That’s the idea behind the IEEE Electronic Power Grid (eGRID) Conference Nov. 12-14 in North Charleston. The conference, which is being held in the United States for the first time, unites several of the globe’s leading energy experts from government, industry and academia so they can share ideas, problems and solutions to the planet’s energy challenges. The event will be hosted by Clemson University.
“For years, there have basically been two silos in the energy world: those focusing on power systems and those focusing on power electronics, but there is so much that can be learned from each other,” said Johan Enslin, Duke Energy Endowed Chair in Smart Grid Technology and executive director of the energy systems program at the Clemson University Restoration Institute (CURI). “This conference brings them together so that they can share some of the great information and ideas they have so they can all work together to come up with even better energy solutions.”
In other words, we as a society are just now figuring out the best way to have all these great new technologies like high-powered wind turbines and power inverters play nicely with existing electrical grids. The conference is an opportunity to figure out ways to do that more efficiently and better.
The event will consist of several speakers, executive sessions, industry panel sessions and technical electronic poster displays. The keynote address will be given by U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Assistant Secretary Bruce J. Walker, whose main focus is to provide leadership on a national level to modernize the electric grid, enhance the security and reliability of the energy infrastructure and facilitate recovery from disruptions to the energy supply both domestically and internationally.
“Every day we are slowly digitizing the energy that flows through our grids,” Enslin explained, “We’re just scratching the surface of how we can use all these different forms of energy — and technology — more efficiently.”
Enslin and his team were tasked with organizing this year’s conference thanks in large part to Clemson’s growing reputation in the energy-testing realm.
The Clemson University Restoration Institute’s 82,000-square-foot, $98-million SCE&G Energy Innovation Center is under contract to test and verify the world’s largest wind turbine, the MHI Vestas V164 9.5 megawatt turbine, in one of its two test beds. Also at CURI, the Duke Energy eGRID, a 15-megawatt hardware-in-the-loop grid simulator that supports education and research to speed new electrical technologies to market, is supporting projects in conjunction with the Department of Energy as well as the private sector.
“This event is a great opportunity for Clemson to show off what we’re doing here in Charleston. I’m really excited. We have great people and a great lab here. It’s about time the world finally got to see it,” Enslin said.
