U.S. DOE Awards EPIC $3.6 Million Energy Grant
U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) has awarded UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) a $3.6 million grant to improve the resilience and reliability of the regional electrical grid. Dr. Badrul Chowdhury, who holds a joint position as professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and the Systems Engineering and Engineering Management Department, is the principal investigator.
The project, one of 10 chosen nationwide and the only one in North Carolina, is part of a collaborative effort among state government, utility companies, industry and universities to develop an advanced microgrid control architecture. The research will seamlessly coordinate microgrids with the bulk power grid at multiple points, automatically balancing load and generation while safely providing critical services. The proposed control architecture will be tested using a unique digital-twin approach, which will have direct, real-time connections between laboratories and microgrids. A field demonstration at Duke Energy’s Hot Springs microgrid is planned.
“This selection was the culmination of a strategic objective of EPIC that began in 2018, in partnership with federal, state and local government agencies and Duke Energy,” said Michael Mazzola, executive director of EPIC. “I look forward to moving our previous work in community resilience to the full demonstration phase. With the active support and partnership of State Energy Director Sushma Masemore, this project will be a national model for organizing a resilient grid in a state with climate challenges like North Carolina.”
The new EPIC grant is part of the SETO Fiscal Year 2020 funding program, which is a research effort to lower solar costs, increase the competitiveness of American solar businesses, improve grid reliability and expand solar applications. The award is one of several systems integration projects to enhance solar energy’s contribution to grid resilience, improve cybersecurity for photovoltaic systems, and develop advanced hybrid plants.
“Federal support at this level recognizes the ascendance of energy as an area of research excellence for UNC Charlotte,” said Rick Tankersley, vice chancellor for Research and Economic Development. “EPIC’s role in the ongoing public-private partnership that is driving novel solutions to critical energy challenges is making a sustained impact in North Carolina, with implications for influence nationally and globally.”