"IslandOS" - Tropical Island Grid Operating System
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
May 2026 - Present
Resilient grid operating system for managing renewable energy, battery storage, and power recovery on isolated islands.
The Problem
Renewable energy and energy independence are becoming increasingly important for isolated islands. However, isolated power systems cannot rely on neighboring electrical grids during equipment failures, natural disasters, and other disturbances. Tropical islands such as Guam, my hometown and initial case study, face further challenges such as minimal available land and capital for renewable development, frequent typhoon occurrences, and weather-related degradation.
The Solution at a Glance
I have developed a research-use digital twin for the island of Guam as a testbed for renewable penetration and development on Pacific islands with high fossil fuel reliance. Current generators and inverter-based resources (IBRs) were modeled with an economic dispatch cost curve and a transient system to capture dynamic behaviors. The transmission system was mapped for topology and transmission line lengths and properties. Using this, I am aiming to develop and evaluate an island-grid operating framework for low-cost, low-land-use, stable, and storm-resilient operation of a high-renewable system for isolated tropical islands.
The Approach
Built a research-grade digital twin of Guam's isolated electrical grid, modeling generators, inverter-based resources, batteries, solar generation, transmission topology, and line characteristics.
To evaluate renewable penetration from 50–100% using economic dispatch and stability-aware dispatch (SAD), analyzing the tradeoffs between renewable penetration, operating cost, and dynamic stability.
To simulate storm-induced outages and islanding scenarios to evaluate grid resilience and recovery, including distributed BESS, localized stability controls, and alternative generation architectures.
To optimize renewable deployment across grid stability, cost, land use, environmental impact, and storm resilience, developing a framework applicable to other isolated power systems.
My Role
Undergraduate Power System Modeling, Simulation, and Control Design Researcher in Networks, Dynamics, and Learning Lab
Leading tropical island grid control research
Collaborating with other researchers on related work and receiving guidance from Dr. Enrique Mallada
Tools
MATPOWER (MATLAB)
The Results
Built a research-grade digital twin of Guam's isolated electrical grid, modeling generators, inverter-based resources, batteries, solar generation, transmission topology, and line characteristics
