Power Systems Engineering Research Center

Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources: Research Challenges and Opportunities

Mark J. O'Malley
Professor of Electrical Engineering University College Dublin
PSERC Public Webinar August 10th, 2011 2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern Time (11:00-12:00 p.m. Pacific)

Description The rapidly increasing levels of renewable energy sources, particularly variable sources such as wind and solar, coupled with the expected increases in demand-side participation and deployment of electricity vehicles are all pointing towards a dramatic change to the electricity grids along with significant research challenges and opportunities. This webinar will explore some of these challenges, propose possible research directions, and highlight opportunities for researchers, industry and government entities. There are several possible directions for the electricity grids of the future. Here the hypothesis is that the existing large scale electricity grids will grow even further and there will be need for ever increasing amounts of long distance high capacity transmission. That system will grow in scale, geographically, and in absolute energy terms. This vision of the future is also compatible with a large deployment of localized energy sources. The challenges for this future vision are building more large-scale transmission to complement the existing infrastructure and operating this future grid in a more flexible and dynamic manner at both a physical and institutional level. The challenges span technical to social topics. They include (1) the development of innovative transmission technologies, e.g., High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC); (2) newer more innovative planning and operating techniques that push the performance of existing and future grids to their limits; (3) understanding and managing grids with increasing levels of asynchronous generation; (4) development of new market and institutional structures that can accommodate larger penetrations of renewable energy and (5) recognition of the changing nature of consumer needs. The social aspects (e.g., public acceptance of transmission) will be noted.

Biography Mark O'Malley is the Professor of Electrical Engineering at University College Dublin. He has received two Fulbright awards (1994 & 1999). In 2007 he was elected a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and in 2008 he was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy. He is a member of the Engineering Sciences Panel of the European Research Council, a member of the European Academy of Sciences Advisory Council Energy Panel and is the chair of the IEEE Power and Energy Society Task Force on Capacity Value of Wind, member of the Editorial Board of the IEEE Transactions on Power Systems, member of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation Task Force on Integrating Variable Generation, member of the IEEE Power Engineering Society Wind Power Coordinating Committee and an IEEE distinguished lecturer in the grid integration of renewable energy. He is the Irish representative on the International Energy Agency Research Task 25: Design and Operation of Power Systems with Large Amounts of Wind Power, and is the lead author with responsibility for integration issues in the International Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation. He acts as a consultant to all major players in the Irish electricity industry and several US entities including the U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, giving advice on issues as diverse as electricity market design and the grid integration of renewable sources. Speaker Contact Information: Mark O'Malley jmark.omalley@ucd.ie Participation by Webinar: To connect to the webinar, click here and then on 8/10/2011. The webinar will include the audio and slides (but no video). You will be able to send in your questions via the website. The archived webinar will be available immediately afterwards. Registration for Webinar Participation: None required. There is no charge for participating! Webinar Technical Details: To confirm that you will be able to view the webinar, click here and try viewing one of the archived webinars. You should install Silverlight 3 to view the webinar. If you need additional assistance, send an email to pserc@asu.edu. Assistance: If you have any questions, please call 480-965-1643 or email pserc@asu.edu. You can also contact Dennis Ray, PSERC Deputy Director, at 608-265-3808 or djray@engr.wisc.edu.