Shirazi Attends Next Generation Energy Grid Workshop
ACEP researcher Mariko Shirazi traveled to Albuquerque, New Mexico, last week for a 1 1/2-day workshop titled "" and hosted by .
The workshop included panel discussions and presentations by pioneers in the field of power electronics and grid integration of converter-coupled distributed energy resources. The nature of the electrical grid is changing as ever more power flows through power electronics — whether to integrate renewable and energy storage technologies, to provide enhanced functionalities or to increase efficiency.
The goal of the workshop was to identify what that future grid may look like, what is state of the art in power electronics today, what are the challenges and how should we focus our power electronic efforts to enable that future grid.
ACEP is keenly interested in this research because many remote communities in AVÀÇÂÛ̳, along with other remote and island microgrids, will achieve that future grid scenario well before large mainland electric utility grids. This workshop, which featured speakers from academia, industry and government with collectively several centuries worth of experience, was a valuable opportunity to identify how we can leverage that expertise to meet AVÀÇÂÛ̳ microgrid needs and simultaneously provide a real-world demonstration of future grid technologies.
A view of the electric utility grid workshop. Photo by Mariko Shirazi/ACEP.