This PFI: AIR Research Alliance project focuses on the translation and transfer of situational intelligence and intelligent control technologies to fill real-time modern power system operation technology gaps. A utility-like control center will be developed at Clemson University to demonstrate these technologies and for rapid prototyping of real-time technologies for smart grid control centers. The technologies have the following market-valued features: scalability, systems-thinking approach, and grid intelligence that will increase real-time responsiveness to variable and uncertain generation, changing power loads and component failures, improve the dynamic and transient behavior of the power network, improve grid reliability, ensure local and wide area stability, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and assist human experts in control centers to respond quickly in a reliable and secure manner compared to the leading competing technologies in situational awareness and control center energy management systems (EMSs) in this market domain.
The project accomplishes this transfer to the market by developing situational intelligence systems and intelligent dynamic stochastic optimal power flow control for electric power control centers resulting in creation of new jobs in smart-grid analytics and modern power system operations, commercial products including intelligent EMSs for control centers, and intelligent decision-making and control tools with the potential to license, generate royalties, and sustain an innovation eco-system for developing leading-edge modern power system control center applications that will result in spinoffs.
The partnership engaged to transfer the technologies to the market domain include independent research laboratories and small businesses who will contribute to the development of the technology, control center platform vendors who will integrate the technology, and utilities that will test out the technology. The potential economic impact is expected to be in several millions of dollars in the next five years, which will contribute to the U.S. competitiveness in the maximum penetration of variable and uncertain generation with enhanced control center operations capability. The societal impact, both short and long term, addresses national needs, especially for highly interconnected power system, in terms of sustainability, security, and reliability. Our nation's critical infrastructures depend on the electricity infrastructure to be reliable, secure and efficient. Situational intelligence and intelligent control for the electric power grid allows for: mitigation or even prevention of blackouts - billions of dollars saving in losses; high levels of renewable energy penetration; softening of negative effects of the climate change on the economy; minimization of impacts and rapid recovery from natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes and malicious attacks.
