The Dynamics of Power
Event details
| Date | 26.08.2011 |
| Hour | 10:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Sean Meyn, UIUC |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
We are moving towards a radical transformation of our energy systems.
The success of the new paradigm created by the Smart Grid vision will require not only the creation and integration of new technologies into the grid, but also the redesign of its coupled market structures.
Economic models able to capture the new physical reality are a first requirement for the design of a reliable, and "smart" electrical grid.
In a few years, smart meters and wind farms may be regarded as another "bridge to nowhere" unless we create the right architecture to make use of these resources.
To begin to address these issues, we survey elements of today's power
grid, focusing on real time markets. While there are many success
stories, the failures can be dramatic, as commonly seen recently in Australia, or in Texas last March, or in the midwest and New Zealand this past April. We investigate why these disasters occur, and conclude that they are a consequence of design: The static models used in competitive equilibrium analyses capture none of the key issues in real time markets. In particular, typical economic analyses ignore volatility on long and short time scales, and constraints due to the physical realities of the grid.
Several research questions are presented - their solution will require collaboration among researchers in economics, power and energy systems, and decision and control.
NB Prof. Sean Meyn is co-author (with late R. Tweedie) of the well known book "Markov Chains and Stochastic Stability"
Practical information
- General public
- Free