2020 Stanford Energy Internships in California and the West: California Independent System Operator (CAISO) - Renewable Integration Group
State- and city-level efforts are essential in our fight against climate change, especially in the field of energy. Stanford Energy Internships in California and the West (SEICW)—an energy-related summer internship program—places some of Stanford University’s best students in key and influential positions in the local energy and climate-related ecosystem. This position is funded. You will be one of two Stanford students placed at CAISO; their office is located in Folsom, California.
The program runs from Monday, June 22, 2020 to Friday, August 28, 2020.
Organization/Agency mission or role in state government
The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) is located in Folsom, California, and manages the flow of electricity across the high-voltage, long-distance power lines that make up over 80 percent of California’s electric power grid. The not-for-profit public benefit corporation safeguards the economy and well-being of over 30 million customers by "keeping the lights on” 24/7.
The ISO has one of the most modern electricity generation and delivery control centers in North America. It has been described as a hybrid of the New York Stock Exchange and NASA’s mission control and powers the world’s eighth largest economy—California. The ISO designed its control center with a clean, green world in mind by using the latest high-tech grid reliability and renewable resource integration tools. To deliver all that clean energy, the ISO employs advanced technologies to monitor the power grid in milliseconds to ensure the 26,000-mile transmission network and over 850 power plants are always ready to meet the electricity needs of people in California and in the six states that are members of the western Energy Imbalance Market.
As the nerve center for the power grid, the ISO matches buyers and sellers of electricity, facilitating over 28,000 market transactions every day to ensure enough power is on hand to meet demand. Every five minutes the ISO forecasts electrical demand, accounts for operating reserves and dispatches the lowest cost power plant unit to meet demand while ensuring enough transmission capacity is available to deliver the power.
The ISO is the only system operator in the western United States supported by a competitive auction-style electricity market. The California ISO is the hub of efforts underway at state and government agencies and research laboratories to advance grid and system technologies, policies and processes because the ISO must use innovations to reliably operate the grid at all times and identify and dispatch the most cost efficient power to meet demand. The ISO is leading the way to tomorrow’s energy network through the following strategies:
- Lead the transition to renewable energy;
- Maintain reliability during industry transformation; and
- Expand regional collaboration to unlock mutual benefits.
The ISO is leading the world in the development of policies to effectively integrate large amounts of variable output renewable generation into the wholesale grid. The ISO is also leading the development of policies that enable distribution system resources, such as demand response, rooftop solar, and energy storage to participate in the ISO’s wholesale market. This will, for the first time, empower consumers to have the ability to become energy suppliers as well.
The ISO is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and complies with standards set by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council.
Potential Projects
In the renewable integration group, the intern will support the ISO’s efforts in integrating high penetration of renewable generation into the electric system by conducting research about renewable policies and technologies and running simulation models to analyze renewable portfolios.
A successful experience in the renewable integration group would be to learn about the development of renewable policies and renewable portfolios in California. The intern would gain experience with using complex mathematic models to simulate the electric system and develop future renewable scenarios, all while working with massive data sets.
For the California ISO, a successful engagement would be to host a student who is passionate about shaping the future of the California ISO’s electricity market through engineering and economic analysis. To be successful, the student would need strong communication, research, writing, and analysis skills.
Possible Projects include:
- Renewable and Emerging Technologies: Conduct research about the policies and renewable technologies that may impact long-term resource planning for the state’s renewable future; and write research reports.
- Planning the Future: Support the ISO market development and system planning by running simulation models to develop potential long-term future renewable portfolios
Potential Mentors
- Shucheng Liu – Principal, Market Development
- Strong research, quantitative analysis and computer software, writing and communication skills are highly desired.
- Knowledge of Electricity Markets and optimization (linear programming); programming language (Python, VB) related to data processing and analysis.
- Preferred majors include: Electrical Engineering, Operations Research, Economics, Environmental Policy, or related fields.
- International students are not eligible to work at CAISO, but are eligible to apply for any other SEICW opportunity.
- All SEICW students must be enrolled in the spring quarter before their SEICW internship. Absolutely no exceptions are made to this rule.
- All SEICW students must take a one-unit workshop spring course, 'Energy Policy in California and the West' taught by Bruce Cain and Sally Benson that will provide an in-depth analysis of the role of California state agencies, the Western Interstate Energy Board, and the Western Electricity Coordinating Council in driving energy policy development, technology innovation, and market structures. Course number is CEE 263G / POLISCI 73 / PUBLPOL 73. This course must be taken in person.
Please note that this opportunity is for graduate students. Interested undergraduates can apply via SIG.