Clean Energy in the Caribbean • Kaitlyn Bunker, Ph.D., P.E.
(Manager, Islands Energy Program, Rocky Mountain Institute || CO USA)
“I knew I wanted to go to grad school, but wasn’t sure if I wanted to go for a PhD. Then I went to an awards banquet at the Society of Women Engineers conference as a senior in undergrad, where they give big awards to individuals. That year, a lot of the recipients were people with PhDs — I read their fascinating descriptions of what they work on in the banquet’s program, and that’s when I knew I wanted a PhD. I did my research on multidimensional droop control, a technology which keeps most of our power system running using a traditional linear approach — it’s a way for different generators on the system to fluctuate and adjust their output without needing to talk to each other. Applying this to remote microgrids, and say, wind or solar power — we could simulate controls for power output versus frequency versus some third variable like wind speed or solar irradiance, to make the system more efficient.
•
I work at Rocky Mountain Institute in our Islands Energy Program, where we partner with islands in the Caribbean to support accelerating their clean energy transition. Most islands today are using diesel fuel to generate electricity, fuel they have to import — very expensive. There’s an opportunity to make changes in their electricity systems to things that are lower cost, more sustainable, more resilient, and more local. A lot are renewable options. We partner with utilities, governments, and regulators to bring the pieces together, do rigorous technical analysis to support a solid plan going forward, and make the projects less risky to attract investors. These are often the first renewable energy projects in these island nations.
•
The decision to go into STEM is the big one — within it, there are so many possibilities. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel like they’re pigeonholing themselves if they go into a certain field in STEM. You’re opening yourself up to so many possibilities once you have your degree. You can go do anything with it!”
