

means that utilities might be overpaying solar customers. Some states, utilities and solar advocates think

a more precise calculation is now required. What do utilities owe their solar customers for generating

electricity? What do solar customers owe their utilities for providing backup power and infrastructure?

Should environmental and societal externalities be considered? As the amount of distributed solar

increases, what new grid challenges might warrant revision of these valuations or support NEM?

PANEL 6

VALUATION OF DISTRIBUTED SOLAR

Maura Yates Director of Governmental Affairs - SunEdison

Maura Yates serves as the Director of Government Affairs for SunEdison

where she is focused on solutions to opening cost-effective new markets,

including engagement in deregulated markets. Ms. Yates has been in

the energy sector for seven years and prior to joining SunEdison a year

ago, she worked for Arizona Public Service’s on efforts relating to its RES

Compliance and the strategic integration of solar, demand response

and energy efficiency into the utility portfolio. She previously sat on

the board for the Department of Energy funded Solar Advisory Board for Codes and Standards.

Eran MahrerExexutive Vice President, Strategy & Research - Solar Electric Power Association

Mr. Mahrer joined SEPA in 2012 and drives utility and solar industry

strategies to support solar energy. He collaborates with utility leadership,

regulators, and developers to make solar a core utility resource strategy.

Eran has introduced innovative approaches to renewable resource

integration, including utility strategies for customer-sited resource

development and utility solar ownership, and supporting programs such

as the Small Generator Standard Offer. Mr. Mahrer was previously Arizona

Public Service Company’s Director of Renewable Energy and Resource Portfolio Planning. He

implemented renewable programs and handled regulatory relationships. He holds an MBA from

Arizona State, and degrees from Washington State and UC-San Diego.

MODERATOR

Thursday 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm CONNALLY BALLROOM

21PANEL 6

Carmine A. Tilghman Director of Wholesale & Renewable Energy - UNS Energy

Carmine Tilghman is Director of Wholesale & Renewable Energy for UNS

Energy, parent company of Tucson Electric Power. He oversees renewable

energy procurement for residential, commercial, industrial, and utility-

scale projects. He has 29 years of experience in energy production and

procurement. Since 1995, he has overseen power production, energy

trading, and wholesale energy procurement for Tucson Electric Power.

He has managed utility-scale renewable energy procurement since 2007.

Previously, he was a nuclear reactor operator in the Navy submarine service and handled power

plant operations with the Biosphere II project. He holds a B.S. in Business Management and an

MBA.

Karen Hyde Vice President & Chief Risk Officer Xcel Energy

Karen Hyde joined Xcel Energy in 1989 as a forecaster and resource

planner and spent ten years negotiating purchased power agreements.

She managed resource planning and acquisition, and oversaw all company

matters before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission as Vice President

for Rates and Regulatory Affairs. She currently leads and directs risk

management as Vice President and Chief Risk Officer. Her responsibilities

include transactional governance and valuation, generation cost modeling,

contract development, and risk management for non-retail credit, commodities, and distribution

assets. She holds degrees in Metallurgical Engineering and Mineral Economics.

Ross Baldick Barclay Fellow - Dept. Electrical & Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

Ross Baldick is a professor and Leland Barclay Fellow in the Department

of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

and Director of the Center for Electric Vehicles: Transportation Electricity

Convergence. His current research involves optimization and economic

theory applied to electric power systems, including policies and practice for

charging of electric vehicles, public policy and technical issues associated

with electric transmission under electricity market restructuring, and the

economic implications of renewable resource integration. Dr. Baldick is a Fellow of the IEEE.

22

Thursday 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm CONNALLY BALLROOM

The aging U.S. grid will require about $2 trillion worth of investment by 203.0. What is the potential of a

modernized electrical system to demystify energy consumption in the average American household? What

role will big data will play in this transformation, and what will its impact be in the areas of grid stability,

peak shaving and demand-side energy solutions? Why and how are utilities leveraging partnerships with

hardware and software providers to implement these solutions? To what degree are cyber-security and

privacy challenges hindering the reach of smart grid, and what are utilities doing to address these concerns?

PANEL 7

BIG DATA & GRID MODERNIZATION

Todd DurocherManaging Director KPMG Technology Enablement Solutions - Power & Utilities

Todd Durocher is a Managing Director in KPMG’s Power and Utilities

Management Consulting practice with more than 15 years of consulting and

project/program management experience. Mr. Durocher assists his domestic

and international clients with business and technology transformations

related to acquisitions and consolidations, market deregulation, smart

grid implementations, cost optimization, and performance improvement.

Examples of Mr. Durocher's projects include: organizational assessments

and design, business process design, data analytics design, IT and business strategy development,

system implementations (metering, billing, customer, trading, market operations, and settlement),

cost optimization, and business performance analysis.

MODERATOR

Marita Mirzatuny Smart Power Project Manager, US Climate & Energy Program - Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

Marita Mirzatuny is a Smart Power Project Manager for EDF’s US Climate

& Energy Program, working on issues such as smart grid development,

renewables, demand response, and policy involving the Public Utilities

Commission, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas and the Texas Legislature.

Specifically, she is helping to construct the environmental metrics for Pecan

Street Inc., a smart grid demonstration project in Austin, Texas in which

EDF is a partner. Prior to working at EDF, Ms. Mirzatuny worked for various

environmental non-profits in California and Texas. She completed her MBA from Texas State and

her BA in Environmental Studies from UC Santa Cruz.

23

Mike Carlson General Manager of GE's Digital Energy Software Solutions Business

Mr. Carlson is responsible for setting and driving the vision to leverage GE’s

Digital Energy existing software portfolio to integrate existing products

and services into a comprehensive solution for customers. Mr. Carlson has

more than 27 years of experience in finance, technology and operations

management, with the last 12 years being focused on the energy and utility

industry. Prior to his current position, Mr. Carlson was Vice President and

CIO of Xcel Energy.

Brad Williams Vice President of Oracle Product Management

Brad Williams is responsible for outage management, distribution

management, mobile workforce management, work and asset management,

and load analysis utility applications and smart grid strategy. Mr. Williams

has 28 years of utility technology innovation experience. Prior to Oracle, he

was a research director for Gartner's Energy and Utilities Industry Advisory

Services. Prior to that, he served as Director of T&D Infrastructure Planning

at PacifiCorp. Mr. Williams also worked at Southern California Edison for

10 years, where he was involved in transmission system planning, distribution automation, and

reliability programs.

Dan Barrett Vice President of Business Development - Space-Time Insight

Dan Barrett is responsible for working with prospects to understand and

connect their operational insight needs with the software solutions that will

provide business value to the organization. In his 15 years of technology

and software experience Dan has held several management positions at

top software organizations like C3., SAP, and Siebel Systems. He has led the

effort to bring new solutions to market and is a proven leader with extensive

knowledge of business processes and best practices in a wide spectrum

of industries, including utilities, consumer products, life sciences, discrete manufacturing,

transportation, and state and federal organizations.

Valerio Vadacchino Business Development Manager - Enel Green Power North America

Valen Vadacchino is in charge of promoting and deploying smart grid projects

in the North American market. Mr. Vadacchino has been with Enel Group

since 2005, coordinating technological solutions for smart metering projects,

pilot tests, and mass rollout projects. Since 2008, he has been in charge of

developing and implementing best practices for smart metering projects

throughout the Enel Group, initially in Italy and Spain and later in Romania

and South America. Mr. Vadacchino is responsible for disseminating complex

proprietary knowledge of smart grid technologies, as well as project planning, design and testing.

24 RESEARCH COMPETITION

Research developing novel energy and resource-related technologies and policies is a vital part of addressing the key energy-related challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. To promote the development of energy research in the academic community, the Texas Energy Research Challenge awards prizes to undergraduate and graduate students for excellence in energy research. This year, 29 researchers from 9 universities will compete for $9,000 in prizes across two competition categories: (1) science and engineering; and (2) policy, law, business, economics and the social sciences.

A panel of judges from academia and industry will score research posters and award prizes to the three highest scoring posters from each competition category: • First place: $2,000 • Second place: $1,000 • Third place: $500

In addition to these prizes, special awards are reserved for the following in each category: • Highest scoring poster by an undergraduate student: $500 • Most popular research poster based on attendees’ votes: $500

Texas Energy Research Challenge

JUDGES• LarryIrving, Vice President, Oil & Gas

Industry at Emerson Process Mgmt.• FarshidArman, Director, Siemens

Technology to Business Center• ThomasF.Edgar, Professor, Chemical

Engineering | Director, UT Energy Institute• VarunRai, Assistant Professor, LBJ

School of Public Affairs and Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin

• DavidSpence, Professor, Law, Politics & Regulation, UT Austin

• RichardKyle, C. E. Yager Professor of Geology, UT Austin

• MaggieChen, Post-Doctorate, Mechanical Engineering, UT Austin

• MarkArmentrout, President and CEO, Texas Technology Partners

• RogerDuncan, Research Fellow, UT Energy Institute | Former General Manager, Austin Energy

• FredBeach, Assistant Director, Energy & Technology Policy, UT Energy Institute

• J.EricBickel, Assistant Professor, Operations Research, UT Austin

• ZachBaumer, Manager, Austin Climate Protection Program

25

PRESENTER ABSTRACTS: POLICY, LAW, ECONOMICS, & THE SOCIAL SCIENCES

Cook, Margaret................................................................................26Eagles, Julia.......................................................................................27Ghosh, Neal ......................................................................................28Iliev, Illiyan..........................................................................................29Lee, Michael.......................................................................................3.0Levin, Michael....................................................................................3.1Cole, Wesley.......................................................................................3.2Robinson, Scott.................................................................................3.3.Stokes, Leah......................................................................................3.4Valbuena, Patricia.............................................................................3.5Voorhis, Elise ....................................................................................3.6Wu, Tiffany .......................................................................................3.7

Texas Energy Research Challenge

What Starts Here Changes the World...

RESEARCH COMPETITION

26 ABSTRACTS

Hydraulic Fracturing & The Water Market in Texas MARGARET COOK

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Hydraulic fracturing, the injection of pressurized fluid, often water, to increase extraction rates and recovery of oil or gas, has become increasingly popular in combination with hori-zontal drilling, especially in shales in Texas. Hydraulic fractur-ing, or fracking, augments the flow of fossil fuel from a well, but requires a significant amount of water to do so, which puts pressure on existing water resources, especially in drought-prone areas like south and west Texas. Due to increased water demands in these areas of already low water availability, cur-rent water users and landowners have begun to sell their wa-ter resources to supply industry needs. An assessment of the current water market including unused or unallocated water could highlight areas of potential optimization in pricing and in amount and types of water used—including fresh water, brack-ish water, effluent, and recycled water. This analysis character-izes the current state of the water market in shale-rich areas of Texas, including water pricing, type of water used, source and end use location, original intended use, and current end use—all within the current water policy framework of Texas. The analysis confirms areas of potential optimization exist, al-lowing both buyer and seller to benefit in such a water market.

27ABSTRACTS

Regional Transmission Organizations Getting Smarter: Grid Modernization & Socio-Technical

Transformation JULIA EAGLES

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

With the transformation to a smarter, more responsive and reli-able electric grid, major questions remain as to how new tech-nologies will be implemented. Despite the high level of interest and investment in smart grid development in the United States, the term remains ambiguous and deployment of technologies are being driven by stakeholders with multiple and overlapping interests. Policies to promote a smarter grid are shaped by ac-tors at the regional, state, and utility levels and highlight the mul-tiple divergent opportunities and challenges of developing smart grids. Regional transmission organizations (RTOs) play a crucial role in this energy transformation, but they are poorly under-stood and research on their motivations and the policy context in which they operate has been limited.

This study examines and compares the socio-technical contexts for smart grid development by conducting thematic analysis of policy documents and focus group transcripts within five Region-al Transmission Organizations (Mid-west ISO, New England ISO, California ISO, New York ISO and ERCOT). These policy documents are analyzed for how motivations for supporting smart grid are articulated, what technological components are highlighted, and what socio-technical frames are used to discuss the challenges and opportunities of smart grid. The results demonstrate simi-larities in focus and differences in context shaping implementa-tion for smart grid development among these five RTOs. Given the role of RTOs in the operations and long-term planning of the electric grid, understanding their position and motivation for grid modernization is essential in developing targets for state and re-gional policy development.

Acknowledgements: This research is supported through a grant from the National Sci-ence Foundation Science and Society Program.

28 ABSTRACTS -

The Rebound Effect with Consistent Efficiency Improvements and Implications for

Cross-Sector Rebound NEAL K. GHOSH

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

We develop a model of the residential rebound effect that explicitly mod-els two energy services with distinct but simultaneous efficiency changes. We use this model to test the rebound implications of consistent efficiency choices for multiple energy services. In other words, does consistent effi-ciency improvement (driven either exogenously or endogenously) increase or decrease rebound? We call consistent efficiency improvements “choice correlation,” though relative efficiency improvements may be driven exoge-nously (e.g, by performance Federal standards) or voluntarily (e.g., by choos-ing Energy Star appliances). The model indicates that choice correlation both increases the technically feasible energy reductions but also drives additional economic responses that erode these feasible energy savings. As such, disproportionate efficiency changes across different end uses can lead to re-spective economic responses that significantly erode technically feasible en-ergy savings. i.e., can amplify indirect rebound effects. The model is applied to estimate the potential for rebound across sectors (from the residential to the transportation sector), where efficiency improvements and technology adoptions in the residential sector outpaced those in the transportation sec-tor over the last several decades. Long-run results suggest that such dispro-portionate efficiency gains could lead to backfire, pending energy-use ratios (e.g. real shares).

Further, disproportionate efficiency changes across end-uses results in simi-larly disproportionate rebound responses across different energy sources. Thus efficiency choice correlation has significant implications for energy externalities given variation in the environmental intensities associated with power generation (either by direct combustion or through the power grid). These results indicate consistent technical improvements across sectors are needed to offset commensurate economic responses. It is important to emphasize that consistent technical improvement is limited by thermody-namics, but economic responses are not, as consumers can (and do) expand energy services (particularly in the long run). Thus a multiple energy service model is critical to better understanding rebound as it applies to aggregate, long-term energy use. Given this and the long-lived nature of durable goods, we emphasize the importance of considering long-run effects (particularly, a larger elasticity of substitution over the long-run) if efficiency is to reduce net energy demands. Our model and results emphasize that rebound involves more consumer-technology interactions than described by models that as-sume technical change for only one end use.

29ABSTRACTS

This project studies the dynamic endogenous interactions of energy sector campaign contributions to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and their reactions in the 105th-112th Congresses. What differ-entiates energy policy from other policy domains? Energy is closely connected to economic performance, national secu-rity and environmental issues, and affects all other sectors of the economy. The sector is one of the biggest contributors to political campaigns, with one of the highest rates of increase between elections. The complexities of the energy sector dif-ferentiate it from other domains, and research focused on it can provide insights about the link between contributions and legislative rhetoric. Research on the energy interest group ac-tivities can have broad theoretical and practical impact.

I develop a theory of strategic behavior, which proposes that position taking, signaling, and strategic power concerns drive the dynamics between rhetoric and donations. The theory is tested against the existing investment, access and partisan-ship theories using a Bayesian dynamic model. Individual dy-namics - electoral vulnerability, geographical differences and the state-specific importance of the sector - lead to stronger connections between campaign contributions and rhetoric. I find strong evidence for a fully dynamic model. Most of the variation in the rhetoric is driven by the shocks in the contri-butions and there is strong evidence that the behavior of both parties is similar and largely dependent on their position of power. While both parties follow similar overall strategies, the intensity of their rhetoric varies.

Rhetoric and Contributions on a Committee Level: A Bayesian Dynamic Model

ILIYAN. R. ILIEVUNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT DALLAS

30 ABSTRACTS

Efficient Pricing of Carbon in the EU and Its Effect on Consumers

MICHAEL LEETHE UNIVERSTY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

A European single market for electricity is modeled to find the optimal portfolio of energy generation technologies in the presence of a carbon tax. The goal is to find the Pareto optimal carbon tax rate such that both carbon emissions and production costs are minimized. Different sources of electricity–namely coal, natural gas, nuclear, wind, offshore wind, and solar– are given levelized costs and carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) on a per megawatt-hour (MWh) basis. 20,000 energy portfolios, each with different allocations of the respective generation techniques, are generated via a Monte Carlo process and subsequently evaluated by their per MWh cost and emissions. The cost of each generation tech-nology is related to the upfront capital expense, the variable opera-tions and resource costs (O&M), the amount of CO2 it produces and the EU-wide carbon tax rate. This tax-rate is increased until the most cost-efficient portfolio is also the least CO2 producing– thus finding the optimal carbon tax-rate for aligning environmental and economic interests. Data extracted from this model suggests that this efficient price is around $80 USD per ton of CO2.

The effective production price per MWh from the simulation is then compared to the average industrial power price for each of the EU-member states in order to evaluate the effect of an EU-wide carbon tax on end-users. The optimal portfolio recommended by the simula-tion, in conjunction with transport via a Pan-European SuperGrid, will be able to supply power at a similar (±5%) price to the current EU 27 average while dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions. *

Further research will investigate the optimal location of each power source given transmission losses and spot pricing and availability for requisite resources (e.g. coal, natural gas, average wind speed etc.), as well as the distortionary effects of subsidies in specific nations.

31ABSTRACTS

The Effect of Road Elevation on Network-Wide Ve-hicle Energy Consumption & Eco-Routing

MICHAEL LEVIN & MELISSA DUELLTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Due to growing concern about the impact of emissions from the transport sector on global climate change, vehicle energy consumption is a factor of great interest to network planners. In addition, drivers may be interested in reducing fuel costs. However, many vehicle energy consumption models neglect an important factor: change in road elevation. This assumption has traditionally been supported by the idea that the energy consumed due to gradients would be reflected in changes in speed and acceleration, but an aggregate network demonstration on a realistic sized city has been difficult to show. This work demonstrates the impact of road elevation on network wide vehicle energy consumption by integrating energy consumption equations based on the road load equations, online elevation data, and a dynamic traffic assignment model to capture the effect of user route choice. This work quantifies the impact of the energy consumed due to road elevation change on two city networks, and results indicate that the effects of gradient should not be excluded from vehicle energy consumption evaluations. Figure 1 displays the difference in energy consumption prediction when gradients are included for each vehicle in the simulation of the downtown Austin network. Additionally, the effects of “eco-routing”, in which drivers choose the least energy cost path, are explored. Results on the city networks indicate that if drivers do not account for gradient, they may choose a route that actually increases vehicle energy consumption. The modeling tool proposed in this work is scalable and easily adaptable for different cities.

32 ABSTRACTS

Understanding residential power consumption is especially impor-tant in Texas because during the summer afternoon electrical peak, residential power demand accounts for almost half of the total grid load. In the aggregate, summer residential demand curves are simi-lar in shape to the total grid demand curve. However, individual demand profiles differ considerably. This work analyzes normal-ized, seasonally averaged hourly and 15-minute demand profiles from nearly 100 homes that are part of a smart grid demonstration project in Austin, TX. These homes have also received energy audits that classify basic home energy metrics such as home size and air conditioner efficiency. In addition, the homes’ residents also com-pleted two home energy surveys that addressed human behavior (e.g., work patterns) and basic energy knowledge (e.g., average con-sumption of a residential home).

The combined dataset (meter data, energy audits, and surveys) is used in conjunction with k-means clustering and probit regression to determine correlations between the static audit and survey data and energy profile groupings, allowing us to determine which fac-tors most influence energy consumption behavior. For example, certain home or personal characteristics can be correlated with av-erage time of peak demand, ramp rate of demand, or duration of peak. These static values (from the audits and surveys) can predict the likelihood of certain profiles. Probit regression results indicate that variables such as whether or not someone worked from home, the number of hours of television watched per week, and if a home was new and greenbuilt are significant determinants of average profile shape.

Clustering-Based Analysis of Seasonal Residential Electricity Demand Profiles to Determine Factors That Influence

Energy Use BehaviorWESLEY J. COLE, JOSHUA D. RHODES & CHARLES R. UPSHAW

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

33ABSTRACTS

Geographic Agent-Based Modeling in Complex Human Systems: Applications in Consumer Solar Photovoltaics

SCOTT ROBINSONTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

The diffusion of consumer energy technologies in space and time de-termines capacity additions to the grid, the robustness of the market, and the environmental impact of the technology. These trends emerge over time from household-level decisions, based on consumer attri-butes, market drivers, and complex interactions with other consumers via social networks. Here we study the diffusion of solar photovoltaics (PV) through a population of interconnected, heterogeneous consum-ers in and agentbased model (ABM). The model is structured to simu-late empirical patterns revealed in ongoing research on a novel data-base that merges survey, spatial, financial, and installation datasets. by integrating adopter characteristics, social network structure, and decision-making processes. Utilizing household-level data from these four independent micro-level data streams joined in a geographic in-formation system (GIS), the ABM presented here simulates the simul-taneous decision-making and social interaction of the nearly 180,000 households in Austin, TX by leveraging parallel processing through the Texas Advanced Computing Center’s Stampede supercomputer. The outcomes of the model are compared to real-world data over the same time-frame to evaluate the spatial and temporal accuracy of the model. In addition, two counter-factual scenarios are simulated in the ABM, outlined below.

Scenario: Introduction of Solar Leasing In this scenario, we model the potential impact of the introduction of the leasing business model on consumer behavior. Preliminary results suggest that this would in-crease cumulative installed capacity by as much as 20% over five years, and decrease the large-scale spatial clustering of systems while main-taining or increasing local or small-scale clustering as network effects are amplified.

Scenario: Strategic Seeding In this scenario, we examine the potential effects of utility managers targeting incentives to more actively manage PV build-out. Specifically, we simulate targeting lowincome consumers, consumers in low-density PV areas, and socially influential households.

34 ABSTRACTS

The Electoral Consequences of Climate Policy:Evidence from a Natural Experiment

LEAH STOKESMASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Climate change requires the transformation of societies' en-ergy systems. As a result, renewable energy infrastructure will be placed in communities around the world. However, wind turbines, a key renewable energy technology, have proven unpopular in many jurisdictions with perceived local nega-tive externalities. Do citizens punish governments at the bal-lot box for climate policy against their interests, causing gov-ernments to fall? Ontario, Canada provides an ideal case to examine political contestation around climate policy. In the 2011 election, the Ontario Liberal government lost its major-ity with commentators attributing this loss to rural dissatis-faction with wind turbine development. This study empirically investigates whether citizens voted against an incumbent gov-ernment because they disapproved of its renewable energy policy. The project leverages the fact that wind turbines are sited across rural political districts primarily as a function of wind resource level, which is exogenous to political boundar-ies. This provides a natural experiment to study the electoral consequences of climate policy. The study use a difference-in-difference estimator, a matching strategy and an instrumental variable estimator that exploits the exogeneity of wind speed. These approaches identify the scale of electoral losses for the incumbent party attributable to the implementation of wind turbines in communities. Vote declines range from 5-10%. This study provides evidence for the political ramifications of ambitious climate policy.

35ABSTRACTS

Inter-Modal Transportation Systems: Key Components for the Creation of Sustainable

Urban DistrictPATRICIA VALBUENA

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

The need for transportation and accessibility in urban areas is a growing issue that affects us on a daily basis. Innovations in faster light rail, more efficient metro systems, cleaner buses and so on is being shown throughout the world as the future of transportation. How we actually connect these systems between each other as whole unit is an aspect that tends to be put aside generally due to its financial and investment feasibility. “The world urban population is expected to increase by 84 per cent by 2050” (United Nations), but how can people move and access their workplaces and homes if they cannot efficiently transfer from one mode to the other?

An inter-modal transportation system for urban areas would not only be more efficient, but also provide a sustainable way to save energy in hopes of a greener urban environment. A person who changes their habits from private vehicles to pub-lic transportation can reduce daily costs and CO2 emissions more effectively than by replacing the light bulbs or applianc-es in their household to energy efficient ones. By saving those vehicle-traveled miles (VTM), the U.S. public transportation save 3.7 million metric tons of CO2 annually, the equivalent to energy consumption of 4.9 million households (American Public Transportation Association).

This research looks at an innovative urban design proposal that is interconnected with land use policies and the creation of dense urban neighborhoods as a possible solution to pro-vide a sustainable lifestyle that can uphold the world’s grow-ing population.

36

The Infinite and the Finite: An Analysis of the United States' Energy Future

ELISE VOORHISTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Last year the New York Times published a newsworthy article stating that the United States could become “Energy Independent” from the tumultuous OPEC countries. This groundbreaking revelation, supported by statistics from the International Energy Agency, claimed that newfound energy resources were spread throughout North America in the form of shale oil and gas. Politicians and the public clung to this possibility in the face of strenuous relations with the Middle East as the Arab Spring and the War on Terror waged on. However, the consequences of becoming “energy independent” have not been considered. What are the geopolitical implications of pursuing energy independence? What are the effects the search for shale oil and gas will have on more sustainable energy sources, like renewable energy? What will happen as the search for unconventional fuels begin? This research project will focus on these geopolitical questions of renewable energy and the rise of unconventional fossil fuels and end with a policy recommendation based on the information provided in this essay to promote a sustainable energy future. Shale gas and tight oil are finite resources and it is imperative that energy policies search for cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy. In the end, unconventional fuels only provide a cushion of time for the world to implement renewable energy infrastructure: it is neither a permanent strategy nor a lasting economic tactic. My goal is to provide a basis of understanding of the Shale Gas Revolution, geopolitically and environmentally, as a transitory energy resource.

ABSTRACTS

37 ABSTRACTS

New Opportunities in the Central American International Electricity Market: A Look at

the State of the Integrated Market & Pending Policy Challenges

TIFFANY WU & JOHN DINNING THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Since the Framework Treaty for the Central American Regional Electricity Market (MER) was signed in 1996, the six countries of the region have moved steadily toward greater energy integration. In June of 2013. the final phase of the regulatory framework for the regional market took effect allowing for the implementation of firm contracts for international energy transfers.

One major challenge in expanding the functionality of the MER is the establishment of firm contracts for periods greater than 12 months. The regional market regulations require firm contracts to include associated transmission rights. Uncertainty surrounding the price and availability of future transmission rights presents a significant obstacle for the development of new regional power projects. Defining the mechanisms for securing long-term transmission rights is a central issue to the development of the regional energy market.

The purchase of transmission rights in the Central American Regional market currently involves the following interested parties:

• Participating market agents• National Market Operators and System Operators in the countries where

the power will be sold and purchased• National Market Operators and National System Operators in transit

countries • The Regional Operating Entity (EOR).

Our analysis focuses on the challenges related to securing long term transmission rights. We look at mechanisms used by other regional electricity markets to assign those transmission rights and consider their applicability to the Central American system. long-lived nature of durable goods, we emphasize the importance of considering long-run effects (particularly, a larger elasticity of substitution over the long-run) if efficiency is to reduce net energy demands. Our model and results emphasize that rebound involves more consumer-technology interactions than described by models that assume technical change for only one end use.

38 ABSTRACTS

PRESENTER ABSTRACTS:SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

Arab, Ali.........................................................................................3.9Chang, Jinho..................................................................................40Chen, Po-Yen.................................................................................41Chung, Sheng-Heng......................................................................42Godbole, Rutvik.............................................................................43.Gorman, Will.................................................................................44Kwac, Jungsuk................................................................................45Li, Ping-Chun..................................................................................46Liang, Tianbo.................................................................................47Mehmani, Ayaz.............................................................................48Onyegam, Emmanuel..................................................................49Rawlings, Michael.........................................................................50Sathaye, Kiran...............................................................................51Sorensen, Caroline.......................................................................52Urieli, Daniel..................................................................................53.Williamson, Matthew....................................................................54Wu, Kan.........................................................................................55

Texas Energy Research Challenge

What Starts Here Changes the World...

39ABSTRACTS

Optimal Restoration Planning for Smart Grid Under Natural Disaster

ALI ARABTHE UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON

Efficient resource allocation to repair hurricane-prone dam-ages to the electric power systems infrastructure plays an im-portant role in quick load restoration and mitigates the after-math of the natural disaster. This research presents a model to optimally allocate restoration resources to damaged infra-structure in order to minimize the restoration cost and cus-tomer load interruptions.

The criticality of each load to be restored in the system is rep-resented via value of lost load (VOLL) index. The mean time to repair for damaged generation units which are posted by generation companies (GENCOs) to the independent system operator (ISO) are incorporated in the model. Therefore, the transmission infrastructure repair operations which are per-formed by transmission companies (TRANSCOs) are coordi-nated with generation units repair operations performed by GENCOs. The problem is formulated using mixed-integer pro-gramming; and the impact of the level of restoration resourc-es (e.g., repair crews) on load interruption and overall restora-tion costs is analyzed. Numerical analysis on the IEEE 118-bus test system demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed post-hurricane restoration model. The results indicate that in-vesting on securing enough restoration resources results in significant restoration cost and time saving.

40

Sn/Br Redox Flow Battery: Detection of Sn(III)

Intermediate & the Mechanism of the Sn(IV)/Sn(II)

Reduction on a Gold Electrode from Cyclic

Voltammetry & Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

JINHO CHANG THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

ABSTRACTS

We studied the mechanism of Sn(IV)/Sn(II) reduction reaction in 2 M HBr - 4M NaBr medium and the detection of an unstable Sn(III) intermediate by scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). This is one of fundamental electrochemical studies for low cost Sn/Br based redox flow bat-tery (RFB).

The CV at scan rates to 100 V/s and SECM indicated the reaction pathway involving ligand coupled electron transfer (et) via an ECEC -DISP process: (1) One electron reduction of Sn(IV)Br62- to Sn(III)Br6 3.-; (2) bromide dissociation of the reduced Sn(III)Br63.- to Sn(III)Br52; (3.) Disproportionation of a reduced Sn(III)Br52- to Sn(IV)Br62- and Sn(II)Br42-; (4) one-electron reduction of Sn(III)Br5 2- to Sn(II)Br5 3.-, 5) bromide dissociation from Sn(II)Br5 3.- to Sn(II)Br4 2-. The intermediate Sn(III) species was confirmed by SECM, where the Sn(III) generated at the Au tip was collected on a Au substrate in a tip generation/substrate collection (TG/SC) mode when the distance between the tip and substrate was a few hundred nm. The rate constant of the bromide loss fromSn(III)Br6≠≠≠3.- was 6.9 x 103. s-1, based on the SECM simu-lation.

A small scale of Sn/Br RFB was also tested. It shows 100 % cou-lombic efficiency in 3.5 charge/discharge cycles. However, only 40 % of voltage efficiency was observed mainly due to the large irreversibility of Sn(IV)/Sn(II) redox reaction inthe bromide media.

41ABSTRACTS

M13. Virus-Enabled Three-Dimensional Nanostructuresfor Energy Conversion & Storage

PO-YEN CHENMASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Genetically engineered M13. bacteriophages can act as versatile scaffolds for the synthesis of nanostructured composites for various energy storage applications, including solar cells, lithium-ion batteries, and electrochemical capacitors. In this poster, virusenabled three-dimensional (3.D) nanostructures with various functional nanomaterials have been synthesized, assembled, and fabricated into devices. Specifically, in dyesensitized and perovskite solar cells, the viruses are employed to build a multifunctional scaffold capable of improving device performances. This has been accomplished by encapsulating the virus in TiO2 to produce a nanowire (NW)-based photoanode. The NW morphology exhibits an improved electron diffusion length compared to traditional nanoparticle-based solar cells. In addition, the synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT)-containing polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites are utilized to enhance the performance of electrochemical capacitors, by increasing the electron conductivity throughout the electrodes. A material cost analysis indicates that the geneticallyengineered approach enables the fabrication of the nanostructured electrode with the lowest effective cost (USD F-1) compared with the other SWNT/PANI-based electrodes in the literature.

42

High Performance Li-S Batteries Based on Engineered & Natural Materials

SHENG-HENG CHUNG THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

The development of advanced energy-storage systems for transportation and grid storage must fulfill several requirements: safety, low-cost, environmental benignity, high energy, and high power. The lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries satisfy these criteria and have received much attention. However, two technical obstacles hinder the practicality of Li-S cells: (i) low active material utilization due to the insulating nature of sulfur and lithium sulfides and (ii) poor cycle life arising from polysulfide migration from cathode to anode. To solve these problems, we have developed novel cell configurations based on engineered and natural materials.

First, we employed the engineered nano-cellular carbon (NC) as an alternative current collector. The NC current collector is composed of interwoven carbon fibers with the carbon nanofoam firmly attached to them. The conductive carbon fiber network effectively improves the active material utilization. The nanofoam plate functions as a reservoir to store the active material and localize the dissolved polysulfides. As a result, the NC current collector stabilizes the electrochemical reaction within the cathode region and thereby offers considerably a high discharge capacity and superior cycle stability.

Then, we developed the carbonized eggshell membrane (CESM) as a natural polysulfide reservoir. The bifunctional CSEMs possess intrinsic micropore arrays and macroporous network for storing the active material, localizing the dissolved polysulfides, and chaneling the electrolyte in the cathode, which results in superior cycle stability. Learning from nature, this biomaterial-based method not only offers Li/dissolved polysulfide cells with excellent cell performance but also employs a “green method” for green energy technology.

ABSTRACTS

43

Energy-Efficient Bioalcohol RecoveryBy Gel Stripping

RUTVIK GODBOLETEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY

Design of energy-efficient processes for recovery of butanol and ethanol from dilute (15 to 50 g/L) fermentation effluents is vital to the biofuels industry, especially for cellulose-derived systems that produce low concentrations of product. Our work deals with gel stripping, a column-based absorption process that presents advantages compared to both extractive fermentation processes and pervaporation. Gel stripping is an alternative purification process by which a dilute alcohol is stripped from the fermentation product by passing it through a packed bed containing particles of a selectively absorbent polymeric gel material. The gel must be selective for the alcohol, while swelling to a reasonable degree in dilute alcohol-water mixtures. To accelerate materials optimization, a combinatorial approach is taken to screen a matrix of copolymer gels having orthogonal gradients in crosslinker concentration and hydrophilicity. Using a combination of swelling in pure solvents (water or alcohol), the selectivity and distribution coefficients of alcohols in the gels can be predicted based upon multi-component extensions of Flory-Rehner theory. Predictions can be validated by measuring swelling in water/alcohol mixtures and conducting high-throughput HPLC analysis of the external liquid.

Using high-performing gel materials identified by the screening approach, the gel stripping process has been applied to ethanol and butanol stripping processes with high recovery rates. 95%+ removal of butanol from dilute aqueous solutions has been demonstrated, and a mathematical model of the unsteady-state gel stripping process has been developed.

ABSTRACTS

Comparison of Stimulated & Measured Energy Use Using Energy Audits

WILLIAM GORMAN & JOSHUA RHODESTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Simulations modeling a building’s energy profile can give insights into how energy efficiency retrofits and operational changes can influence that building’s cumulative and temporal energy use. However, before recommendations should be made for optimizing a building’s energy performance, it is important to understand how well simulation software can predict actual energy use. This paper considers 60 homes in Austin, TX by converting data from energy audits to energy models using BEopt, a residential graphical user interface (GUI) front-end for EnergyPlus. Results indicate that the modeling software was able to, on average, estimate total electrical energy usage within less than 1% (for a single home in the dataset) but might vary up 28% (absolute) on average for an individual home. While using typical meteorological year (TMY3.) weather data for Austin yielded results within 11% of total usage, the results were within 2.56% using a weather file created from real weather data for the analysis time period. Using a simplified geometry did not appreciably change (>2%) the results of the model or its ability to simulate real usage. Furthermore, analysis reveals that the model has trouble predicting extreme energy use, particularly homes below 7 kWh/ft2/year and above 10kWh/ft2/year of average energy use.

ABSTRACTS

Segmenting Customers From Smart Meter DataJUNGSUK KWAC

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

Recently, the widespread deployment of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) has made available concrete information about user consumption from smart meters. This offers the opportunity to create segmentation strategies based on hourly household energy use and to understand a household’s energy consumption lifestyle. Importantly, household load shapes reveal significant differences among large groups of households in the magnitude and timing of their electricity consumption ([1], [2], [3.]). Furthermore, energy consumption information has the potential to enhance targeting and tailoring of demand response (DR) and energy efficiency (EE) programs. Thus, we develop a customer segmentation methodology based on smart meter data. Due to the large number of people and the huge size of the consumption data set, the methodology should guarantee scalability.

Our customer segmentation methodology is validated on the hourly consumption dataset, which is anonymized and provided by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). In the data, there are 218,090 smart meters and the total number of 24 hour load profiles is 66,43.4,179.

The poster will explore the methodologies for load shape clustering and customer segmentation based on smart meter data. It will present methods that can scale for a large data set, and effectively be used at utility scale.

ABSTRACTS

46 ABSTRACTS

Full Optimization & Utilization of Sunlight via Photovoltaic-Thermal Hybrid System

Integrated with Wide-Angle Plasmonic Filter PING-CHUN LI

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Concepts for optimizing the utilization of sun light, in par-ticular, the combination of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) and thermal absorbers which can provide higher efficiency than purely photovoltaic or thermal approaches are under intense study. However, such hybrid system is currently lim-ited by the optical components such as dichroic filters which are highly sensitive to the angle of incidences. Here, we de-sign, fabricate, and model the wavelength-selective filter via subwavelength plasmonic nanostructures over large-area flexible substrates. The plasmonic filter has been shown to provide high reflectance (>95%), low transmittance and ab-sorption (<5%) at visible wavelengths which are robust to angle of incidences up to 45o. The performance of the plas-monic filter is also shown to be independent of interlayer misalignments and defects in individual layer due to the di-polar responses. The fabrication via nanosphere lithography can extend the device area around 10cm2 to few m2 and onto flexible substrates. Characteristics such as enhanced reflectance and Fabry-Perot resonance are modeled and nu-merically analyzed to be readily design. The cut-on and cut-off wavelengths of the plasmonic filter has been optimized to maximize the total efficiency of the photovoltaic-thermal system. The calculated efficiency of the photovoltaic-ther-mal system integrated with plasmonic filter are shown to be ~65% which is superior than either photovoltaic or thermal system.

47ABSTRACTS

Enhanced Water-Loading Recovery by Surfactants for Unconventional Reservoirs

TIANBO LIANGTHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Hydraulic fracturing by slickwater is widely used to produce unconventional gas reservoirs. However, this process usually results in significant loss of fracturing fluid due to high capillary forces near the fracture-formation interface. The trapped water may lead to lower the gas permeability and well productivity.

We perform experiments to determine whether surfactants can be used as an additive to help recover the injected water. Surfactants can recover water by 1) reducing the capillary force between the hydrocarbon and water, and also by (2) entraining the water in the flow of hydrocarbon.

Surfactants are tested through batch partitioning and phase behavior studies, and IFT adjustments caused by the surfactants are measured using the pendant drop method. Flowback experiments are performed in limestone cores. The core is saturated with alkane in order to simulate the initial reservoir condition, followed by injecting fracturing fluid into the core, which mimics the fracture-formation interface after hydraulic fracturing. Finally the brine is displaced by alkane, and brine production and pressure drop are recorded with time. The formation damage and the water-loading recovery rate are evaluated with and without the use of the surfactants as additives.

Baseline flowback measurement without surfactant was compared to the measurements using two different surfactant formulations. We find that the surfactants double the water recovery rate, but decrease the overall permeability. These results are compared with simulation results and discussed in terms of mobility change and capillary force reduction.

48 ABSTRACTS

Investigating the Petrophysics of Tight Unconventional Reservoirs Using a

Multiscale Network ModelAYAZ MEHMANI

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Tight reservoirs, such as tight gas sandstone and tight carbon-ates, are rich sources of oil and gas that can significantly benefit the high global energy demand. However, the petrophysical prop-erties of these so called unconventional reservoirs are difficult to quantify in terms of only porosity or saturation. The absence of appropriate models is mainly due to the high heterogeneity in pore shape, pore configuration and pore interconnectivity of the tight porous media. Accurate petrophysical models are key in reservoir development and production predictions.

We hypothesize that if microporosity is coupled explicitly with macroporosity in a three dimensional unstructured network model, reliable predictions of the petrophysics of tight media will ensue. By constructing multiscale pore network flow models that contain both macro- (primary) and microporosity (secondary po-rosity), we are able to investigate the effects of pore connectiv-ity due to cementation and the existence of microporosity. The construction of theoretical network models based on granular packings allows us to isolate the effects of each pore structure feature on drainage and imbibition. We then extend our method to imaged media to predict the capillary pressure and relative permeability curves of Estaillades limestone based on X-ray mi-crotomography images with identified solid, microporous, and pore spaces.

The main findings of our work are that: (1) The spatial configura-tion of microporosity has a significant impact on the transport properties of tight porous media. (2) Off-diagonal complexity can distinguish different types of microporosity. (3.) If cementation disconnects larger scale porosity, unorthodox signature behav-iors such as permeability jail effect (Shanely et al, 2004)1 emerge.

49ABSTRACTS

Low Cost, High Efficiency Solar Cells on Thin, Flexible Monocrystalline Si Substrates

EMMANUEL U. ONYEGAM & SAYAN SAHATHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Motivation: The major cost driver for completed silicon solar cells is the amount of silicon used and the cost is higher for high lifetime wafers typically needed to achieve high efficiencies. The use of thin substrates reduces the cost in two ways: by reducing the amount silicon consumed and the lifetime requirements of the substrate. The purpose of this work is two-fold: 1) to develop a process for depositing hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) thin-films suitable for high efficiency heterojunction solar cells and 2) to demonstrate high efficiency solar cells on ~25μm thin substrates realized by a novel technology.

Approach: The process flow for the realization of a ~25μm flexible silicon solar cell is shown in Figure 1. Briefly, the process involves the use a home-built remote plasma CVD system for a-Si:H deposition and thermal cycling process to realize the exfoliated ~25μm substrate. The residual parent wafer can be re-used for further exfoliations, thereby reducing cost. Details of the processes will be described in detail in the poster.

50 ABSTRACTS

Mechanical Properties of Creep- and Coarsening- Resistant Ferritic Superalloys for

Energy Applications MICHAEL RAWLINGS

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

In order to improve the thermal efficiency of steam tur-bines and reduce CO2 emission by fossil-energy (FE) pow-er plants, ultra-supercritical steam turbines will require an increase of both the operating steam temperature and steam pressure by the year 2020. To achieve this an in-expensive, coarsening resistance material with excellent creep strength needs to be developed. Ferritic Fe-Cr-Ni-Al superalloys are potential alternative to austenitic steels for high-temperature applications due to their lower cost and thermal expansion, and higher thermal conductivity. These alloys are hardened by formation of coherent B2-ordered NiAl precipitates, with up to 20% volume fraction and radius of a few hundred nanometer, which mirror the γ/γ’ structure found in Ni-based superalloys. Here, we study the steady-state creep properties of Fe-6.5Al-10Cr-10Ni-xTi-3..4Mo-0.25Zr-0.005B (wt.%) ferritic steels (where x ranges from 0-6 wt%) tested at 700 oC over a wide range of stresses. Various microstructures were observed over the range of Ti content, utilizing transition electron micros-copy (TEM) and local electrode atom probe tomography (LEAP). Hierarchical microstructure of L21-ordered Ni2TiAl precipitates, precipitated within the coherent B2-ordered NiAl precipitates for the alloy with 2 wt% Ti, resulted in the highest creep resistance at 700 oC. Yield stresses at elevat-ed temperatures were modeled by dislocation dynamics simulation where dislocations and super-dislocations are simulated to shear and bypass precipitates. The results are compared to experimental measurements.

51 ABSTRACTS

Constraints on the Magnitude & Rate of CO2 Dissolution at Bravo Dome Natural Gas Field

KIRAN SATHAYETHE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Carbon capture and storage in saline aquifers has been identified as a potential mechanism for greenhouse gas reductions from coal and natural gas fired power plants. The method involves injecting CO2 into subsurface brine reservoirs, thereby removing the CO2 from the atmosphere. In order for the CO2 to be trapped securely, it must dissolve into the brine, forming a dense, aqueous phase. This study uses a natural analog, the Bravo Dome CO2 reservoir in New Mexico, to investigate the feasibility of solubility trapping and convective dissolution. Results from (U-Th)/He thermochronology suggest that the gas migrated into the reservoir at least at between 1.2Ma and 1.5Ma. Previous studies have suggest emplacement ages as young as 10ka. We calculate the amount of CO2 that has dissolved into the underlying brine using spatial variations in the CO2/3.He ratio, geophysical logs, and porosity and capillary pressure tests. Results show that the 22% ± 7% of the original CO2 has dissolved during the last 1.2Ma. This is an extremely slow dissolution rate. Results from permeability testing suggest that this dissolution rate may be typical for other US saline aquifers.

52 ABSTRACTS

Effects of Particle Size & Biomass Fraction on Residence Times in Co-Fired Reactors

CAROLINE SORENSEN & MORGEN SULLIVANMASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Co-fired reactors use designated or waste biomass fuels to complement the traditional fuel used in a power plants. The environmental advantages of using a part load of carbon-neutral fuel has gained co-firing growing popularity in recent years, but the technological complexity of changing the fuel call for further research and system optimization. This study uses a thermodynamic approach to compute equilibrium operating temperatures for reactors using any ratio of biomass to coal, and simplified, single-particle burning models to compute required residence times for coal and biomass particles at various sizes over this range of temperatures. Residence times are a normalized way of comparing combustion limits in reactors of different sizes and power capacities. The combustion model accounts for both the global chemical kinetics and the oxygen diffusion rates to give a more robust and accurate residence time prediction. By using a typical willow biomass composition and idealized pulverized coal, the model demonstrates the effect of the particle sizes and biomass fraction on the residence time. The results show that reasonable changes in the particle size lead to much larger changes in residence time than the counterpart range of biomass fraction does. The model also provides a reliable way of finding maximum biomass particle size as a function of the coal particle size (i.e. ensuring complete combustion by matching residence times) - a parameter of great significance given that much of the potential gain in switching additional feedstock to biomass is lost in the preprocessing of biomass to adequately small sizes.

53ABSTRACTS

A Learning Agent for Heat-Pump Thermostat Control

DANIEL URIELI THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are one of the biggest energy consumers around the world. With the efforts of moving to sustainable energy consumption, heat-pump based HVAC systems have gained popularity due to their high efficiency and due to the fact that they are powered by electricity rather than by gas or oil. One drawback of heat-pump systems is that their efficiency sharply decreases when the outdoor temperature is around or below freezing. Therefore, they are backed up by an auxiliary heating system that is effective in cold whether, but that consumes twice as much energy. A popular way of saving energy in HVAC systems is setting back the thermostat, meaning, relaxing the heating/cooling requirements when occupants are not at home. While this practice leads to significant energy savings in many systems, it could in fact increase the energy consumption in a heat-pump based system, using existing control strategies, as it forces an excessive usage of the auxiliary heater. In this paper,we design and implement a complete, adaptive reinforcement learning agent which applies a new control strategy for a heat-pump thermostat. For our experiments, we use a complex, realistic simulator that was developed for the US Department of Energy. Results show that the learned control strategy (1) leads to roughly 7.0%-14.5% energy savings in typical homes in the New York City, Boston, and Chicago areas; while (2) keeping the occupants’ comfort level unchanged when compared to an existing strategy that is deployed in practice.

54 ABSTRACTS

Environmental Impact of Bitumen Extraction with ES-SAGDMATTHEW WILLIAMSON

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

We are in the middle of a massive transition in the energy sector. The advent of new technology and practices have allowed us to look to unconventional resource plays in order to keep up with the insatiable energy demands of our ever-growing population. Specifically, our focus is on thermal enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and the vast reserves of bitumen that have yet to be fully devel-oped. One of the most widely used, low-risk and effective meth-ods for recovering bitumen is steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD), but even this process has some major setbacks. Namely, it requires a large amount of energy and freshwater, thus con-tributing much to greenhouse gas emissions. One solution to the traditional SAGD process is the injection of solvents with the steam in a process known as expanding solvent SAGD (ES-SAGD), which allows for higher total oil recovery with less energy input. Additionally, nearly 70% of the injected solvents can be recovered which reduces environmental costs.

This project attempts to study the effectiveness of ES-SAGD pro-cesses in terms of produced oil and water quality, asphaltene precipitation, and wettability change of the reservoir. Five labo-ratory experiments were conducted on bitumen samples from Alberta and results were evaluated to show the reduction in envi-ronmental impact and refining costs.

Using the information gathered in these analytical methods, we can better understand the chemical changes taking place inside the reservoir and recommend the best solvent or combination of solvents that will result in the lowest energy input per amount of bitumen recovered.

55ABSTRACTS

Analysis of Fracture Propagation in Naturally Fractured Reservoirs: Guidelines for Fracture

Complexity GenerationKAN WU

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

The recent advances in micro-seismic data suggest that hydraulic fracturing stimulation has often caused complex fracture networks. The most important factor that might be responsible for the fracture complexity is the interaction between natural and hydraulic fractures. In this study, we investigate multiple fractures propagating simultaneously in the shale reservoirs with different natural fracture patterns and analyze the generation mechanism of complex fracture networks based on our recently developed fracture propagation model. The numerical model using the displacement discontinuity method and the finite difference method handles the coupling of the rock mechanics and fluid flow. Flow rate distributions between multiple fractures are determined by wellbore friction and pressure within the hydraulic fractures based on Kirchooff’s first and second laws. Based on geomchanics of pre-existing natural fractures, fracture length distributions have a strongly power-law shape, and all fractures roughly have the same orientation. We discuss the intersection between two induced fractures and between an induced fracture and a natural fracture. Results show that two simultaneous propagation fractures cannot cause intersection between each other in terms of fracture mechanics and fluid flow. The fracture will stop growing when the tips are close enough to the adjacent fracture. Hydraulic fracture can cross or deflect into natural fractures. Fracture complexity depends on the orientation of natural fractures, differential stress, the length and density of natural fractures. Analysis of fracture propagation in natural fractured reservoirs from this work provides critical insights into fracture complexity generation.

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Etter-Harbin Alumni Center 2110 San Jacinto Blvd

Austin, TX 78712

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