Planning Grant: Engineering Research Center for Communication-network-free, Autonomous, Renewable Electric Power Systems (CARE)

拟建的无通信网络、自主、可再生电力系统工程研究中心（CARE）的愿景是在多个技术领域、多才多艺的劳动力、包容性文化和创新生态系统中开展基础研究，以实现未来电力系统的自主运行，并在不依赖通信网络的情况下实现高度渗透的可再生和分布式能源资源。 ERC将专注于使可再生和分布式能源的行为像传统同步电机一样，为电力系统带来向后兼容性。这将确保同步电机机制的延续，100多年来同步电机机制为电力系统的发展和稳定运行做出了贡献。该 ERC 还将促进工程系统、数学、社会和心理社会科学以及经济学之间的融合合作研究和教育，这将使社会单独和集体受益。规划拨款将举办三个研讨会，以完善拟议的 ERC 目标，同时建立团队并吸引广泛的利益相关者参与以实现这些目标。提出ERC概念的动机是需要协调未来电力系统与可再生能源和分布式能源的高渗透率，在不依赖昂贵且复杂的通信网络的情况下实现电力系统的自主运行，并避免任何人在任何时间、任何地点可能发起的潜在恶意网络攻击。将采用发散式自下而上的方法集思广益，然后在三个为期一天的主题研讨会上采用聚合的自上而下的方法为 ERC 的四个基本组成部分制定战略计划。主题研讨会的成果将直接有助于完整的 CARE ERC 提案的准备。这笔规划拨款将帮助团队进一步推进拟议的 CARE ERC 的种子想法，将其四个基本组成部分：研究、创新生态系统、工程劳动力发展以及多样性和包容性文化，转化为坚实的 ERC 提案。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The vision for the proposed Engineering Research Center for Communication-network-free,Autonomous, Renewable Electric Power Systems (CARE) is to develop the foundationalresearch in multiple technical areas, versatile workforce, inclusive culture, and innovative ecosystems necessary to achieve autonomous operation of future electric power systems with high penetration of renewable and distributed energy resources without relying on communication networks. The ERC will focus on making renewable and distributed energy resources behave like conventional synchronous machines, bringing backwards compatibility to power systems. This will ensure continuation of the mechanism of synchronous machines, which has contributed to growth and stable operation of power systems for over 100 years. This ERC will also promote convergent collaborative research and education among engineering systems, mathematical, social, and psychosocial sciences, and economics, which will benefit the societies individually and collectively. The planning grant will conduct three workshops to refine the goals of the proposed ERC, while building the team and engaging a wide range of stakeholders to achieve these goals. The proposed concept of ERC is motivated by the need to harmonize future power systems with high penetration of renewable and distributed energy resources, achieve autonomous operation of power systems without relying on expensive and complex communication networks, and avoid potential malicious cyber-attacks that could be launched by anybody, at any time, from anywhere. A divergentbottom-up approach will be taken to brainstorm ideas and then a convergent top-down approach will betaken to develop the strategic plans for the four foundational components of the ERC in three themed one-day workshops. The outcomes of the themed workshops will directly contribute to the preparation of thefull CARE ERC proposal. This planning grant will help the team to further advance the seed idea of the proposed CARE ERC in terms of its four foundational components: Research, Innovation Ecosystem, Engineering Workforce Development, and Diversity and Culture of Inclusion, into a solid ERC proposal.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.