MRI: Development of Testbed Platform for Advanced Multi-Stage Automation and Control for Smart and Micro Grid

以环境友好的方式发展安全、抗攻击、可持续和负担得起的灵活电力和能源系统已成为国家的优先事项。工业、政府、国家实验室和各种机构，如军队（为其基地），正在寻找一个试验台来测试灵活的微电网设计，以实现独立可靠的电力供应，以满足日益增长的当地需求，而传统的中央发电网络无法保证这些需求，特别是在灾难情况下。这个核磁共振项目将开发一个新的最先进的平台，将微电网和智能电网技术结合起来，这是智能微电网部署新概念、新方法和新工具的迫切需要。霍华德大学（HU）将与丹佛大学（DU）合作，设计、建造和构建实时、高度灵活的测试平台和工具，以促进微电网和智能电网的设计和实施。该试验台将惠及多个用户，包括HU和其他合作大学的学生和教师以及当地电力公用事业公司。此外，该测试平台还将作为国家资产提供给美国国家标准与技术研究院（NIST）等标准组织和华盛顿特区的政策制定者，以试验他们的想法，并了解正在开发的支持智能和微电网的工具。这也将作为一种研究和教育工具，吸引、招募和留住STEM学科的学生。研究基础设施将提供一个实时平台，外部广大用户可以利用该平台进行实践体验。少数民族和未被充分代表的学生和研究人员将被吸引到重要电力和能源系统的高级研究的试验台。本MRI开发项目旨在实现以下目标：(1)设计和开发一个高度可重构的微电网试验台，用于测试微电网设计；(2)部署分布式相量测量单元（PMU）、相量数据集中器（PDC）和带有实时数字模拟器（RTDS）的智能电网试验台；(3)开发工具，通过实时建模和硬件在环仿真，研究可再生能源在智能电网和微电网中的影响和使用；(4)为智能和微电网开发各种标准制定、实时可视化和应用开发平台。灵活的研究和教育测试平台将有助于推进智能电网的设计和实施，这将为大型互联微电网和智能电网网络的研究创造机会。这将通过多所大学与积极参与微电网和智能电网技术设计和实施的专家合作来实现。该开放式测试平台将用于决策支持、性能研究、协议评估、标准开发和安全需求测试，以及未来智能和微电网技术发展所需的新技术设备的自动化功能互操作性。这个平台也将为学生和专业人士提供最先进的知识。此次合作的好处将为包括霍华德大学研究中心、公用事业公司、合作大学、军事基地和政府机构在内的许多参与者打开大门，将大学微电网作为验证新设计、原型和研究的试验台，同时建立新的转型教育课程。该项目的主要研究人员和高级人员将开展一系列全面的活动，以促进MRI测试平台在研究综合教育和推广方面的使用，并在各个层面进行培训：从大学预科学生到博士后研究员和年轻教师，以参与创造性和创新性的想法。这将促进参与者的增长，并吸引更多代表性不足的少数民族主修电力和能源系统。

The development of flexible electric power and energy systems that are secure, resilient to attack, sustainable and affordable in an environmentally friendly manner has become a national priority. Industries, government, National Laboratories, and various agencies, such as the military (for its bases), are looking for a testbed to test the design of a flexible micro grid for independent and reliable power supply to meet the increasing local demands which cannot be guaranteed by conventional, central generation based electricity networks, especially during disastrous situations. This MRI project will develop a new state-of-the-art platform for incorporating the micro grid and smart grid technologies, which are urgently needed for deployment of new concepts, methods and tools for smart micro grids. The Howard University (HU), in collaboration with University of Denver (DU), will design, build, and construct real-time, highly flexible testbed and tools that will facilitate advancing the design and implementation of micro grid and smart grid. The testbed will benefit multi-users including students and faculty at HU and other partner universities and local electric power utility companies. In addition, the testbed will also be available as a national asset for standards organization like National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and policy makers in the Washington, DC area to try out their ideas and learn about tools being developed in support of smart- and micro-grid. This will also serve as a research and educational tool to attract, recruit, and retain students in STEM disciplines. The research infrastructure will provide a real time platform that external broad users can utilize for hands-on experience. Minority and underrepresented students and researchers will be attracted to the testbed for advanced studies of important power and energy systems.This MRI Development Project aims at the following objectives: (1) Design and develop a highly reconfigurable micro-grid testbed for testing micro grid designs; (2) Deploy distributed Phasor Measurement Units (PMU), Phasor Data Concentrator (PDC) and a smart grid testbed with Real-Time Digital Simulators (RTDS); (3) Develop tools to study the impact and usage of renewable energy resources in the smart grid and micro grid through real time modeling and hardware-in-the-loop simulation; (4) Develop platforms for various standards development, real time visualization, and application development for smart and micro grids. The flexible research and education testbed will facilitate advancing current work in the design and implementation of smart grid that will create opportunities for the study of large interconnected micro grids and smart-grid networks. This will be achieved by having multi-university collaboration with experts who are actively engaged in the design and implementation of micro and smart grid technology. This open-access testbed will be used for decision support, performance study, protocol evaluation, standards developments and testing of security requirements and automation functions with interoperability of new technological devices needed for development of future smart- and micro-grid technologies. This platform will also readily equip students and professionals with state-of-the-art knowledge. The benefit of this collaboration will open doors for many players including the research centers at Howard University, the utility companies, collaborating universities, military bases, and government agencies to use the University micro-grid as a testbed for validating new design, prototypes and research while building new transformational educational courses. The principal investigators and senior personnel of this project will pursue a holistic range of activities to promote the usage of the MRI testbed for research-integrated education and outreach, for training at all levels: from pre-college students through postdoctoral fellow and young faculty to engage creative and innovative ideas. This will promote growth among participants and attract more underrepresented minority to major in power and energy systems.