SAI-R: A Community-Centered Decision-Making Framework for Microgrid Deployment

加强美国基础设施（SAI）是NSF的一项计划，旨在促进以人为本的基础和潜在的变革性研究，以加强美国的基础设施。有效的基础设施为社会经济活力和广泛改善生活质量奠定了坚实的基础。强大、可靠和有效的基础设施刺激私营部门创新，促进经济增长，创造就业机会，提高公共部门服务提供的效率，加强社区建设，促进机会平等，保护自然环境，增强国家安全，并推动美国的领导地位。为了实现这些目标，需要来自科学和工程学科的专业知识。SAI专注于人类推理和决策，治理以及社会和文化过程的知识如何使建设和维护有效的基础设施，改善生活和社会，并建立在技术和工程的进步上。所有公民和企业都依赖于电网的完整性和弹性。然而，有些群体比其他群体更容易受到极端事件造成的破坏。低收入家庭、老年人、有色人种和租房者最有可能在极端事件期间受到能源不安全和能源负担的影响。SAI研究项目通过设计移动的社区微电网，提供公平和可持续的解决方案，以提高电力系统的弹性，并解决能源公正和不安全的关键问题。移动的社区微电网（MCMs）是由可再生能源供电的小型电力网络，可以在需要的地方进行运输。该项目优化了MCM的设计和放置，平衡了低收入家庭的独特需求，社区接受度和政府法规，以确保能源公平和正义，并最大限度地提高抵御极端事件的能力。该研究推进了社会科学、电力供应和社区规划之间的跨学科合作，以提高服务不足社区的弹性和活力。微电网通常是根据技术和经济指标开发的。在优化过程中考虑社会和行为因素是具有挑战性的。本计画发展一种社会心理最佳化的方法，以供MCM技术的设计与社区接受。一个以社区为中心的决策框架的基础上，社会心理和行为的概念。重点是采用MCM，优先考虑低收入家庭的需求，并提高电网的弹性。调查，离散选择实验，行为干预和社区合作设计被用来评估接受的MCMs，估计愿意支付，并了解社区的需求。社会、行为和经济因素通过对实时智能电表数据和调查数据的大数据分析被整合到MCM的设计中。该项目吸引了关键利益攸关方的参与，包括当地弱势群体和政策决策者。优先考虑的是在研究过程和社区外联中融入多样性和包容文化。该奖项由社会，行为和经济（SBE）科学理事会，工程理事会，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值进行评估来支持和更广泛的影响审查标准。

Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI) is an NSF Program seeking to stimulate human-centered fundamental and potentially transformative research that strengthens America’s infrastructure. Effective infrastructure provides a strong foundation for socioeconomic vitality and broad quality of life improvement. Strong, reliable, and effective infrastructure spurs private-sector innovation, grows the economy, creates jobs, makes public-sector service provision more efficient, strengthens communities, promotes equal opportunity, protects the natural environment, enhances national security, and fuels American leadership. To achieve these goals requires expertise from across the science and engineering disciplines. SAI focuses on how knowledge of human reasoning and decision-making, governance, and social and cultural processes enables the building and maintenance of effective infrastructure that improves lives and society and builds on advances in technology and engineering.The electric power grid is among the most critical of American infrastructures. All citizens and businesses depend on the integrity and resilience of the electric grid. Yet some groups are more vulnerable than others to disruptions caused by extreme events. Low-income households, senior citizens, people of color, and renters are most likely to be affected by energy insecurity and energy burdens during extreme events. This SAI research project provides equitable and sustainable solutions by designing mobile community microgrids to enhance power system resilience and address critical issues of energy justice and insecurity. Mobile community microgrids (MCMs) are small-scale electric networks powered by renewable energy resources that can be transported wherever needed. The project optimizes the design and placement of MCMs, balancing the unique needs of low-income households, community acceptance, and government regulations to ensure energy equity and justice and to maximize resilience against extreme events. The research advances an interdisciplinary collaboration between social science, electric supply, and community planning to improve the resilience and vitality of underserved communities.Microgrids are commonly developed based on technical and economic metrics. It is challenging to consider social and behavioral factors in the optimization process. This project develops a social psychological optimization method for the design and community acceptance of MCM technology. A community-centered decision-making framework based on social psychological and behavioral concepts is developed. The focus is on the adoption of MCMs to prioritize the needs of low-income households and enhance power grid resilience. Surveys, discrete choice experiments, behavioral interventions, and community co-design are used to evaluate acceptance of MCMs, estimate willingness to pay, and understand the community’s needs. The social, behavioral and economic factors are integrated into the design of MCMs using big-data analytics of real-time smart meter data and survey data. The project engages critical stakeholders, including vulnerable local populations and policy decision-makers. Priority is placed on the integration of diversity and a culture of inclusion in the research process and community outreach.This award is supported by the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Sciences, the Directorate for Engineering, and the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.