The Energy Security Changemaker

I was the deputy project manager for an offshore wind transmission feasibility project where we developed above ground and underground routes for transmission cables both onshore and offshore. There was a lot of coordination with the environmental teams, electrical engineers, civil engineers from a right of way and mass transit impact standpoint. Much of the critical energy infrastructure being developed across the U.S. involves a significant amount of collaboration by stakeholders since in some cases, this is “new territory” for certain developers. That's where the training and education piece of being a project manager comes into play. We take a complicated subject matter and make it digestible to our stakeholders. It requires not just having engineers, but project managers who can be a conduit to their ultimate understanding of the subject matter.

I’m the project manager for WSP’s design-build team at Maryland’s David F. Bone Equipment Maintenance and Transit Operation Center that will feature electric bus charging and on-site hydrogen production powered by solar. This is one of the most unique projects I have worked on and the microgrid will begin sending renewable energy back to the grid and powering the zero-emission buses by the end of 2025.

The beauty behind energy infrastructure is that although it can be an “Achilles’ heel” in some ways (when there are disruptions from natural disasters or cyber threat let’s say) there are opportunities to make it more resilient. If we design it correctly and diversify our energy portfolio with renewable sources such as offshore wind, battery energy storage, solar, modular reactor technology, microgrids and thermal energy, we can have more energy security. The legacy centralized grid can be less susceptible to supply chain disruptions, all the while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In summary, energy security is national security.

In what ways will electrification help advance a more resilient future?

Electrification is going to enhance a more resilient future because, again, when we combine electrification with renewable energy sources of some kind, it's creating a more redundant network. There is less reliance on materials and supplies, less reliance on the operator, and in general, less reliance on the centralized grid. When a system is designed to be more resilient to cyber-attacks or more resilient to weather disruptions, we reduce the reliance on fossil fuels and supply chains, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen our energy security.