Caitlin Murphy is a group manager and senior analyst in the Impacts Analysis Group within the Strategic Energy Analysis Center. Her research interests involve evaluating how energy policies and technology innovation impact the evolution, operation, and environmental impacts of the U.S. energy system. Caitlin’s research portfolio centers on renewable-based hybrid energy systems, including the economic, reliability, and operational impacts of coupling utility-scale renewable energy and storage technologies.

Research Interests

Deployment potential of renewable-based hybrid energy systems

Impacts of widespread electrification on electricity demand and power sector investments

Evaluating the system and environmental impacts of federal and state energy policies

Education

Ph.D., Geophysics, California Institute of Technology

B.S., Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Professional Experience

Senior Energy Analyst, Grid Planning and Analysis Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (2018–2022)

Science and Technology Policy Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2014–2017)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Carnegie Institution for Science (2012–2014)

Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant, California Institute of Technology (2008–2012)

Featured Work

Understanding Economic and Deployment Benefits of Wind-PV Hybrid Power Plants, NREL Technical Report (2022)

Getting to 100%: Six Strategies for the Challenging Last 10%, Joule (2022)

The Roles and Impacts of PV-Battery Hybrids in a Decarbonized U.S. Electricity Supply, NREL Technical Report (2022)

Nuclear Energy in Long-Term System Models: A Multi-Model Perspective, Technical Report (2022)

The Evolving Energy and Capacity Values of Utility-Scale PV-Plus-Battery Hybrid System Architectures, Advances in Applied Energy (2021)

Evaluating Utility-Scale PV-Battery Hybrids in Operational Models for the Bulk Power System, NREL Technical Report (2021)

A Taxonomy of Systems that Combine Utility-Scale Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Technologies, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2021)

High Electrification Futures: Impacts to the U.S. Bulk Power System, The Electricity Journal (2020)

Adapting Existing Energy Planning, Simulation, and Operational Models for Resilience Analysis, NREL Technical Report (2020)

The Potential Role of Concentrating Solar Power within the Context of DOE's 2030 Solar Cost Targets, NREL Technical Report (2019)