Dr. Kaitlyn Bunker

Rocky Mountain Institute
Manager, Islands Energy Program


Kaitlyn Bunker, Ph.D., P.E. is a Manager with Rocky Mountain Institute’s Islands Energy Program. In this role, she leads energy modeling and technical analysis to complete integrated resource plans in partnership with Caribbean island utilities and governments, which are a key piece of developing national energy transition strategies. These plans take a whole-systems view of various options for the future of the electricity sector on each island. Kaitlyn is an expert in microgrids and distributed energy resources, and has been the lead engineer with several microgrid assessments and utility models with the Islands Energy Program. 

Kaitlyn joined the RMI team after completing a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Mich. Her dissertation research focused on microgrids and optimizing control strategies for distributed renewable resources. Kaitlyn is a 2010 recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.