Energy reliability costs

Another research opportunity that I have also been able to learn and understand more about was how reliable different energy systems could truly be in a changing environment and world. More specifically, I looked into two different major categories of energy systems: Environment-Dependent Energy Systems (EDES) and Environment-Independent Energy Systems (EIES). The reasoning as to why these categories came to be in the first place was because of the results of a changing climate and its increased volatility. I found that hydropower systems such as the Hoover Dam dried up significantly within 30 years, and the numerous solar panel systems in New York have become limited in their effectiveness due to the increased amount of precipitation the state has seen. However, other systems such as those that rely on nuclear power have shown their positive potential as well some concerns that have brought up numerous debates about their effectiveness in true implementation.

A key focus on this particular research was also the various stakeholder or perspectives in this debate that bring up differing arguments over which category is truly more effective. For example, politicians overall often cite EDES as effective methods of creating energy due to the fact that they are renewable, mesh well with net-zero carbon agendas, and are generally manageable to implement financially. This is often done so that the public will receive their plans well and are more likely to view said politicians in a better light. On the other hand, economists often state the EIES are actually more efficient financially as although they possess a higher upfront cost, they tend to become cheaper in the long run to maintain. These differing opinions has brought up a significant point of interest in my research, which I have culminated in a research paper. I plan to present my research to potential college conventions and conferences in the future as well as submit this research for publication.