- Promoting research centers of excellence on energy issues relevant to West Virginia and the U.S. DOE
- Based on West Virginia's Science and Technology Plan
- Incorporating multidisciplinary research teams
- Coordinated by the National Research Center for Coal and Energy at WVU, Richard A. Bajura, Director, for WV EPSCoR
SIP Award Winner
Integrated Computing, Communication, and Distributed Control of Deregulated Electric Energy Systems
-The highest rated proposal among those reviewed-
Studying the effective and efficient operation of electricity generation, transmission, and distribution systems in a competitive market environment.
$1.17 million, 3 years, U.S. DOE, beginning August 2000.
$1.45 million, 3 years cost share from the WVU Research Corporation, WVU National Research Center for Coal and Energy, the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and the participating research units listed below.
A continuation was awarded in 2003.
$1.7 million, 3 years, U.S. DOE
$1.7 million, 3 years, cost share with new participants which include the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Dept. of Mathematics, Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Consumer Sciences Division of Resource Management, plus the WVU Research Corporation, the WVU National Research Center for Coal and Energy, the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
Research Team
Professor Ali Feliachi, Research Director,
Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering,
College of Mineral and Energy Resources, West Virginia University
Faculty and 16 Graduate Students from: West Virginia University Lane Dept. of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Dept. of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Dept. of Economics
WVU Institute of Technology
Wheeling Jesuit University Erma Ora Byrd Center for Education Technologies for educational
programs to promote an interest in power generation among high school students.
To date, program participants have included:
- Undergraduate students and graduate students in a course co-taught by a power systems engineering professor and an economics associate professor entitled Power Systems Analysis and Economics
- 39 graduate students, including 7 women; 13 students have completed the MS, two of those have gone on to the PhD program, 9 have completed the PhD; two who completed the PhD have stayed on as research assistant professors
- Twelve tenure track research faculty members from five departments in four colleges on two campuses and four non-tenure track research assistant professors; a fifth non-tenure track research assistant professor, a female in the Economics Department, was appointed to a tenure track position in the last year due in part to her participation in this program. (She is counted among the twelve.)
- Two faculty equivalent professionals who manage the state DOE EPSCoR program part-time
- Three professional staff
Research Advisors from:
- Allegheny Power
- American Electric Power
- Brookhaven National Laboratory
- Concurrent Technologies Corp.
- Duquesne Power
- Mitsubishi Power
- National Energy Technology Laboratory
- RDS
- West Virginia Energy Task Force
- West Virginia University National Research Center for Coal and Energy
Project I: Economic Studies of Energy Markets
-generating plant divestiture.
- introduction of small-scale distributed resources such as fuel cells into the distribution system.
- energy management, using economic models and economic dispatch.
- energy balancing, using automatic generation control to balance supply and demand.
Project II: Integrated Control of the Transmission System
- engineering studies of control systems to allow maximum use of existing transmission lines while maintaining stability and reliability.
- examining new control devices such as Flexible AC Transmission (FACTS).
- studying traditional controllers at the generating units.
- using a variety of electrical, electromechanical, and electronic devices which can be modeled either by a simple linear continuous-time system, a discrete-time system, a digital system, or a complex nonlinear, time-varying system.
Project III: Effect of Small Scale Distributed Generation and Storage Devices on the Distribution System
- reviewing various devices such as fuel cells, flywheels, wind turbines, and solar panels
- examining the effects on load balancing, supply and demand, power quality, and system stability
for more information contact:
Professor Ali Feliachi, Research Director
Lane Dept. of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering
College of Engineering & Mineral Resources
Engineering Sciences Building
P.O. Box 6109
Morgantown, WV 26506
304 293-0405 x2529
alfeliachi@mail.wvu.edu
or visit website www.csee.wvu.edu/power/
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