NSF Awards $1.7M to Amro Farid to Help New Hampshire Communities Manage Energy Efficiently

The project will explore how Transactive Energy Services (TES) can support cleaner, more affordable and more resilient residential power supplies

Amro Farid, Alexander Crombie Humphreys Chair professor in economics of engineering in the Department of Systems and Enterprises at Stevens Institute of Technology, has been awarded a $1.7 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Smart and Connected Communities program to consider energy-sharing systems.

The study, "Assessing the Potential for Transactive Energy Communities in Rural New Hampshire," focuses on bringing rural communities a new way of managing energy: Transactive Energy Service (TES).

An "Uber for Energy"

"TES works like an Uber for energy," explained Farid, who has received more than $5.4 million in NSF funding since joining Stevens two years ago. "It creates real-time electricity markets so people can buy and sell electricity, even from their own solar panels. The goal is to help communities access clean energy, stay resilient during extreme weather and lower energy costs."

The idea of a TES has been around for nearly 20 years, but it still has many barriers to technical implementation and social adoption that Farid and his team are eager to pursue. Rather than just conducting an IT or technical study, their interest includes gaining local support and meeting community needs.

The research team includes Kamal Youcef-Toumi from MIT, who brings expertise in machine learning for home automation; Laura Arpan from SUNY Buffalo, who will analyze community reactions to TES; and Tian Tang from Florida State University, who will focus on regulatory and policy matters.

Amro Farid, Department of Systems and EnterprisesMaking a small town self-sufficient

The study will be centered in Lebanon, New Hampshire, a small city keen on maintaining sustainable, self-sufficient energy systems. Lebanon is home to the Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH), a community choice aggregator (CCA) that allows municipalities to source and deliver electricity directly. CPCNH represents the energy challenges common to over 50 New Hampshire towns, cities, and counties and maintains a strong community-based commitment to renewable energy and environmental protection.

"As more renewable energy sources like solar and wind are integrated into the grid, balancing supply with demand becomes more difficult," Farid noted. "Traditional power plants have managed this balance, but with renewable sources fluctuating, a TES approach lets the demand side help out, making the grid more stable, resilient and cost-effective."

To ensure a practical impact, the team will focus on the reliability and viability of TES, features that could appeal to residents, ease of participation and the potential to expand to other communities. They will develop a smart device similar to a Google Home or Alexa assistant to gather and predict data on household energy use in about 35 locally volunteered homes. By creating open-source data and educational resources, the project also aims to train future researchers and practitioners and inspire their interest in sustainable energy solutions.

"One of the things I find most compelling about Stevens is its interest in tackling large, complex societal challenges and their underlying systems, and I'm thrilled that the university has adopted this project as part of its strategic plan," Farid said. "My research portfolio and leadership of our Laboratory for Intelligent Integrated Networks of Engineering Systems align with that desire to address society's biggest challenges."

Farid and his team are optimistic that their findings may be able to help other communities adopt similar systems. They believe that TES could eventually reduce energy costs, cut emissions, and offer a model for reliable, renewable energy systems-giving small communities a brighter, greener future.