Improving the Integration of Supervisory Controls and Data Acquisition Technologies into the Renewable Energy Sector

在过去的十年里，可再生能源有了巨大的增长，成千上万的生物燃料、风力涡轮机和太阳能电池板在全国范围内的普及证明了这一点。由于这些设备都有自己单独的监控和数据采集（SCADA）通信输出，这也导致了可再生能源系统运营商的数据爆炸式增长。来自SCADA系统的数据对可再生能源系统所有者、运营商和更大的社区具有巨大的价值。因此，可再生能源先进技术教育中心（CREATE）与工业界和学术界合作伙伴合作，旨在推动SCADA技术在能源部门的应用。SCADA技术对于电力行业管理可再生能源装置的非凡增长至关重要，同时也确保了我们国家电网的安全性和弹性。该项目的目标是通过使教师领导将SCADA整合到现有的能源技术人员教育计划中来推进可再生能源教育。SCADA系统是许多关键工业过程操作的核心技术，包括石油和天然气精炼、食品和饮料生产、水处理和电力生产。SCADA系统允许工程技术人员实时控制系统，并记录数据以监测系统性能。SCADA数据分析允许系统优化，预防性维护计划，快速检测和纠正故障和警报，以防止或最大限度地减少系统停机时间。该项目将创建一个教育开源SCADA系统，该系统将在全国参与的学院和大学之间部署和共享。SCADA技术的技术人员教育将通过学院和大学教师的一系列专业发展研讨会来推进，SCADA教学活动将整合到现有的课程和本科能源技术人员教育项目的课程中。该项目将对可再生能源领域产生巨大影响，最终通过为消费者提供更可靠、成本更低的能源，使社会受益，同时创建一个更有弹性的能源网络，减少美国能源部门对环境的影响。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

There has been a tremendous growth in renewable energy over the past decade, evidenced by the proliferation of thousands of biofuel, wind turbine, and solar panel installations across the country. Since each of these devices has its own individual Supervisory Controls and Data Acquisition (SCADA) communications output, this has also resulted in an explosion of data for renewable energy system operators. The data from a SCADA system can have enormous value for renewable energy system owners, operators, and the greater community. Therefore, the Center for Renewable Energy Advanced Technological Education (CREATE), in collaboration with industry and academic partners, aims to advance the use of SCADA technology for the energy sector. SCADA technology is of crucial importance to the electric industry to manage the extraordinary growth in renewable energy installations, while also ensuring the security and resilience of our nation's electric grid.The goal of the project is to advance renewable energy education by enabling faculty leaders to integrate SCADA into existing energy technician educational programs. SCADA systems are core technology for the operation of many key industrial processes, including oil and gas refining, food and beverage production, water treatment, and electric power production. SCADA systems allow engineering technicians to control systems in real time, and log data for monitoring of system performance. SCADA data analytics allow for system optimization, preventive maintenance scheduling, and for rapid detection and correction of faults and alarms to prevent or minimize system downtime. This project will result in the creation of an educational open source SCADA system that will be deployed and shared among participating colleges and universities nationwide. Technician education in SCADA technology will be advanced through a series of professional development workshops for college and university faculty, and SCADA instructional activities will be integrated into existing courses and curricula for undergraduate energy technician education programs. The project will have enormous impact on the renewable energy sector, ultimately benefitting society by providing more reliable and lower cost energy to consumers, while creating a more resilient energy grid and reducing the environmental impact of America's energy sector. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program, which focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.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.