Renewable-Based Power Systems

Decarbonizing energy systems is the core task of mitigation of climate change and a key element of air pollution control. The Harvard-China Project and its partners in China research many aspects of energy transition of entire economies or individual sectors or regions, in China, the U.S., India, and other countries.

Among the primary topics of research are:

• Geophysical and techno-economic potentials of wind and solar power generation, including impacts of climate change on those potentials over time; 
• Integration of variable renewable power into the grid, including strategies of expanded interconnection, addition of more flexible electricity demands (e.g., electric vehicles, green hydrogen production, electrified building heating and cooling), and steadier renewable sources (e.g., offshore wind); 
• Electrification of light-duty transportation, including strategies taking account of real-world driving and charging behaviors observed in growing electric vehicle fleets in China and the U.S.; 
• Production of green hydrogen and other green fuels for use in hard-to-abate sectors such as industry (e.g., chemicals, iron & steel) and transportation (e.g., heavy-duty road transport, aviation, shipping); 
• Architectural design and building science to improve energy efficiency and electrify with renewable power;
• and much more.