The electric power industry in the US and worldwide is undergoing a major transformation. It is changing from a vertically integrated industry in which generation, transmission and distribution systems are owned by single entities to dispersed ownership with separation of the generation and delivery functions. In this new structure, planning, scheduling and operations are being coordinated through markets. However most utilities in the southeast region of the US have stayed with the traditional structure of vertical integration of the generation and delivery of electric energy. While the southeast region needs to be aware of what is occurring in the industry, research into to renewable integration, planning and operations in the current structure must not be overlooked. Along with the rest of the industry, southeast utilities will be facing challenges of adapting to new state and federal regulatory requirements that address climate change and energy security. Requirements such as increasing the use of renewable energy to 20%, 33%, or more of total energy resources within the 2020 to 2030 timeframe, and reducing the emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by 50-80% by 2050, will have profound implications for the electric utility industry as a whole.

Possible topics in this research theme include:

  • Determine the level of stochastic generation penetration on active distribution networks
  • Determine the value of energy storage (non-PSH)
    • Technical/economic/market tools needed to evaluate storage options to handle variability
  • Design Pricing schemes (new/modified) for renewable generations
  • Research the pricing schemes for retail electricity market to provide incentives and sustainability for integrate distributed renewable resources, energy efficiency and demand response programs
  • Develop Microgrid valuation methods
  • What are the possible islanding conditions?
    • What are the possible technical reasons for islanding?
    • What are some non-technical reasons for islanding?
  • Understand the economics of CHP with DER
  • Beneficial integration of solar PV, energy storage, load management and solar forecasting
  • The impacts of modernizing the grid on market and policy requirements including
    • Issues of cost allocation
    • Compensation for distributed generation and demand response technologies
    • Effect of incentives on the utility system
  • Design clean power plan compliance solutions
  • Dynamic effects that relate to market efficiency such as
    • Optimal energy management
    • Effect of energy storage
    • Arbitrage and time-of-use pricing
  • Energy storage and its market models
  • Net-metering tariffs to accept energy from distributed sources in a way that is fair to all customers and does not subsidize those who install solar panels or other on-site generation
  • Putting a price on emissions of carbon in a cap-and-trade market
  • New business models for utility as new technologies emerge
    • DER, demand response, etc.
  • Storage
    • Business case and regulatory issues
  • Micro-grid
    • Business case and regulatory issues
  • Pricing schemes for DER and demand response
  • High impacts low probability events
    • Economic and policy aspects
  • Transactive energy
    • Economic and regulatory issues