Spring 2024 Sustainability Fellow: Gabriella Mohammed

Gabriella Mohammed, a first-year undergraduate student majoring in Environmental Engineering, worked as a Sustainability Fellow as a part of the Spring 2024 cohort. Partnered with the City of Tallahassee Utilities, Gabriella’s project focused on energy storage innovation for the Clean Energy Plan. Gabriella was particularly excited to take on this project as the goals tie back to her passion for learning more about the energy industry, particularly concentrating on renewable energy.

Although this is only her first year at FSU, Gabriella has been eager to positively impact not only FSU’s campus but the wider Tallahassee community through her involvements, including serving as a Fellow and participating in the Eco-Rep’s program. Through serving as a Fellow, Gabriella was able to take some of the concepts that she’s learned in her academic studies and apply them in a practical, hands-on manner with assistance from her mentors, helping her to better navigate challenges and make the most of the opportunity.

The goal of this project was to implement storage batteries and research solar energy, as the project’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Investing in renewable energy technologies enhances energy independence by diversifying the energy mix. By harnessing solar energy and storing that energy in batteries, communities and utilities can become less reliant on centralized power sources.

Gabriella specifically focused on analyzing battery dimensions for microgrid substations, aiming to enhance grid stability and integrate renewables like solar. By simulating various scenarios with the help of her supervisors, she found that optimal battery sizes varied depending on the type of generation. For instance, while a 10MW battery was sufficient for natural gas generation, solar farms required 20MW for microgrid capability. Additionally, she highlighted the importance of battery storage in managing solar ramp rates, reducing grid strain, and enhancing resilience.

Through this process, Gabriella learned about the importance of building stronger partnerships with local communities that can help ensure that the innovations are not only technologically sound but also culturally and socially relevant, fostering greater acceptance and adoption.

“Working with a utility company on energy storage grid innovation was very enjoyable, it felt like what we were doing actually mattered,” said Mohammed, “Digging into research on batteries and sustainable energy solutions was not only interesting but also felt meaningful. I loved teaming up with experts from different fields and seeing how our ideas could tackle real environmental issues. Plus, it was a great environment for learning and growing, all while working towards a greener future.”

As a Fellow, she was able to lay the groundwork for future research, including exploring different data sets and battery durations. This research not only sets the stage for realistic energy storage implementations but also underscores the critical role of sustainability in powering communities.

To view Gabriella's Poster Presentation, click here.

To learn more about the Sustainability Fellows program, visit sustainablecampus.fsu.edu/sustainability-fellows.