CAREER: High-Performance Optimization Methods for Power Systems

电网的设计、升级和实时运行都取决于几个难以解决的优化问题，主要有两个原因：(i)物理定律引起的非线性；（ii）整数变量的存在。现有的与能源相关的优化问题的求解器要么使用潜在的保守近似，要么使用通用的局部搜索算法来处理非凸性，这每年可能会花费数十亿美元。电力优化问题的一般难解性直接影响到能源效率的实践，可以说是阻碍电力工程的最根本问题之一。该项目的主要目标是通过开发可应用于广泛的非线性能量问题的高性能优化技术来解决这种非凸性问题。这项工作有望在非线性优化特别是非线性能量优化方面取得重大突破。更广泛的影响：该项目的成果可用于世界各地许多电网的设计、现代化和运行。该项目将对电力行业产生重大影响，革新其能源管理系统，带来以下直接效益：(i)通过更便宜的调度和输电方式降低电力成本，（ii）通过优化电网的可靠性和稳健性减少停电的可能性，以及（iii）通过优化利用可持续能源减少气体排放。该项目为当地一所学校开展了重要的外展活动，该学校85%以上的学生在stem相关领域的代表性明显不足。非线性的实时管理对于尝试使用更多可再生能源的经济学来说尤其重要；因此，应对这一挑战的工作可能对我们以负担得起的方式实现这一目标的能力至关重要。

The design, upgrade, and real-time operation of a power network are all contingent upon sev-eral optimization problems that are hard to solve due to two main reasons: (i) the nonlinearityinduced by the laws of physics, and (ii) the presence of integer variables. The existing solversfor energy-related optimization problems either make potentially conservative approximations ordeploy general-purpose local-search algorithms to handle the non-convexities, which may incurtens of billions of dollars annually. The general intractability of power optimization problems hasa direct impact in the practice of energy efficiency, and this is arguably one of the most fundamen-tal issues that hold back the power engineering. The primary objective of this project is to addressthis non-convexity issue by developing high-performance optimization techniques that can be ap-plied to a broad set of nonlinear energy problems. This work is expected to produce significantbreakthrough in nonlinear optimization at large and nonlinear energy optimization in particular.Broader Impacts: The results of this project can be utilized for the design, modernization, andoperation of many power grids around the world. This project will have a significant impact onthe power industry by revolutionizing their energymanagement systems, leading to the followingimmediate benefits: (i) reducing the electricity cost through a cheaper way of dispatching anddelivering power, (ii) decreasing the likelihood of power outages by optimizing the reliabilityand robustness of the grid, and (iii) reducing gas emissions by optimally utilizing the sustainableenergy. This project has major outreach activities for a local school, where more than 85% of thestudent population are significantly underrepresented in STEM-related fields. Management of nonlinearities in real time is especially important to the economics of trying to use more renewableenergy sources; thus work on this challenge may be crucial to our ability to accomplish this in anaffordable way.