Engineering Future Electricity Systems

Catalog description

The electricity grid is undergoing a dramatic transformation due to the urgency to decarbonize, improve resilience against climate-induced extreme weather events, and provide affordable reliable access to at-risk communities.This fast-paced course aims to build a systematic understanding of the future electric power grid. Students will learn how to model, simulate, and optimize grid components, with an emphasis on new technologies such as storage, clean energy sources, and electric vehicles. The course is organized in five sections: loads, distribution, transmission, storage, and generation, and within these modules, students will explore the roles of a variety of grid ecosystem participants (e.g. system operators, utilities, aggregators, technology vendors, and consumers). Students will be exposed to grid modeling, optimization, data science, and economics at an introductory level that allows them to perform basic assessments and develop proof of concept ideas in Python. After this course, much of the current literature and technology developments in the electric grid should be readily accessible for those interested in furthering their learning.