Launching the Sustainable Energy Systems Integration and Transitions (SESIT) Group

在技术进步、经济变化以及国家和国际政策目标的推动下，我们的能源系统正在经历快速转型。风能和太阳能光伏成本的下降以及有利的政策鼓励了可再生能源的部署，给电力系统的供应方面带来了可变性和不确定性。电动汽车使用的增加使运输和电力系统的配置发生了重大变化，这在历史上是截然不同的；由于消费者能够使用表外发电、存储和控制技术，电网边缘的兴起正在改变我们能源系统的交易秩序。这些趋势超越了历史上观察到的燃料转变，从生物质能到煤炭，从石油到天然气；它们共同代表着向可持续能源系统的大规模过渡。这项研究计划的主要目标是开发和应用一个创新的建模平台，可以有效地指导我们在这一过渡期间的决策。拟议的多部门、多尺度、多矢量M3建模平台将由不同但相互关联的模块组成，这些模块跨越能源系统的时空尺度、物理基础设施和各种载体。这样一个平台代表了我在模拟城市规模电气化、省级可再生能源整合和全球存储技术趋势方面的专业知识的发展。在接下来的五年里，我将专注于三个研究问题：如何利用网格边缘的崛起？考虑到广泛的时空尺度，最有希望的气候缓解解决方案是什么？能源系统集成——协调跨多种途径和规模的能源系统运行和规划——如何释放灵活性？近期的模型开发将优先考虑适应性和可扩展性，以便能够探索由于社会和技术变化而产生的不可预见的研究问题。我的可持续能源系统集成和转型（SESIT）小组将以我最近在美国（国家可再生能源实验室）和欧洲（国际应用系统分析研究所）的世界领先机构的经验为基础，增强加拿大的能源系统软件和人力能力。我的方法将平衡行业主导的调查和探索性的想法，以捕捉可持续能源转型中的驱动因素和解决方案的广度。这种能力对加拿大的影响将是直接的——通过为政策和技术发展提供信息的合作项目——以及间接的——通过培训下一代能源系统工程师，他们具备强大的分析技能和跨学科的观点。在我们规划加拿大向可持续能源系统过渡的同时，将加拿大定位为全球能源系统转型的领导者，这样的地方能力至关重要。

Our energy systems are undergoing rapid transformation, driven by technological advances, shifting economics, and national and international policy goals. Declining wind and solar PV costs and favourable policies have encouraged renewable energy deployment, introducing variability and uncertainty to the supply side of electricity systems. The increase in electric vehicle use poses a significant shift in the configuration of transport and electricity systems, which have historically been distinct; and the rise of the grid edge enabled by consumers' access to behind-the-meter generation, storage, and control technologies is changing the transactional order of our energy systems. These trends go beyond the fuel shifts observed historically, from biomass to coal to oil to natural gas; together they represent a wholesale transition to a sustainable energy system. The principal objective of this research program is the development and application of an innovative modelling platform that can effectively guide our decision-making during this transition. The proposed multi-sector, multi-scale, and multi-vector M3 Modelling Platform will consist of distinct but linked modules that span the energy system's spatial-temporal scales, physical infrastructure and various carriers. Such a platform represents the evolution of my expertise in modelling city-scale electrification, provincial renewable energy integration, and global storage technology trends. Over the next five years, I will focus on three research questions: How should the rise of the grid edge be leveraged? What are the most promising climate mitigation solutions considering a broad spatial-temporal scale? How can energy systems integration - coordinating energy systems operation and planning across multiple pathways and scales - unlock flexibility? Near-term model development will prioritize adaptability and extensibility so that yet unforeseen research questions, arising from societal and technological shifts, can be explored. Enhancing Canada's energy system software and human capacity, my Sustainable Energy Systems Integration and Transitions (SESIT) Group will build on my recent experience at world-leading institutions in the United States (National Renewable Energy Laboratory) and Europe (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis). My approach will balance industry-led investigations with exploratory ideas to capture the breadth of drivers and solutions within the sustainable energy transition. The impacts of this capacity in Canada will be both direct - through collaborative projects that inform policy and technology development - as well as indirect - by training the next generation of energy systems engineers, equipped with strong analytical skills and an interdisciplinary perspective. Such local capacity is critical as we chart Canada's transition to a sustainable energy system while positioning Canada as a leader in the energy system transition globally.