Collaborative Research and Education in Southeastern US in

Emerging Areas of Power Engineering

B. Chowdhury, J. Enslin, T. Reddoch, S. Coley, S. Whisenant, E. Makram,

M. Baran

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Outline• Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) at UNCC

– Founded by the energy industry– Purpose: to address industry needs for the future and to facilitate applied research for a sustainable

energy future

• Center for Grid Education (GridEd): – Project Lead: Electric Power Research Institute– University partners: UNC Charlotte; Georgia Tech; Clarkson University; he University of Puerto Rico at

Mayaguez.– 15(?) utility partners– 19(?) Affiliate university partners– Purpose: To leverage utility industry R&D results with power engineering educational expertise in the

area of distributed renewable energy integration to educate the next generation of engineers.

• Center for Advanced Power Engineering Research (CAPER): Membership driven research consortium

– University partners: UNC Charlotte; Clemson University; NC State University– Purpose: To advance, develop and promote research related to the reliable and efficient

management of the power grid with and without presence of renewable energy resources.

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EPIC –UNCC/Industry Collaboration

• Education– Educate Multi-disciplinary Energy Students– Develop well-balanced curricula

• Research and Development– Applied multi-disciplinary research in the energy field – Coordinate efforts with regional and global universities

NCSU, Clemson, USC, Georgia Tech, UARK, KIT, Stellenbosch, etc.

• Economic Development– Creation of energy workforce pipeline– Grow jobs, vendors, suppliers of energy companies.– Incubation of energy related startup's– Outreach and leadership activities

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Applied Research Clusters• Power Systems Modernization (Research Cluster)

– Duke Energy Smart Grid Laboratory with RTDS and system analysis – NSF MRI– Distribution Automation and Micro-grids– Electric Vehicle and Energy Storage Integration – Smart Gen for equipment diagnostics & prognostics

• Renewables and Energy Efficiency– Clean-rooms with PV cell, module, inverter and LED process manufacturing– Off-shore wind, biomass and small-scale hydro technologies– Thermoelectric high-temperature conversion technologies– Integration of renewables and energy efficiency measures

• Energy Analytics and Markets – Distributed energy markets, analytics and operations research– Cybersecurity in the energy field

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Duke Energy Smart Grid Lab

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Education and Workforce Development:• Develop future power professionals• Real-time system operations• Evaluate new grid technologies• Professional & Lifelong education• Hands-on grid modernization training

Research & Economic Development: Emulation of power, control and IT Grid Modernization test-bedIncubate new grid technologiesGenerator exciter test-bedAttract outside partners Incubation evaluation

Duke Energy Microgrid Facility6

Substation

Recloser

Point of common coupling

SolarCustomer Transf. Customer Gen.

Fire Station

DER Transf.

Solar Inverter

Battery

Control House

Courtesy: T. Fenimore, Duke Energy

Duke Energy Microgrid Facility7

Courtesy: T. Fenimore, Duke Energy

GridEdThe Center for Grid Engineering Education

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A DOE SunShot Initiative: Grid Engineering for

Accelerated Renewable Energy Deployment

(GEARED)

GridEd leverages utility industry R&D results with power engineering educational expertise in the area of distributed

renewable energy integration to educate the next generation of power system engineers.

Educating Power Engineers for a Future Distribution Gridhttp://grided.epri.com

Collaboration

EPRI

Utility IndustryUniversities

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GridEdScope and Key Milestones• Development of a curriculum and

course materials for academic and professional training courses

• Deliver short courses on selected topics related to renewable energy

• Develop e-learning modules for open-access subscription

• Train additional instructors from both academia and utilities to increase the number of competent trainers nationwide

• DG Technologies • Distributed Storage & Generation• Power System Reliability• High Voltage and Electrical

Insulation in the Power System• Unbalanced Dist. System Analysis• Demand Response Technologies,

Analytics, and Economics• Energy Efficient Technologies• Fundamentals of Power Quality

Analysis• Business Case Analysis

• Elec. Power Distribution Systems• Appl. of Smart Inverter Tech• Distribution System Simulation -

Modeling and Analysis• Utility Applications of Power

Electronics• Energy Markets• HVDC Technology• Micro-Grid Concepts and Designs• Lighting• Information and Communication

Options• Electric Transportation

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GridEdShort Courses

• CAPER - a membership driven consortium among three Universities in the Carolinas:– Clemson University, NC State University and UNC Charlotte

• The Carolinas is the fastest growing energy hub in the nation.

• Mission– To develop and demonstrate a comprehensive and integrated

methodology for grid modernization

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C PER

• Threats to the US Grid– Physical and Cyber Security

• Power system resilience• Integration of Renewables• System Stability in Presence of Renewables• Power Delivery Infrastructure and System• Power Utilization and Energy Efficiency • Power Generation, Storage and Integration • Data Management, Analytics and Security • Energy Policy, Markets and Economics

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C PERTargeted Research Themes

NCSU FREEDM Center13

Center Focus:Develop critical technologies to Integrate distributed and renewable energy sources and energy storage with at distribution level

Utilize power electronics and information technology• Plug-and-play of Energy Cells

• Automate the management of load, generation and storage

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Real-world Smart Grid Test-bed for FREEDM and industry technologies• 1 MVA 12 kV three phase distribution

grid

• Third-party renewable energy resources and storage− 40 kW solar− 20 kWH battery storage− PHEV/PEV charging stations

• Test bed for FREEDM developed technologies− SST/FID/DESD/Wind emulator− Smart Home/DC/AC Microgrids− DNP3.0/IEC61850 based RSC

andSCADA

FREEDM Green Energy Hub

Clemson Univ. Restoration Inst. (CURI)15

15 MW nacelle, drivetrain or gearbox HIL testing

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Clemson Univ. Restoration Inst. (CURI)

Conclusion

• Strong power industry presence in the Carolinas• EPIC (UNCC), FREEDM (NCSU), and CURI (Clemson)

attract • Joint proposals for major initiatives with industry

participation• Joint projects capitalizing on each university’s

strengths• Faculty and students collaborate easily with each

other and with local industry

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