A team of researchers from UAlberta and UCalgary has been awarded a $4.2M NSERC Alliance grant titled ‘Towards Future Interconnected Electric System’. Led by ECE professor Petr Musilek, the interdisciplinary team of 16 researchers will be joined by more than 60 students to conduct research under the following four themes: System Modeling and Artificial Intelligence for Power Systems (Petr Musilek, Lori Thorlakson, Tim Weis, Hamid Zareipour), Advanced Power Electronics for the Smart Grid (Greg Kish, Qing Zhao, S. Ali Khajehoddin, John Salmon), Grid Integration of Renewable and Distributed Energy (Ryan (Yunwei) Li, Andy Knight, Wilsun Xu, Omid Ardakanian), and Safety and Security for the Smart Grid (Hao Liang, Dr. Lianne Lefsrud, P.Eng., Yindi Jing, Marek Reformat).
The 5-year project builds on partnership with the major players in Alberta’s power industry: AESO, AltaLink, ATCO Electric, ENMAX, EPCOR and FortisAlberta. The Alberta Power Industry Consortium (APIC) built a decade ago by Wilsun Xu, has an established track record of helping the industry solve current problems and developing a vision for the future. The research team will also collaborate with the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) and the E. ON Energy Research Center, RWTH Aachen University, Germany.