Description
This effort will be to study patterns in post blackout energy return in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The vulnerability of energy availability will be explored sector by sector, with a particular focus on agriculture and forestry. The availability and potential efficacy of natural energy resources for establishing microgrids and mitigating disaster-related energy vulnerabilities will be investigated. Scientific expertise will be required for understanding and analyzing Recurrent Acute Disasters (RADs) and their effects on locales over time. Particularly in the use and interpretation of NASA VIIRS Black Marble products (VNP46A*) and including capabilities for near-real-time analytics, geospatial time series analysis, and methodologies for interactive visualization, dynamic communication, and automatic reporting of night-time energy resource conditions. The contractor will need the technical expertise to accomplish the requested tasks and complete the deliverables. The contractor will be expected to communicate regularly weekly at a minimum, with the team at the USDA Caribbean Climate Hub, sharing progress, seeking input and feedback, and providing access to data as it is developed. The result of tasks and deliverables will be geospatial assessments of the cause, effects, and variability in the rate of return of energy to residential and commercial consumers post hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. The tasks will focus on identifying vulnerabilities in energy services affecting the well-being of people and sustainability of activities in agriculture, forestry, and rural communities. It will provide an assessment of sector explicit energy needs to identify priority consumers, risks, and vulnerabilities to extreme climate events affecting energy availability. It may also provide an assessment of the geospatial distribution of natural resources (solar, wind, wave and tide energy) that could be used in dedicated microgrids. The resulting information can inform planning efforts to develop resistant and resilient renewable energy sources that can serve high priority consumer needs across the diverse geography of Puerto Rico, including such needs as rural hospitals and health centers, schools, communications towers, dairy and poultry farms, food processing facilities, emergency shelters, and other facilities. The contractor will require expertise in analyzing Recurrent Acute Disasters (RADs) and their effects on Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands over time. The contractor will require expertise in issues of climate equity and resilience in the context of assessing post-disaster recovery. The contractor will require expertise in accessing and analyzing NASA VIIRS Black Marble products (VNP46A). The contractor will require expertise in computer modeling, data analysis, and publishing peer reviewed scientific writing.