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The government of Cape Verde, an archipelagic Small Island Developing State (SIDS) off the coast of Senegal, has established a goal to achieve 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025. Several islands in the archipelago have suitable wind and solar resources and nationally these compose about 25% of the electricity output. However, not all islands are equally endowed with these resources and the lack of grid connections among islands poses challenges for integrating additional variable energy generation. Integrating desalination and storage (pumped hydro or battery) could enable greater penetration of wind and solar energy. Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) is an emerging technology that could be suitable for Cape Verde. Microgrids and self-generation could prove to be more cost effective than grid connections outside of the large cities. Achieving the 100% renewable energy goal would require a US$1 billion investment. Cape Verde has a variety of resources that can contribute to achieving its 100% renewable electricity goal but combining them in manageable and cost-effective way remains a challenge. The options, opportunities, and challenges encountered by Cape Verde are applicable to other countries, especially small island developing states and archipelagos around the world.

____________________________________________ David Rethwisch ii To my wife, Kassie iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would first like to thank Dr. Allan Guymon for his guidance throughout the research process. His keen eye for detail and emphasis on skills for the workplace has prepared me for success in the world outside of IATL. I have learned a great deal from him about how to communicate and propose research effectively, especially in a presentation setting. Lippert and Huayung Fang, their insights into research and the scientific process have been invaluable. With special thanks to Kaitlynn McElvain, Anne Harrison, and John Whitley for the excellent edits and suggestions. Thank you as well to my collaborators Nadeesha Rathuwadu and Kristi Knoche for their help with electrochemical characterization. I have had the privilege of working with two excellent undergraduate researchers, Mike Kelly and Eastyn Fitzgibbon. Through my interactions with them, I have learned much about how to plan and communicate research to others. Their hard work in the lab contributed greatly to this work. iv I would like to thank my family for love and support, especially my parents, who have always supported my goals and aspirations with enthusiasm. My in-laws, Joe and Dot, for their support on this journey. To my grandparents, for always encouraging me in my educational endeavors.A special thank you to Dan and Cynthia Timmerman, for use of their cabin, my very own Walden's Pond.To my daughter, Burke, the ultimate distraction and joy during the toughest part of writing. And last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my wife, Kassie, for all her love and support throughout my doctoral program and for the incredible amount of assistance she has provided me during the writing process by reading and proofreading.v ABSTRACT Modifying photopolymer structure on the molecular and nanoscale level permits tailoring materials for use in a wide variety of applications. Understanding the fundamentals behind polymer structure at these levels permits the control of material properties. This work gains insight into the modification of structure on two levels, the nanoscale by use of structure templates and the molecular scale through the modification of polymer network formation.Lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) are a type of self-assembling surfactant system, which in combination with photopolymerization can be used to template ordered nanostructure within polymer materials. This structure can be controlled and utilized to influence the properties of a polymer material. This research examines materials used as templating agents and the types of nanostructures that may be obtained. Additionally, their effects upon the LLC templating process and material properties is determined.Structured polymers are created using LLC templates in pursuit of materials for use in water purification processes and electrochemical devices. Through a more complete understanding of the fundamentals of the templating process, the work presented here extends the LLC templati...