Event Review | IEEE Power and Energy SBC at The University of Manchester – Summer Distinguished Lecture Program
On Friday, 9th August 2024, the highly anticipated IEEE Distinguished Lecture Program (DLP) titled “Can Modern Power Systems Achieve 100% Renewable Energy” was delivered by Professor Sukumar Kamalasadan, Professor of Electric Power Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The online lecture, held at 13:00 BST, proved to be a highly informative and insightful event and was attended by a diverse audience from various countries.
Professor Sukumar Kamalasadan is a Professor and Distinguished Scholar of Electric Power Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) and the Director of Power Energy and Intelligent Systems Lab (PEISL) within the Energy Production and Infrastructure Centre (EPIC) at UNCC. He received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toledo, OH in 2004. His research interests include inverter-based resources modelling and integration, data-driven approaches to power grid modernisation, smart grid, microgrid, power system operation and optimisation, and power system dynamics, stability, and control.
Prof Kamalasadan’s research for the last 20 years has resulted in tools and methods that have a high-level impact on electric utility modernization with a fleet-wide deployment of his tools that enabled modern grid management and control towards 100% integration of renewable energy. His research work has secured more than $13M in grants and contracts notably from the US Department of Energy, National Science Foundation (NSF), Siemens Energy, Duke Energy Corporation, Schweitzer Engineering Lab, and several other industries. He is the chief architect of Duke Energy Smart Grid Laboratory at UNCC, a $5M facility. Prof. Kamalasadan has co-authored more than 250 refereed journal and conference articles and has received several awards from IEEE and NSF including the National Science Foundation CAREER award.
He has delivered more than 100 talks in the form of tutorials, keynotes, panels, and webinars/workshops at various international IEEE conferences.
Airam Perez Guillen, Chair of IEEE Student Branch and past chair of our IEEE PES SBC at the UoM, started the event by providing a short presentation on IEEE, including introducing our upcoming event, MEEPS 2024, and followed with an introduction of the guest speaker, Professor Sukumar Kamalasadan.
Professor Kamalasadan’s presentation was a detailed overview of the latest developments and challenges regarding Power Systems powered by Renewable Energy. Drawing from his extensive knowledge and experience in Renewable Energy and Power Systems, he shared valuable insights and practical solutions.
Professor Kamalasadan started the lecture by giving an overview of the current World Renewable Energy Integration and highlighting the main challenges. Then he talked in depth about the specific areas that need critical attention, such as inverter control and support devices for energy management. He explored in depth the various existing technology to tackle these critical areas and highlighted the results of recent research.
He concluded the well-attended lecture, with a peak audience of 65 participants, by discussing the future of renewable energy and the areas which need more critical attention.
The University of Manchester IEEE PES SBC organising committee expresses their sincere and deep gratitude to Professor Sukumar Kamalasadan for his detailed and inspiring lecture. The audience numbers during the lecture and the engagement during Q&A session speak for themselves on how relevant this topic is, and how well Prof. Kamalasadan conducts his lectures.
Finally, there was a Q&A session, which lasted over 45 minutes. Over half of the participants remained beyond the scheduled duration of the event for several thought-provoking questions about various other aspects of a renewable future, such as the impact of connectivity or regional grids in achieving 100% renewable energy.
For additional information, including the biography of Professor Sukumar Kamalasadan and the abstract of his lecture, please visit the Manchester PES SBC website.
Samvit Mavinkurve
Vice Chair, IEEE PES SBC at The University of Manchester