RII Track-1: The New Mexico SMART Grid Center: Sustainable, Modular, Adaptive, Resilient, and Transactive

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

Non-technical Description The American power grid requires modernization to serve the increased electrical needs of the public. The goal of this project is to create a new interdisciplinary research center leading to a Sustainable, Modular, Adaptive, Resilient, and Transactive (SMART) next-generation electric grid. NM EPSCoR will establish a SMART Grid Center to address the power, communication, and control needs of the electrical distribution network. The goal is to provide consumers the ability to decide how to generate, store, and manage energy on the existing electricity distribution infrastructure. The Center will align with the New Mexico State Science & Technology Plan?s focus on technology development to ensure energy stability, security, resilience, and sustainability for the State. It will also support the development of a well-trained STEM workforce for New Mexico, the hiring and retention of new faculty, and an increase in diversity at all levels. Technical Description The New Mexico SMART Grid Center will transform the existing electricity distribution infrastructure by holistically incorporating microgrid optimization, operations optimization, microgrid controls, and tariff and customer behavior in the design and demonstration of interconnected Distribution Feeder Microgrids (DFMs). With simulation studies and field validations, the research team aims to demonstrate that the DFM-based architecture: 1) is optimally suited to sustainably accommodate the emerging trends in electricity generation, storage, and utilization; 2) is flexible and can be adapted to various geographic and socioeconomic conditions; 3) can be interwoven with a secure and robust communications and controls infrastructure; 4) is more resilient than alternative options; and 5) enables new business models and continued innovation in the delivery of energy services. Building on existing expertise and infrastructures, the SMART Grid Center will develop new technologies, protocols, models, and algorithms for the future electric grid that can be broadly applied to future socio-cyber-physical systems, the Internet-of-Things, smart cities research and deployments, big data applications, and coordination in multi-agent systems. This project will coalesce ongoing independent studies and field validations across New Mexico under a unified, well-integrated, interdisciplinary program that includes academia, national laboratories, and industry. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.