Assessing the Feasibility of Battery-Electric Freight Rail Yards in Southern California
Jeanette Zhou ‘26, Materials Science and Engineering
Undergraduate Fellow, Freight Technology Advancement Branch,
California Air Resources Board
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is a state government agency dedicated to protecting public health, welfare, and ecological resources through the effective reduction of air pollutants. CARB's work involves rigorous scientific research, regulatory measures, and collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as international bodies. This summer, I get to work with CARB’s Freight Technology Advancement Branch (FTAB) to assess feasibility claims about electrification of freight rail yards in Southern California. Right now, diesel-powered locomotives dominate freight operations in Southern California, which is a major hub for freight operations. The emissions from these locomotives not only exacerbate the effects of climate change, but also hurt the health of communities nearby these rail yards due to air pollution. As such, CARB has introduced regulation attempting to limit the emissions coming from these rail yards and to encourage a transition to zero-emission vehicles. However, many freight companies have pushed back against the transition by claiming that such a transition would put too much pressure on the grid.
My project this summer aims to respond to these claims by developing a customizable model to calculate the energy usage of the rail yards in Southern California if they were to fully transition to battery-electric locomotives, then compare the energy needs to the available load capacity of local distribution lines. So far, my typical day involves researching California's energy infrastructure, analyzing data regarding load capacity in areas near the rail yards, attending meetings, and writing Python scripts.
This fellowship has been eye-opening. I started meeting with my CARB mentor on Teams at the beginning of the spring quarter to help me get a base-level understanding of how freight rail yards operate and the different types of locomotives that are used in the industry. As I started research for my project, I realized how much I don’t know about energy infrastructure. Luckily I have been able to meet with CARB’s infrastructure team to fill in the gaps in my knowledge necessary for my project.
Even though this is only my third week on the job, the experience has already been incredibly enriching — not only have I learned a lot from the work itself, but also my newfound knowledge has allowed me to have more interesting conversations with my friends and family. I also had the chance to drive up to Sacramento to meet the FTAB team in person. While I had interacted with some of the team online, meeting the whole team in the office was wonderful. As I chatted with the team, I realized that not only are they very knowledgeable and passionate about their work, but they are also genuinely kind people. I look forward to working with them for the rest of the summer!
