The Advanced Grid Institute (AGI) is a collaborative partnership between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Washington State University (WSU) on a mission to solve critical grid modernization challenges. Since 2018, the AGI has been working to accelerate research and development of advanced grid modeling tools and operational technologies our future power grid will require. This quarterly newsletter brings you research updates, timely announcements, news, events, and developments of interest to the AGI community.
RESEARCH AND PROJECTS
Effortless Multi-Domain Modeling and Automated Workflow Management Using GridSandbox
The national power grid is becoming larger, more complex, and more dynamic – making it harder to monitor and protect. The reliability and security of the future smart grid depends on leveraging the power of computing to analyze large volumes of data, coordinate distributed energy resources, and protect against cyber-attacks.
There’s a host of solutions that allow utility operators to enhance situational awareness and support real-time decision-making. But these solutions need to be tested and validated before deploying in the field.
The problem? Current cyber-physical power system modeling solutions require costly investment in hardware, multiple software solutions, and labor – and the flow of data between solutions is often not seamless.
To solve this problem, the Advanced Grid Institute, a joint research collaboration between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Washington State University (WSU), developed GridSandbox.
GridSandbox is designed to be an open-access web application that enables researchers with limited experience using simulators to conduct transmission-distribution-cyber multidomain grid modeling using easy-to-use automated workflow management tools via an intuitive, yet powerful web interface.
With GridSandbox, utility planners can evaluate the performance of grid architectural designs, control schemes, and communication protocols by simulating grid behavior and analyzing outcomes before deploying them in the field. It’s particularly powerful when analyzing PMU-based wide-area controls and transactive energy systems.
The project was led by Henry Huang and Dexin Wang from PNNL, and Anurag Srivastava, formerly from WSU.
“We needed a way to effectively model and simulate and analyze this energy ecosystem, which has the grid but also many other different pieces and domains, like smart buildings, electric cars, energy storage, communication networks, and natural gas pipelines,” said Huang.
GridSandbox requires minimal time to setup and minimal effort to run, researchers said.
For more information on GridSandbox, email Henry Huang.
PEOPLE
Anamika Dubey Receives Faculty Research Award
In October, Anamika Dubey, assistant professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, received the Pacesetter Award in Physical Sciences and Engineering for her research in optimization and control of electric power distribution systems with a focus on integration of grid-edge technologies. Read More.
Join The AGI Team
WSU Pullman is hiring for several faculty positions in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science areas related to AGI. Applications are welcome at all levels (assistant/associate/full professor), including Ph.D. trained professionals with academic, industrial, and national laboratory experience. Please share with others who may be interested in these opportunities. Learn more.
EVENTS
Spring AGI-ESIC Seminars
In conjunction with the Energy Systems Innovation Center, the AGI hosts monthly seminars on topics relating to energy transformation and the power grid. This semester we are featuring PNNL speakers on topics including US Infrastructure Bill, cyber-physical data-driven, intelligently designed control, and cybersecurity and the grid.
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For additional information, please contact AGI Co-Directors Noel Schulz (WSU)