Kaj Peterson

About Kaj Peterson

Licensed Professional Engineer with 8+ years analyzing California\'s energy systems and building data infrastructure to support clean energy policy decisions. Combining engineering rigor, data analytics expertise, and deep domain knowledge in energy storage, grid operations, and greenhouse gas emissions.TECHNICAL SKILLS- Programming & Data: Python (Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, Selenium, Scikit-Learn), SQL, Excel modeling, Tableau- Data Engineering: ETL pipeline development, web scraping, data validation, statistical analysis, time-series modeling- Domain Expertise: Energy storage systems, grid operations, GHG emissions analysis, hydrogen systems, integrated resource planning- Engineering: Fluid dynamics, thermodynamics, mass/energy balances, system optimizationSELECTED PROJECTSBuilt end-to-end data pipeline analyzing time-series intervals of energy storage operations data, processing multi-source datasets (CAISO market data, WattTime emissions data) to quantify GHG impact. Used Python for automated data collection (Selenium), transformation (Pandas), statistical analysis (SciPy), and visualization (Tableau).Developed fluid dynamics model analyzing hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines, performing sensitivity analysis and benchmarking against peer-reviewed research to inform policy decisions.Created hybrid machine learning recommendation system using collaborative filtering (SVD) and natural language processing (TF-IDF) as capstone project for MIT Applied Data Science Certificate.EDUCATION & CREDENTIALS- MIT Professional Education: Applied Data Science Certificate (2022)- KTH Royal Institute of Technology: BS, Energy and Environment (2016)- Licensed Professional Engineer, California (M 41385)- PLEXOS Core Certification (2020)Passionate about using data and engineering to accelerate the clean energy transition. Experienced in translating complex technical analysis into actionable insights for diverse stakeholders.

Experience

1. Senior Utilities Engineer

   California Public Utilities Commission

   Dec 2023 — Present · San Francisco, CA, US

   Building data infrastructure and performing analytical work to support California\'s clean energy policy decisions, with focus on energy storage, greenhouse gas emissions, and grid reliability.Key Projects & Responsibilities:DATA ENGINEERING & ANALYSIS- Designed and maintain production data pipeline processing time-series records of energy storage operations, integrating CAISO market data and WattTime emissions data- Developed automated data collection system using Python (Selenium) for web scraping real-time grid operations data- Built statistical validation framework comparing emission rate methodologies, informing policy decisions- Created interactive Tableau dashboards for multi-stakeholder analysis and presentationTECHNICAL MODELING & RESEARCH- Developed fluid dynamics model analyzing hydrogen blending in natural gas pipelines, performing sensitivity analysis and benchmarking against peer-reviewed research- Conducted cost-effectiveness analysis and GHG impact assessment for utility-scale energy storage procurement- Provided technical analysis on grid reliability, resource adequacy, and integrated resource planningIMPACT- Quantified that utility-scale energy storage reduced California GHG emissions by metric tons in 2021- Technical findings directly informed policy decisions affecting billions of dollars in clean energy infrastructure investments- Presented research to stakeholders including utilities, grid operators, environmental advocates, and policymakersTechnologies: Python (Pandas, NumPy, SciPy, Selenium), SQL, Excel, Tableau, PLEXOS, energy system modeling

Education

• MIT Professional Education

  Certificate, Applied Data Science

• North Park University

  Bachelor’s Degree, Linguistics and Scandinavian Studies

  2006 — 2011

• KTH Royal Institute of Technology

  Bachelor of Science - BS, Energy and Environment

Skills

• Fluid Dynamics
• Calculus
• Vector Calculus
• Microsoft Excel
• Matlab
• Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Energy
• Statistics
• Thermodynamics
• Leap
• Differential Equations
• Environmental Decision-Aiding Tools, Including Cba, Mcda, Lca
• Energy Modelling
• Sustainability
• Renewable Energy
• Water and Energy Modelling in Weap, Leap, Osemosys and Momani
• Technical Computing in Matlab and Excel
• Energy Policy
• Gis