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ORNL-led study analyzes electric grid vulnerabilities in extreme weather areas  

Posted at 9:18 pm July 31, 2016
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A new ORNL-developed method pinpoints electrical service areas across the southern United States most vulnerable to climate change and predicted population growth, which could inform decision makers about future substation needs. (Photo by ORNL)

A new ORNL-developed method pinpoints electrical service areas across the southern United States most vulnerable to climate change and predicted population growth, which could inform decision makers about future substation needs. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Climate and energy scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a new method to pinpoint which electrical service areas will be most vulnerable as populations grow and temperatures rise.

“For the first time, we were able to apply data at a high enough resolution to be relevant,” said ORNL’s Melissa Allen, co-author of “Impacts of Climate Change on Sub-regional Electricity Demand and Distribution in the Southern United States,” published in Nature Energy.

Allen and her team developed new algorithms that combine ORNL’s unique infrastructure and population datasets with high-resolution climate simulations run on the lab’s Titan supercomputer. The integrated approach identifies substations at the neighborhood level and determines their ability to handle additional demand based on predicted changes in climate and population.

The new, high-resolution capability can explore the interconnections in complex systems such as critical infrastructure and weather and determine potential pathways to adapt to future global change, a press release said. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Top Stories, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: climate change, Electric Reliability Council of Texas, electrical service areas, electricity demand and distribution, Impacts of Climate Change on Sub-regional Electricity Demand and Distribution in the Southern United States, Joshua Fu, Melissa Allen, Mohammed Olama, Nature Energy, Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Science, ORNL, population, Steven Fernandez, temperature changes, Tennessee Valley Authority, Titan, Titan supercomputer, University of Tennessee

Top issues identified: Housing, population, Main Street, retail

Posted at 2:21 am May 6, 2015
By John Huotari 3 Comments

Warren Gooch

Warren Gooch

A community survey has identified housing, population, and the development of Main Street Oak Ridge and retail shopping as top issues, Mayor Warren Gooch said Tuesday.

Other top issues include jobs and economic development, and public relations efforts to promote the city.

High priorities on a list of potential capital investments or projects include infrastructure improvements, a new preschool, and funding of an incentive program for people buying or renovating a house.

Ten groups have participated in the survey since January 1, Gooch said. Those groups include the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, the three Rotary clubs, Oak Valley Baptist Church, Anderson County Tea Party, Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce coffees, Leadership Oak Ridge, Neighborhood Watch awards banquet, and citizens at large.

Gooch, who gave a speech to the League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge on Tuesday, said residents can still participate in the survey.

Here are survey results as of April 30, 2015:

What is the most important issue facing Oak Ridge?

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Business, Community, Front Page News, Government, Oak Ridge, Oak Ridge, Top Stories Tagged With: community survey, economic development, housing, jobs, League of Women Voters of Oak Ridge, Main Street—Oak Ridge, population, preschool, retail shopping

ORNL model explores location of future U.S. population growth

Posted at 8:31 pm January 22, 2015
By Oak Ridge National Laboratory Leave a Comment

ORNL Population Map

This 3-D visualization represents projected changes in U.S. population between 2010 and 2050 as predicted by a new Oak Ridge National Laboratory model. Areas seen in red indicate higher levels of population growth, whereas the vertical spikes signify population growth with new land development. (Image courtesy ORNL)

 

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a population distribution model that provides unprecedented county-level predictions of where people will live in the United States in the coming decades.

Initially developed to assist in the siting of new energy infrastructure, the team’s model has a broad range of implications from urban planning to climate change adaptation. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“We do a census every 10 years because those data help us do long-term socioeconomic planning,” said Budhendra Bhaduri, who leads ORNL’s Geographic Information Science and Technology group. “Population projection numbers are important, but many pressing societal needs also require an understanding of where people are going to be. This has always been a challenge; we’ve never had a good method to make future projections spatially explicit.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: Front Page News, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy Tagged With: Amy Rose, Budhendra Bhaduri, Eddie Bright, Geographic Information Science and Technology, Jacob McKee, LandScan Global, LandScan USA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Office of Nuclear Energy, ORNL, population, population map, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Timmy Huynh, Urban Dynamics Institute

Guest column: Oak Ridge not an island anymore

Posted at 1:43 pm January 19, 2013
By Oak Ridge Today Guest Columns 7 Comments

By Leslie Agron and Pat Fain

“This Island Earth” is a classic 1950s sci-fi flick. Its gifts to the popular culture include the “interocitor” (an all-purpose communicator and weapon) and the origin of the sound bite “They’re pulling us up!” In it we learn not only that we are not alone, but that we are not even remotely enough located to stay uninvolved in cosmic conflicts.

Oak Ridge in the early 1950s was a remotely located, somewhat self-sufficient compound. It had been built that way intentionally by Gen. Groves in the 1940s. Nearly everyone who worked here also lived here because the government had made sure to offer them suitable rental housing.

The seeds of change were sown in the mid-1950s with the sale of those government-owned homes and the enactment of Eisenhower’s interstate highway system. As the interstates were built and the region grew a little closer, a few people began to commute to jobs in Oak Ridge.

As the 1970s and 1980s progressed, West Knoxville blossomed, and Pellissippi Parkway was built.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Guest Columns Tagged With: adjacent communities, commute, housing, Island Oak Ridge, isolated Oak Ridge, Leslie Agron, Pat Fain, population, workers

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Classifieds

Availability of the draft environmental assessment for off-site depleted uranium manufacturing (DOE/EA-2252)

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announces the … [Read More...]

Public Notice: NNSA announces no significant impact of Y-12 Development Organization operations at Horizon Center

AVAILABILITY OF THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE OFFSITE HOUSING OF THE Y-12 DEVELOPMENT … [Read More...]

ADFAC seeks contractors for five homes

Aid to Distressed Families of Appalachian Counties (ADFAC) is a non-profit community based agency, … [Read More...]

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