The summer of 2023 felt like an endless chain of heat waves in the U.S. but nowhere more so than in Texas, which experienced its second hottest summer on record. In this webinar, meteorologists Jennifer Newman and Jessica Tomaszewski discussed the meteorological drivers of the heat wave, the temperature and demand records that were set, and the impact the heat wave had on power prices. They discussed:
- Causes of the heat wave
- How heat waves impact demand and renewable energy production
- How climate change might impact the frequency of heat waves
- How you can take extreme events into account for price forecasts
The session was interactive and there was an extensive Q & A session after the presentation.
About the speakers
Jennifer Newman, VP, Atmospheric Science Research
Jennifer Newman is an atmospheric scientist with experience in boundary layer meteorology, remote sensing, machine learning, and wind resource assessment. Prior to joining REsurety, Dr. Newman completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory with a focus on improving turbulence estimates from Doppler wind lidars. As a research scientist at REsurety, she investigates new methods for estimating the risk of potential wind projects.
Dr. Newman holds Doctor of Philosophy and Master’s degrees in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Atmospheric Science from Cornell University where she graduated with distinction in research.
Jessica Tomaszewski, Senior Research Scientist
Jessica Tomaszewski is an atmospheric scientist with experience in boundary layer meteorology, numerical weather prediction, and wind resource assessment. Prior to joining REsurety, Jessica completed a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship with a focus on simulating interactions between wind farms and the lower atmosphere, as well as two summer internships at NextEra Analytics investigating improvements to the wind farm wake modeling process. As a research scientist at REsurety, she builds and investigates new techniques for analyzing renewable resources and mitigating their financial risk.
Dr. Tomaszewski holds a PhD and Master’s degree in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder. She also holds a Bachelor’s degree in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.