09/03/2025
By Danielle Fretwell

The Francis College of Engineering, Department of Energy Engineering - Renewable, invites you to attend a Doctoral Dissertation Proposal defense by Sergio Freeman on: "Toward a Zero-Carbon New England Power System: Planning with Wind, Solar, Energy Storage and Electric Vehicles"

Candidate Name: Sergio Freeman
Degree: Doctoral
Defense Date: Monday, September 15, 2025
Time: 9:15- 11 a.m.
Location: Perry Hall, Room 415

Committee:
Advisor: Ertan Agar, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Lowell

Committee Members*
1. Chris Niezrecki, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Lowell
2. Cordula Schmid, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, UMass Lowell
3. Juan Pablo Trelles, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Lowell

Abstract:
This dissertation investigates the technical and economic feasibility of deep decarbonization in the New England power system through renewable energy, energy storage, and large-scale electrification. Using multi-decade hourly weather data, the analysis evaluates wind-solar portfolios and finds that short-duration energy storage (SDES) can meet up to ~87% of hourly demand, while long-duration energy storage (LDES) and renewable overbuild are essential to achieve full reliability. Integrating hydrogen-based and redox-flow battery storage reduces system costs by as much as 55% and maximizes renewable utilization, offering a cost-effective pathway to regional adequacy and resilience.

Beyond bulk system planning, the research examines the impact of widespread electrification of transportation and distribution-level hosting capacity. Results show that 100% electric vehicle adoption could increase New England’s electricity demand by ~42%, but vehicle-to-grid (V2G) integration reduces peak demand, lowers system costs by ~35%, and defers infrastructure expansion. At the feeder level, unmanaged distributed resources accelerate transformer aging and voltage issues, while coordinated management through
Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS) and V2G increases hosting capacity from 25% to 60% and enhances reliability. Together, these findings provide an integrated, climate-adaptive framework for building a resilient, cost-efficient, and low-carbon New England power system.