Rosa Isabella Cuppari’s research while affiliated with University of North Carolina at Charlotte and other places

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Publications (6)


Map of the California and West Coast Power System modeled by CAPOW. The Mid-C and CAISO markets are modeled by separate UC/ED models, with statistically generated imports and exports between them and external markets. In this study, reservoir operations at 47 Columbia River Basin dams are modeled according to existing rules for all but four dams, whose operations are optimized.
(a) Map of the Columbia River Basin (CRB) and all modeled dams with non-zero storage. Operations at all dams in black use existing rules, while operations at all dams in red are optimized. (b) Integrated Reservoir System Management model (RSM), which consists of a reservoir simulation model of the CRB and an energy systems model of the California and West Coast Power System (CAPOW).
Actual vs predicted values of Vancouver’s water level.
Actual vs predicted values of the statistical surrogates of the (a) Mid-C and (b) CAISO markets.
Policy performance of all optimized Pareto-approximate policies (colored lines) and HYSSR (black line) across (a) 15 years of synthetic flows used for optimization and (b) 100 years of synthetic flows used for validation.

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Exploring the benefits of integrated energy-water management in reducing economic and environmental tradeoffs
  • Article
  • Full-text available

September 2024

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87 Reads

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Julianne Quinn

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Greg Characklis

Integrated water-energy management is crucial for balancing socioeconomic and environmental objectives in multi-reservoir systems. Multipurpose reservoirs support clean energy production, recreation, navigation, and flood protection but also disrupt natural water flows and fish migration. As hydropower’s role evolves with grid decarbonization, managing these tradeoffs becomes increasingly complex. An integrated model combining economic and environmental factors is essential to inform how to adapt hydropower operations effectively to complement decarbonization of the electric grid. However, existing literature lacks such comprehensive models. This study introduces an integrated water-energy optimization model using the Columbia River Basin (CRB) and Mid-Columbia energy market as a case study. The model couples a simulation of operations of 47 CRB reservoirs with a unit commitment/economic dispatch model of the California and West Coast Power system. We employ Direct policy search and a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm to optimize four objectives: maximize economic benefits from energy production, minimize fossil fuel electricity generation, minimize environmental flow violations, and minimize peak flood levels. Our findings reveal that the integrated model discovers superior operational strategies compared to existing rules, with some policies outperforming current operations on all objectives simultaneously. Insights from the optimized policies include strategies for improved coordination of reservoir operations using storage and inflow data, and the strategic timing of water releases to ensure increased hydropower production leads to less fossil fuel dependence and greater revenue. These results highlight the potential of integrated models to enhance the sustainability of hydropower operations amid a transitioning energy landscape.

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Sample illustration of AVS used in the survey. Reproduced with permissions from [33]. The following text was used to describe the system.
The distribution of responses to statements related to solar power and AVS. Numbers on bars indicate the count in each response category. Nearly all respondents agreed that they would continue farming even with sufficient income from solar, and that they had a positive perception of solar. Respondents were most split on whether they were interested in making their farm an agrivoltaic system and whether they were concerned that AVS would reduce their crop yields.
Importance of different individuals and entities in influencing crop choice.
Correlations between statements used in the survey. Correlations are based on numerical values for agreement, which are scored from −2 (Disagree Strongly) to +2 (Agree Strongly), aside from the summated scores (‘Change Sum Score’, ‘AVS/Solar Sum Score’). The latter scores are the total sum of the relevant questions, i.e., −6–6 (3 questions) and −12–12 (6 questions), respectively. See supplementary materials (Survey Results) or Appendix Table A4 for a key with the full statements used.
Drivers of agrivoltaic perception in California and North Carolina

July 2024

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96 Reads

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1 Citation

The last decade has seen dramatic growth in solar power. In some regions, the most favorable land for solar panels is farmland, which is often flat and exposed to high levels of irradiance. At the same time, the agricultural sector is faced with growing challenges, notably changing water availability and increasingly frequent extreme weather events. The combination of these trends presents an opportunity for a synergistic relationship between the agriculture and solar sectors: agrivoltaic systems (AVS). In AVS, solar panels are placed above and between crops, such that the same land produces both food and energy. This system has beneficial microclimate impacts, such as reduced evapotranspiration. Yet, despite these benefits there has been limited uptake of AVS. One reason may be hesitation on the part of farmers, whose perceptions of AVS have been explored little. This analysis seeks to address part of this gap by exploring the relationship between farmer perceptions and interest in AVS. A Likert scale survey was designed and distributed to farmers across two large, agriculturally productive states, North Carolina and California. Responses from the 41 participants who fully completed the survey suggest that farmers who perceive AVS as diversifying their income or whose goals include reducing water use are the most interested in installing AVS. Respondents also identified financial viability as a major concern, agreeing that upfront cost is a major barrier to AVS, and markets as the most influential driver of crop decisions. These findings provide insights for policymakers interested in expanding AVS, particularly in response to environmental stressors, such as water scarcity and extreme weather events. They also suggest the aspects of AVS that may be most important to farmers, and most effective in encouraging AVS uptake. This information can support efforts to promote AVS, contributing to sustainable agriculture.


Citations (2)


... This vulnerability has been noted by credit rating agencies and internal reporting and has contributed to the depletion of BPA's line of credit with the U.S. government, one of its three primary risk management tools [37,[57][58][59]. Prior analysis has suggested that an inability to mitigate its hydrometeorological risk could lead to losses of up to $200 million [60] and over $1 billion in costs [61]. Adjusting the timing and volume of water releases and power generation can mitigate the impact of hydrometeorological variability, but influences other system objectives. ...

Reference:

Exploring the benefits of integrated energy-water management in reducing economic and environmental tradeoffs
COMPARING ALTERNATIVES FOR MANAGING HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL FINANCIAL RISK FOR HYDROPOWER SUPPLIERS
  • Citing Preprint
  • August 2024

... To increase the resilience of these important crop systems in order to adapt to climate change conditions, agroforestry and agrivoltaics (AVs) can increase (or even maintain) yield while also advancing multiple sustainable development goals [14,15]. In particular, AV combines solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in agricultural land with different crops. ...

Agrivoltaics: Synergies and trade-offs in achieving the sustainable development goals at the global and local scale
  • Citing Article
  • May 2024

Applied Energy