Environmental Internship Program - 2023 Booklet

Dorothy Chan ’26
CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
Certificates: Sustainable Energy, Urban Studies
INNOVATION AND A
NEW ENERGY FUTURE
PROJECT TITLE
A Case Study on the
Future of Peaker Plants in
New York City
ORGANIZATION(S)
Energy Systems Analysis
Group, Andlinger Center
for Energy and the
Environment, Princeton
University
LOCATION(S)
Princeton, New Jersey
MENTOR(S)
Eric Larson,
Senior Research
Engineer, Andlinger
Center for Energy and
the Environment;
Cecelia Isaac, Associate
Professional Specialist,
Andlinger Center for
Energy and the
Environment
New York operates on a transmission bottleneck,
forcing its most densely populated areas to rely
on peaker plants — outdated fossil fuel plants
that only run a few times a year during periods
of “peak” demand. Peakers are typically located
in environmental justice communities, cost
millions of dollars to maintain and produce
highly polluting emissions, all of which bring
cause for their retirement as soon as possible. For
my research project, I first ranked which peakers
should be retired first based on technical,
environmental and financial factors represented
by the capacity factor, surrounding air pollution
and operating costs of each plant, respectively.
Then, I used a least-cost optimization tool for
electricity resource planning to model New
York’s electrical grid in 2025, 2030 and 2040.
I established these basic ranking and timeline
frameworks in hopes that they may be further
used in other urban areas that rely on peaker
plants. I especially want to highlight the
prioritization of disadvantaged communities in
transitioning to a zero-emissions future. This
internship allowed me to explore my interests in
energy systems and urban planning, which I plan
to continue pursuing through my concentration
and certificates.
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