Control-Based Alternatives to Power System Expansion

Sponsored by the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)/EECS Department and MIchigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute (MMPEI)
Abstract: The seminar will begin by examining trends that are expected to impact future power systems. The discussion will cover increased utilization of distributed generation, the advent of non-disruptive load control and plug hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and integration of flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) devices. These technologies introduce challenges, but also offer opportunities through enhanced system controllability. Exploitation of those opportunities will require hierarchical and distributed control structures though. The seminar will explore these issues in the context of two model predictive control (MPC) schemes. The first of these cases addresses generation and power flow regulation, while the other provides an emergency control strategy for alleviating voltage collapse.
Ian A. Hiskens received the B.Eng. degree in electrical engineering and B.App.Sc. degree in mathematics from the Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education, Rockhampton, Australia, in 1980 and 1983, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from the University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia, in 1991. He is a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has held prior appointments with the Queensland Electricity Supply Industry, Australia, from 1980 to 1992, the University of Newcastle, from 1992 to 1999, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from 1999 to 2002. His major research interests lie in the area of power system analysis, in particular system dynamics, security, and numerical techniques. Other research interests include analysis and control of nonlinear and hybrid systems. He was an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems-I from 2002 to 2005, and is currently an Associate Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology. He is also the Treasurer of the IEEE Systems Council. Professor Hiskens is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of Engineers Australia, and a Chartered Professional Engineer in Australia.