Oak Ridge National Laboratory is helping keep the lights on in Puerto Rico

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) - Two researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Ben Ollis and Max Ferrari, are helping a remote community in Puerto Rico keep their power on, even after severe weather.

Due to its relatively remote location, Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, a small mountain community in the middle of the island, can lose power for weeks to months at a time. In order to combat this, the community has been installing small, autonomous microgrids that can operate without being connected to a more traditional power grid.

Ollis and Ferrari will soon be in Adjuntas to hammer out some technical details of their contribution to the project: making the microgrids even more reliable.

The researchers have developed a control system and algorithms that let these microgrids support each other. These microgrids would then be bale to help each other out in the event of hurricane damage or an extended failure of the island’s electric system.

“There’s a real chance people’s lives could be changed by this technology in the future,” Ollis said. “It’s always great to see your research doing something so tangible.”

The research team plans to demonstrate this tool, called an orchestrator, in lab hardware before installation in Adjuntas later in 2023.

Copyright 2023 WVLT. All rights reserved.