NSF Engineering Research Center for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Network

NSF超广域弹性电能传输网络（current）的ERC将开发转换技术，以实现远距离和多时间尺度的电力传输基础设施的可靠运行。也许未来几十年最重要的技术挑战将是如何在不严重依赖化石燃料的情况下满足能源需求。电力系统传输基础设施在任何可行的解决方案中都必须发挥关键作用。不幸的是，电网正在老化，并且已经超出了其设计极限。当风能和太阳能等可再生能源达到显著水平时，将增加系统运行的复杂性和不确定性，从而无法实现效率、可靠性和安全性方面的预期性能。通过智能电表更好地控制需求提供了一个极好的机会。然而，运营一个庞大而复杂的电网所面临的核心挑战仍未得到解决，该电网拥有数万条输电线路、公共汽车和潜在的数百万个控制点。为了避免未来传输网络的不稳定和拥塞瓶颈，并最大限度地降低级联故障的风险，系统运行的超广域协调是至关重要的。该ERC将寻求根本性的突破，并研究在大陆范围内实现弹性输电网络所需的使能技术，同时培养来自不同背景的具有全球视野的新一代电力和能源系统工程领导者。具体而言，拟议的ERC研究将：-开发新的系统方法，以利用广域测量和通信的进步，以便在大陆超宽范围内协调行动。具有成本效益的全球定位系统（GPS）时间同步，以毫秒数据速率进行广域测量，可以将当今的粒度监控和数据采集（SCADA）系统转变为高分辨率系统，实现动态观察和控制。——扁平化控制和信息结构，使其层级化程度降低，可以在电网的各个层面取代传统的不灵活的运营策略。现有的网格控制需要被一种更简单、更扁平的局部控制结构所取代，这种结构在全球态势感知的指导下运行。——利用高性能计算能力，实现预测控制（及快速响应）的大规模超实时仿真，确保运行安全可靠。实时计算大陆范围内电网的“动态状态”将是可行的。-研究广泛分配的大功率电子执行器与传输级储能相结合的使用，以在干扰期间稳定电网，并缓和供需不平衡，从而实现高速潮流控制，以充分利用互联系统中的资产。

The NSF ERC for Ultra-wide-area Resilient Electric Energy Transmission Network (CURENT) will develop transforming technologies to allow reliable operation of the electric transmission infrastructure across vast distances and over multiple time scales. Perhaps the most important technical challenge over the next several decades will be how to address energy needs without heavy reliance on fossil fuels. The electric power system transmission infrastructure must play a critical role in any viable solution. Unfortunately, the power grid is aging and already operating outside its design limits. Desired performance in efficiency, reliability, and security cannot be attained when renewable sources such as, wind and solar, reach significant levels that will add complexity and uncertainty to system operation. Allowing greater control of demand with smart metering provides an excellent opportunity. Yet, the core challenge facing operation of an extremely large, complex electric network with tens of thousands of transmission lines, buses and potentially millions of control points, remains unaddressed. Ultra-wide-area coordination for system operation is critically needed to avoid future transmission network instabilities and congestion bottlenecks and to minimize the risk of cascading failures. This ERC will seek the fundamental breakthroughs and investigate the enabling technologies needed to achieve a resilient transmission network on a continental scale, while educating a new generation of electric power and energy systems engineering leaders with a global perspective coming from diverse backgrounds. Specifically, the proposed ERC research will:--Develop new systems methodologies to take advantage of advancements in wide-area measurement and communication to allow coordinated action on a continental ultra-wide scale. Cost effective, Global Positioning System (GPS) time synchronized, wide-area measurements with milliseconds data rate can transform today's granular Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system into a high resolution system, enabling dynamic observation and control.--Flatten the control and information structure so it is less hierarchical and can replace, at all levels of the power grid, traditional inflexible operations strategies. The existing grid controls need to be replaced by a simpler, flatter structure of local control operating with guidance from global situational awareness.--Draw on high performance computing capability to realize large-scale and faster-than-real-time simulation for predictive control (and fast response) to ensure secure and reliable operation. Real-time calculation of the "dynamic state" of the grid on a continental scale will be feasible.--Investigate the use of widely allocated high power electronic actuators coupled with transmission level energy storage to stabilize grids during disturbances and moderate supply-demand imbalances resulting in high speed power flow control for full use of assets across the interconnected system.