Workshop on Empowering Microgrids with Smart Grid Attributes: Developments in U.S. and Africa (To be held January 28-31,2019 in Abuja, Nigeria)

该项目的目标是组织第一次国际研讨会，专门评估增强具有智能电网属性的微电网的各种选择，重点是美国和非洲的发展。该项目由电气、通信和网络系统司和国际科学与工程办公室联合资助。研讨会将邀请能源专家、研究人员、大学学者/学生以及政策制定者和市场参与者作为参与者，并在全体会议和小组会议上应邀发言。它将使人们对美国和非洲在不同环境和气候变化不确定性以及不断增长的电力需求下的可再生能源应用和微电网发展有新的理解。此外，它还将增加优化和控制能源使用以降低成本和最大限度减少温室气体的新技术的知识库；提高可再生能源在开发智能微电网系统方面的性能；以及影响不同非洲国家和美国微电网设计和部署的社会、监管和政策问题。它将促进美国和非洲学生的研究、教育活动和培训，以应对微电网和智能电网技术发展的挑战，以及美国和非洲参与者在参考期刊和会议过程中联合发表文章。了解美国和非洲在微电网和智能电网部署方面的最新发展，将导致这两个大陆未来可持续的能源输送。研讨会将让美国与会者了解欧洲和亚洲微电网开发商在非洲的开发工作，这将加强美国和非洲研究人员之间的合作。此外，它将补充美国和其他国际机构为改善撒哈拉以南非洲地区的电力供应所做的其他努力，特别是重点增加美国和撒哈拉以南非洲地区可再生能源部署的创业精神和投资。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The goal of this project is to organize the first international workshop devoted to evaluating options for empowering microgrid with smart grid attributes with a focus on developments in the United States and Africa. The project is jointly funded by the Division of Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems and the Office of International Science and Engineering. The workshop will involve energy experts, researchers, and university scholars/students as well as policy makers and market players as participants and invited speakers at plenary and panel sessions. It will result in new understanding of renewable energy resource applications and microgrid development in U.S. and Africa under different environment and uncertainties in climate change and growing demand for electricity. Further, it will add to the knowledge base for new technologies for optimization and control of energy use to reduce cost as well as minimize greenhouse gases; increase the performance of renewable energy sources in development of smart microgrid systems; and social, regulatory and policy issues as they affect design and deployment of microgrid in different African countries and the United States. It will promote research, education activities and training of students from U.S. and Africa to accommodate the challenges of development of microgrid and smart grid technologies, and joint publication between U.S. and African participants in refereed journals and conference proceedings.Understanding of recent developments in deployment of microgrid and smart grid both in the U.S and Africa will lead to a sustainable future energy delivery in the two continents. The workshop will expose the U.S. participants to the developmental work of the European and Asian microgrid developers in Africa, which will enhance the collaborative work between the U.S. and African researchers. In addition, it will supplement other efforts being made by U.S. and other international agencies to improve electricity access in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially with focus on increasing entrepreneurship and investment into renewable energy deployment in the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.