2023 Shultz Energy Fellowships: Western Electricity Coordinating Council
Regional-, state-, and city-level efforts are essential in our fight against climate change, especially in the field of energy. Stanford University is committed to helping by integrating its students into energy and climate ecosystems in the West through the Shultz Energy Fellowships program, an energy-related summer fellowship program for undergraduate and graduate students.
Named in honor of former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, one of the most widely admired American public servants of the past half-century, the program offers a suite of paid, energy-related public service fellowships for Stanford students in California, Colorado, Utah, and Hawaii during the summer.
The fellowships run from Monday, June 26, 2023 to Friday, September 1, 2023. You will be one of two Stanford students placed at WECC located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Undergraduate student stipends range from $6,500-$8,500. Graduate student stipends are $10,000.
Western Electricity Coordinating Council
The Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) promotes Bulk Electric System reliability in the Western Interconnection. WECC is the regional entity responsible for compliance monitoring and enforcement. In addition, WECC provides an environment for developing reliability standards and coordinating the operating and planning activities of its members as set forth in the WECC Bylaws.
WECC is geographically the largest and most diverse of the eight regional entities with delegated authority from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The WECC region extends from Canada to Mexico and includes the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia, the northern portion of Baja California, Mexico, and all or portions of the 14 Western states between.
The mission of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council is to promote and foster a reliable and efficient Bulk Electric System. WECC’s vision is to lead its stakeholders to achieve optimal system reliability, be the premier source of unbiased information, and serve as the trusted thought leader for the Western Interconnection.
For more information visit the WECC homepage.
2023 Fellowship Project
As electrical companies known as Balancing Authorities (BA) seek to maintain a balance between generation and load, changing weather conditions can impact the production of variable generation (ex., solar, wind) throughout the western interconnection. As WECC has identified potential impacts during extreme heat waves, the goal of this internship is to validate these potential impacts identified, determine if other potential trends occur during conditions (ex., extreme cold, poor air quality) may impact the production of variable generation (ex., solar, wind).
This internship will investigate these conditions by performing an analysis to identify correlating trends from different data sets and identify significant differences in variable generation production. Based on these results and the remaining time for the project, determine any potential times where a BA was potentially challenged in maintaining the balance of load and generation, as well as provide a projection of these trends with increased variable generation.
This analysis will be done by:
- Use the following historical data and other data as needed
- Historical weather information from verified sources (ex., National Weather Service)
- BA’s hourly load and generation data
- BA’s Area Control Error and Control Performance Standard-1 performance data
- Meet regularly with WECC staff and industry experts to ask questions and provide updates
By the end of the internship, students will be able to present the findings of the analysis to the WECC EA/SA team, industry experts, and others as needed or as time allows.
Potential Mentor
Tim Reynolds, Manager – Event Analysis and Situational Awareness, will act as the student mentor for this project. The goal of the WECC Event Analysis (EA) and Situational Awareness (SA) processes is to promote the reliability of the bulk power system in the Western Interconnection (WI). Mr. Reynolds first came to WECC in 2012 as a Compliance Engineer. He later transitioned to the Operations Department as a Reliability Engineer to help with the assessment, tracking, and trending of Bulk Power System events and occurrences. Prior to joining WECC, Mr. Reynolds began his career at PacifiCorp, working in different positions as an Area Planner, Metering Engineer, and Compliance Analyst. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Utah.
2022 WECC Fellow
- Jack Kessler, MS '23, Sustainable Design and Construction
- Learn more about Jack's experience at WECC:
The ideal student candidates will have the following skills and knowledge:
SKILLS:
- Demonstrated research and analytical skills.
- Ability to quickly understand complex topics.
- Ability to think creatively, critically, and broadly about issues affecting electric reliability.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills.
- Experience using Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
- Ability to work independently as a member of a research team, and individually demonstrate initiative and seek guidance when necessary.
- Ability to collaborate with stakeholders outside of their immediate work group.
KNOWLEDGE:
- Awareness of issues affecting electricity reliability.
- Interest in applying knowledge to understanding and mitigating reliability risks the Western Interconnection.
All Shultz fellows must be enrolled in the spring quarter before their fellowship.
All Shultz fellows must take a one-unit spring workshop course, 'Energy Policy in California and the West' taught by Professor Bruce Cain and Visiting Fellow Felicia Marcus 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 / ENERGY 73. Schedule: Wednesdays from 10:30 am - 11:30 am (Shriram Ctr BioChemE 368).
