Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
Department
Division of Resource Economics & Management
Committee Chair
Paul Kinder
Committee Member
Michael Strager
Committee Member
Samuel Taylor
Abstract
Energy transition from conventional to centralized power plants, including coal-fired units, is critical for West Virginia’s long-term energy and economic future. The socioeconomic downturn in West Virginia was deeply connected with the dependence on the centralized coal industry and the coal economy. Most traditional coal communities in rural West Virginia struggle to maintain economic viability, potentially leading to outmigrations and poor energy resilience. I investigated the possibility of introducing community-sized distributed energy systems in these rural communities to improve energy resilience and accommodate the future transition from centralized coal-generated energy.
My goal was to identify rural regions where distributed energy can be utilized at an optimal cost, thus improving energy resiliency within these communities and positively impacting the economy. This study provided a geospatial modeling approach with Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and Geographic Information System (GIS) suitability assessment to identify the feasible locations of small-scale distributed generation for wind, solar, and hydropower energies. The net value comparison analysis was conducted utilizing the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) and levelized avoided cost of energy (LACE) to determine the differences in investment costs for each distributed generation type compared with traditional coal-generated electricity.
I expected the spatial analysis results to reveal optimal sites for the specific distributed energy types. I found that wind and solar distributed generation have stronger presences in southern and eastern West Virginia counties, while suitable small hydropower development locations are spread across the state. This study provided insight into future distributed energy and its infrastructure development possibilities in rural West Virginia.
Recommended Citation
Zhang, Xinming Andy, "Distributed Energy Infrastructure Development: Geospatial & Economic Feasibility in Rural West Virginia" (2023). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 11885.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/11885