The Center for Advanced Power Engineering and Research (CAPER) is a collaboration among three universities and industry members focusing on research and educational needs in the electric power industry in the southeast region of the US. CAPER holds a General Meeting each year in the spring, hosted by a member university. In attendance are CAPER researchers and students along with industry and government representatives to present current industry topics, update sponsored projects and take part in discussions about the Center’s research and education activities.
We wish to thank Dr. Ramtin Hadidi, CAPER Center Co-Director at Clemson University, for hosting this in-person meeting. Special thanks go to Shannon Jenkins for all the many arrangements that were required for this meeting. We also wish to thank our Industry Members, Faculty and Students for participating in the General Meeting, Reception and Poster Session.
Location – The meeting took place in the Zucker Family Graduate Education Center/Clemson Innovation Campus in Charleston, SC.
Limited Seating Event Attendees – 77 (Faculty – 16, Industry – 24, Students – 37)
Tuesday March 18th, 2025
At 8:00 am, a CLOSED MEETING of the Industry Advisory Board, IAB, was held. IAB meetings are open to all employees of companies that are CAPER Industry Members.
The IAB led by Rebecca Rye of Dominion Energy, reviewed submissions received from the 2025 Research Proposal Solicitation and will relay their recommendations to CAPER’s Steering Committee for award consideration.
At 11:00 am, Dr. Ramtin Hadidi led a tour of the Dominion Energy Innovation Center and the Duke Energy eGRID lab.
12:30 pm – General Meeting Welcome & Commencement
Session I – Accommodating Load Growth led by Andrew Clarke of Duke Energy and CAPER Steering Committee Chair
Ramtin Khalili of Dominion Energy, opened the session with a discussion on load growth from Dominion Energy’s transmission planning perspective.
Shawnta Sivells and Joshua Pollock of Dominion Energy shared an overview on accommodating load growth from Dominion Energy’s distribution planning perspective.
Thomas Beatty of Duke Energy discussed load growth from Duke Energy’s generation planning perspective.
Session II – Changing Generation Implication to the Grid, led by Ramtin Hadidi, Clemson University and CAPER Center Co-Director
Andrew Sowder of EPRI, discussed how the role of nuclear energy can meet surging load growth.
Steve Rea, Chair Emeritus Nuclear Advisory Council then shared the perspective of a what’s behind the attention nuclear energy is currently receiving.
Samir Dahal of Siemens Gamesa spoke on grid code compliance for wind turbines.
Fred Huang of ERCOT shared planning objectives for high IBR penetration.
The session then received updates from a CAPER derived project MRA-02-EP: Impacts of Managed Charging and Other Innovative Rates for Electric Vehicle Charging on Utility Load and the Grid System. Led by Dr. Badrul Chowdhury, UNC Charlotte and CAPER Co-Director.
Session II was followed with a Reception and CAPER Project Poster Session.
Wednesday March 19th, 2025
Session III – Flexible Loads, led by Dr. Robert Cox, UNC Charlotte and CAPER Center Director
Ali Mehrizi-Sani of Virginia Tech spoke on large load challenges, impacts and modeling surrounding data centers.
Melanie Kaytes of Duke Energy shared perspectives on Grid Edge evolution.
The session then received updates on CAPER Project PD-06: A Machine Learning based Automated Load Model Parameterization Tool, led by Dr. Ning Lu of NC State University and CAPER Center Co-Director.
Session IV – CAPER Sponsored Senior Design Project Update, led by Drew Clarke of Duke Energy and CAPER Steering Committee Chair
Title: Transmission Outage Scheduling Optimization
Participating Teams:
UNC Charlotte
Clemson University
NC State University
Western Carolina University
Session V – Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs), led by Drew Clarke of Duke Energy and CAPER Steering Committee Chair
Andrew Phillips of EPRI spoke on their GETSET Initiative: Accelerating adoption of Grid Enhancing Technologies.
Amrit Iyer of Smart Wires followed with a discussion on boosting of transmission capacity.
Andrew Ingram of Southern Company covered a talk on hydrogen microgrids and superconductors.
The session then received updates on CAPER Project PD-05: Inertia Estimate Using Synchrophasor Measurements, led by Dr. Ramtin Hadidi of Clemson University and CAPER Center Co-Director.
Session VI – Economics of Grid Expansion, led by Drew Clarke of Duke Energy and CAPER Steering Committee Chair
Zach Flowers of Duke Energy, began the session with considerations for rate design for grid modernization in the Carolinas.
The session received updates on CAPER Project MRA-01-PD/EHP-10-PD: Improving Power Flow Performance for IVVC Application on NC Distribution Feeders with DERs, led by Dr. Valentina Cecchi of UNC Charlotte.
Closing and Next Meeting
Drew Clarke closed the General Meeting by announcing that details on upcoming CAPER events will be provided in the near future. Dates and theme is to be announced.
Presentations and Project Updates can be found by visiting www.caper-usa.com on the Members Only section of the website.
