NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. — Courtney Cole, assistant teaching professor of engineering at Penn State New Kensington, recently presented a workshop at the Penn State Climate Solutions Symposium focused on helping electric power professionals conduct climate risk assessments using industry-developed tools.
Held May 19 at The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center, the symposium was sponsored by the Penn State Climate Consortium.
Cole partnered with Jeff Thomas, principal team lead for energy system asset resilience at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to lead the workshop, titled “Conducting a Climate Risk Assessment for Electric Power Systems.”
The session introduced participants to three tools developed through the Climate Resilience and Adaptation initiative, known as READi.
The first tool, the Climate READi Compass, serves as a resource for navigating the Climate READi Framework and identifying elements best suited to a user’s implementation needs. The second, the Climate Data Inventory, provides a catalog of climate and weather datasets available to support power system analyses.
The third tool in the workshop highlighted the Vulnerabilities and Adaptation Strategies Inventory, a repository of information on potential vulnerabilities to power system assets caused by climate hazards. The inventory can be used as a baseline for site-specific planning and modeling, while also directing users to additional resources for more detailed system analysis.
Workshop participants worked through one of four scenario-based exercises using the tools. One scenario placed participants in the role of a Pennsylvania distribution owner conducting a climate risk assessment for electric power assets.
Cole plans to continue working with EPRI to expand the workshop for additional professionals in the electric power industry. She also plans to integrate the tools into more courses at Penn State New Kensington, building on prior classroom use in Engineering Design 100 and Energy and the Environment 101.