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Jacqueline Dowling
Postdoctral Fellow at Stanford University , incoming Assistant Professor at University of Iowa
September 15, 2025 at 4:00 PM PT -> my local time Add to Calendar
Location: Rm 786, Davis Hall, Berkeley Watch Live on Zoom / YouTube
Weather Constraints Guide Energy Storage and Heat Pump Opportunities poster
Abstract
Clean energy transitions in many jurisdictions involve dramatic increases in shares of variable wind and solar power in their electricity grids, supplemented by clean firm power to provide reliability. To plan a resilient, clean energy future, we will need to account for natural resource constraints as we develop and deploy new technologies. To address this aim, I blend perspectives from earth science, energy system modeling, and energy economics. I will discuss my work that incorporates multi-decadal wind and solar weather data into energy system models, showing that it is critical to incorporate this variability for evaluating seasonal and interannual benefits of energy storage. Long-duration energy storage can make reliable wind-solar-battery electricity systems more affordable. Geologic hydrogen storage, thermal energy storage in dirt, and metal-air batteries are promising examples of this. In additional work, I estimate carbon abatement costs of building heat electrification constrained by temperature data at the U.S. census tract level. This talk illustrates that wind and solar constraints guide energy storage opportunities, and temperature constraints guide heat pump opportunities, informing energy infrastructure investment and research priorities.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Jacqueline A. Dowling (Jackie) models energy systems to guide the global transition to clean energy. She is currently a Stanford Energy Postdoctoral Fellow and will join the University of Iowa as a tenure-track assistant professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering in January 2026. Her research program analyzes natural resource constraints, guides technology innovation, and targets decarbonization solutions. Jackie uses weather data in macro-energy system models to guide reliable energy infrastructure plans and technology innovation. Recent focus areas include long-duration energy storage and heat pump adoption. Her dissertation combined techno-economic analysis and materials chemistry to assess the value of different energy storage and conversion technologies in wind- and solar-based electricity systems. She earned a PhD in Chemistry with a minor in Environmental Science and Engineering from Caltech. Jackie’s research on the role of long-duration energy storage has been cited by major utilities and in international, national, and state-level decarbonization plans.
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