Soaring temperatures and severe storms put extreme stress on the Texas electrical grid, which has led to notorious failures, including during the severe winter storm in February 2021. With funding from a federal grant, a group of University of Texas at Arlington engineering faculty members hopes to minimize such failures by working on new technology that will help ensure grid reliability, especially during peak demand.
“We are very excited to have received this grant,” said Yichen Zhang, principal investigator and assistant professor in the department of electrical engineering. “This project has the possibility to support the Texas power grid and benefit the people of Texas.”
The team of three UTA faculty members received the $1.6 million grant from the Department of Energy, allowing them to explore adoption of behind-the-meter energy devices that can both reduce consumption and provide more energy back to the grid. It also enables participation in wholesale energy markets. The team will also work with other national and regional energy providers, including the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Texas ADER Pilot Project with the Public Utility Commission of Texas and CenterPoint Energy.
One thing that the technology will do is streamline demand.
“It is just like you have cruise control. You’re going on a bumpy road — or up and downhill — then basically your gas pedal has to control it to maintain 60 miles per hour,” said Wei-Jen Lee, professor and interim chair of the department of electrical engineering.
Under the team’s plan, homes can have small energy sources at the residence that will regulate their consumption. Enough of these devices can establish a critical mass of energy sources. The study will look into how many of the devices are needed in a certain region to provide “congestion relief” during peak demand time. Students will look into developing the hardware and the data analysis software necessary to support these devices.
“These backup systems can be used when the grid is down, but they can also be connected to the grid,” said Chris Boyer, associate professor in the resource and energy engineering program.
And that’s a key to improving reliability. The devices don’t spring into action only when the grid is down but can provide power during extreme weather to prevent a grid failure. A collective of these devices can participate in wholesale energy markets, giving financial incentives to residents who choose to regulate their energy use through the device.
“The capabilities of distributed energy resources to support the larger grid have been sitting dormant for a long time, and I’m glad to see the right partners coming together to bridge the gap and make this possible,” said Boyer.
The faculty members plan to begin their research in the fall.
Shomial Ahmad is a higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report, in partnership with Open Campus. Contact her at shomial.ahmad@fortworthreport.org.
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