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，专门评估赋予微电网以智能电网属性的备选方案，重点是美国和非洲的发展。 该项目由电气、通信和网络系统司以及国际科学和工程办公室共同资助。能源专家、研究人员和大学学者/学生以及决策者和市场参与者将参加讲习班，并应邀在全体会议和小组会议上发言。它将导致对美国和非洲在不同环境下的可再生能源应用和微电网发展的新认识，以及气候变化和电力需求增长的不确定性。此外，它将增加优化和控制能源使用的新技术的知识基础，以降低成本并最大限度地减少温室气体;提高可再生能源在智能微电网系统开发中的性能;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。它将促进研究，教育活动和来自美国和非洲的学生培训，以适应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论文集上的联合出版物。了解美国和非洲微电网和智能电网部署的最新发展将导致两国未来可持续的能源输送大洲研讨会将使美国参与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，它还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，特别是重点增加创业和投资到可再生能源部署在美国和次-该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.

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.