Re-Envisioning Electric Railway Power Systems in Dense Urban Regions

Author

Rohama Ahmad, CUNY City CollegeFollow

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Engineering

First Advisor

Ahmed Mohamed

Keywords

Regenerative Braking, Subway System, Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles, Solar Panels, MTA

Abstract

Grid decarbonization and modernization are key requisites to combat global warming. Decarbonization entails the deployment of renewable energy sources, improving the energy efficiency of major consumers, and the electrification of the transportation and building sectors. Various US states and cities have pledged to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (e.g., the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) in New York aims to reduce emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and then to 85% below 1990 levels by 2050) via a set of targets in terms of renewable energy, energy storage system (ESS) capacity, and the number of electric vehicles on the road. Achieving these targets is typically faced with a set of looming challenges including regulatory obstacles, project financing, impact on the grid, etc. The problem is further exacerbated in dense urban regions where space and aged infrastructures are limiting factors.

This dissertation re-envisions electric railway systems as major sustainability and resiliency energy hubs in dense urban regions. Specifically, we propose and prove that the power systems of a railway network can provide an excellent medium to integrate renewable energy systems, electric vehicle charging, and energy storage, with minimal impact on the power grid, and with additional crucial resiliency and energy efficiency benefits. Our general hypothesis is that electric railway power systems can play a key role in decarbonizing the power grid. Multiple frameworks and configurations are proposed, as well as validated, through extensive studies focused on New York City’s subway system, one of the largest and busiest subway systems in the world. A state-of-the-art high-fidelity model has been developed for NYC’s subway system and simulated under various design and operational scenarios to evaluate the techno-financial feasibility of solar integration, wayside energy storage deployment, and electric vehicle charging.

Recommended Citation

Ahmad, Rohama, "Re-Envisioning Electric Railway Power Systems in Dense Urban Regions" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1124