$1M National Science Foundation grant could help researchers plan for wildfire-related power outages

A $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation will help Washington State University researchers plan for power outages related to wildfires. 

WSU researchers said they hope to better understand the interplay between wildfires and the power grid. Sometimes, wildfires cause power outages and sometimes power infrastructure causes wildfires.

“We hope this work is going to be helpful for our local communities,”  said Ji Yun Lee, associate professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, in a news release. 

Lee is leading the project.

Climate change and aging infrastructure have contributed to the threat of wildfire-related power outages across the U.S., according to the news release.

The grant will help the multidisciplinary researchers develop a wildfire simulator and a tool that predicts power outages. The tool will help them study Northwestern landscapes, characteristics of communities and ignition sources.

Researchers said they hope to predict risks to the power grid during different types of fires, such as forest fires, fires near rural communities or those in urban areas.

“If there is no urban infrastructure, it is much easier to simulate wildfire propagation, but if there are buildings, roads and power lines, then the wildfire propagation simulation becomes much more complicated,” Lee said.

During the five-year study, collaborative groups will talk about what local communities need. Those participants include utility companies, rate payers and energy organizations.

The researchers say they’ll take community input into account as they recommend solutions for wildfire-related power outages.

“At the end of this project, we want to suggest actionable solutions,” Lee said. “When we know the values, needs and perspective of the community, we can incorporate them into engineering solutions.”

Then, using the prediction tools and the community groups’ thoughts, researchers said they hope to come up with plans for local communities. They said solutions to power outages could include buried power lines, microgrids or better upkeep of plant life near power infrastructure.

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