Team Members
New Mexico State University
Principal Investigator. Manage, monitor, and ensure project progress. Prepare a plan for DOE regarding the longer-term vision for different stakeholders along with the needs to fulfill the mission. Work on the transmission benefit study, reliability, and resilience benefit study. Community benefit studies.
Dr. Fengyu Wang, Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor in Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
PNM Utility Management Endowed Chair
Associate Director of Electric Utility Management Program
Dr. Di Shi
Associate Professor in Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Paul W. and Valerie Klipsch Distinguished Professor
Dr. Patricia Sullivan
Director, Office of Strategic Initiatives
Associate Dean for Outreach and Recruitment in the College of Engineering
Kinetic Power, LLC
Kinetic Power, LLC will lead the planning, mapping, preliminary engineering, and costing of access roads, staging areas, water pipelines, and substation pads, integrating digital elevation, land use, environmental, and Lidar data to optimize routes and minimize environmental impacts. They will also conduct detailed dam and spillway cost analyses, prepare environmental permitting documentation, and carry out comprehensive environmental, water quality, fisheries, and recreation studies, as well as interconnection and wheeling feasibility analyses. These efforts will support licensing, infrastructure design, and mitigation planning for the project.
Mr. Thomas Conroy
Principal of Kinetic Power
Mr. Tracy Livingston
Principal of Kinetic Power
Mr. Tom Taylor
Principal of Kinetic Power
Colorado School of Mines
Colorado School of Mines will lead a desktop review of existing geological and geotechnical data, followed by preliminary field mapping to document rockmass characteristics, collect rock samples, and conduct unconfined compressive strength tests. The results will be used to develop a preliminary three-dimensional geological model in Leapfrog Geo, create risk profiles for potential tunnel and shaft alignments, and design an optimal site investigation plan. The model will then be refined with borehole data to support the selection of baseline tunnel and shaft alignments, conceptual design, cost and schedule estimates, and uncertainty analysis.
Dr. Mike Mooney
Grewcock Chair Professor of Underground Construction & Tunneling
Professor, Geology and Geological Engineering
Director, Center for Underground
Director, Underground Construction & Tunnel Engineering Graduate Program
Dr. Gabriel Walton
Associate Department Head
Professor, Geology and Geological Engineering
Columbia University
Columbia University will lead market and water management studies for the Carrizo Pumped Storage Hydropower project. On the market side, CU will adapt and enhance energy storage bidding models, assess the impact of evolving market designs on revenue potential, and develop participation strategies that reduce carbon emissions while maintaining profitability. On the water side, CU will evaluate regional climate variability and drought risks, assess and propose improvements to San Juan River water quality, and conduct recreation studies to maximize community benefits, culminating in detailed Market Assessment and Water Supply, Usage, and Management reports.
Dr. Bolun Xu
Assistant Professor of Earth and Enviromental Engineering
Dr. Upmanu Lall
Alan & Carol Silberstein Professor
Director of the Columbia Water Center
Argonne National Lab
Argonne National Laboratory will lead a comprehensive transmission benefit study to assess the impacts of the Carrizo Pumped Storage Hydropower project on the Western Electricity Coordinating Council system. Using advanced production cost, transmission expansion, and security analysis tools, ANL will evaluate reductions in energy production costs, improvements in transmission asset lifespan, and savings from deferred transmission investments, while also analyzing stability enhancements under credible contingency scenarios. These findings will be compiled into a detailed Transmission Benefit Study Report.
Dr. Feng Qiu
Principal Computational Scientist
Group Leader, Advanced Grid Modeling — Optimization and Analytics
Dr. Alinson Santos Xavier
Principal Computational Scientist
Dr. Vladimir Koritarov
Director, Center for Energy, Environmental, and Economic Systems Analysis
Baylor University
Baylor University will lead the LiDAR drone survey and digital twin development for the upper and lower reservoirs. This work includes site preparation, high-resolution LiDAR data collection, and processing to create detailed 3D models for design optimization, environmental assessment, and ongoing monitoring. The team will develop functional digital twins integrated with VR/AR visualization tools, enabling immersive analysis, real-time performance monitoring, predictive simulations, and collaborative decision-making to support long-term reservoir management.
Dr. Liang Sun
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Los Alamos Lab
Los Alamos National Laboratory will help estimate reservoir seepage using field mapping, permeability analysis, and simplified modeling, and will support freeboard, spillway, and dam design assessments based on flood risk, site conditions, material availability, cost, and construction timelines.
Dr. Mohamed Mehana
Staff Scientist in the Energy and Natural Resources Security Group, Earth and Environmental Sciences Division