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Current
and Recent Sponsors
Current
Projects
CEAGE is conducting the following sponsored projects at its headquarter
in the Advanced Research Institute.
- Modeling and Simulation of a DG-Integrated Intelligent Microgrid
Sponsor: US Department of Defense
Period: 5/10/08 - 6/30/09
This is a one-year effort for the simulation of an intelligent
and autonomous power system. Physical devices, such as distributed energy resources (DER), distribution network and loads are to be modeled in Distributed Engineering Workstation (DEW) for steady-state analysis and in Matlab/Simulink for transient simulation. Communications among physical devices will be established using agent-based technologies. Information exchanges among DERs, loads and agents will be accomplished via addressable communication interfaces, such as TCP/UDP/IP. The IDAPS microgrid will be simulated and evaluated using data from Virginia Tech Electric
Services.
Download: DoD Project Factsheet
- Intelligent Distributed Autonomous Power Systems (IDAPS): A
Framework for a Resilient and Environmentally-friendly Microgrid.
Sponsor: the US National Science Foundation
Period: 9/10/07-9/9/08
The objective of this exploratory research proposal is to build
a broad framework of an Intelligent Distributed Autonomous Power System
(IDAPS) at a conceptual level. The proposed concept takes into account the
availability of cleaner, efficient and cost effective small-scale generation sources, as well as advanced IP-based communication technologies in building a resilient electric power system with demand-side participation.
Download: NSF Project Factsheet
- A Digital Library Network
for Engineering and Technology (DLNET).
Sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The objective
of DLNET is to develop a Web-based collection of engineering
and technology-related content targeted at the professional
community so as to facilitate "lifelong learning,"
by engineering practitioners. DLNET will bridge the gap between
cutting-edge technical development and professional practice,
providing an easy and efficient way to collect, review, package
and deliver information from "the knowledge developer"
to "the end user".
- A Case Study to Identify
Bottlenecks and Opportunities for Higher-Level SBIR
Funding of Virginia Companies. Sponsored by Virginia's
Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). This project surveyed
Virginia companies who have received Phase I or II awards from
federal SBIR programs in the past three years, to identify barriers
to successful phase progression and commercialization of these
projects.
- Innovative Approaches
to Providing Electric Power as a Critical Infrastructure Element
for High-Technology Economic Growth in Virginia. Sponsored
by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology (CIT). This project
focuses on Virginia's ability to provide the high-quality power
and security of electricity supply demanded by mission critical
facilities of high-tech industry. Due to the high concentration
of information technology businesses in Northern Virginia, our
approach is directed at solving immediate challenges in this
region, while at the same time working out a protocol for status
assessment, information exchange, and strategic planning, which
can be replicated throughout the state.
- Virginia
Million Solar Roofs
and PV4VA: Combining Resources for Solar Energy Education,
Research, and Outreach. Sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Energy (DOE) and As a new State Partnerships in the DOE Million
Solar Roofs Initiative, Virginia has committed to installing
500 solar energy systems on buildings throughout the state by
the year 2010. The Photovoltaics for Virginia (PV4VA) Working
Group was established by DMME to facilitate the installation
of PV systems in Virginia, thereby helping sustain revenues
and jobs created by the PV manufacturers in our state, while
at the same time promoting innovative ways to address Virginia's
energy needs and environmental challenges. This project combines
DOE and DMME funding for CEAGE to execute a first-year implementation
plan of education, research, and outreach to support these two
highly compatible programs.
- Geothermal
Heat Pumps for
Energy$mart Schools in Virginia. Sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Energy. This project promotes the installation of ground-source
heat pump systems for the heating and cooling of K-12 school
buildings throughout Virginia. A dedicated project Web site
provides educational materials and calculation results whereby
site visitors can evaluate the costs and benefits of a geothermal
heat pump project at their schools. Video- workshops will be
held for the most promising schools, with the assistance of
our project partners, the Geothermal Heat Pump Consortium in
Washington, DC.
- "Renewable Energy
and the Global Environment" - A Modular, Web-Based Interdisciplinary
Course for Undergraduates. Sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Energy. This project is aimed at mid-level undergraduate
college students and their professors. It will provide distance-learning
content about renewable energy technologies and associated energy
storage, transmission, and distribution systems; their economic
and environmental benefits, and their deployment through green
power markets and related policies. Many of today's undergraduates
will become business or government leaders who can influence
the adoption and use of renewable energy technologies in the
coming decades, and all will be voters and energy consumers.
The materials developed by this project are intended to ensure
that today's students have the knowledge to ask the right questions
and make informed choices.
- Greenhouse Gas Pollution
Prevention Project. Sponsored by the Louis Berger Group,
Inc. CEAGE assisted this client in a USAID-sponsored mission
to India by conducting an on-site Training Needs Assessment
(TNA) at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration,
the premier training institution for higher civil services in
India, on opportunities for integrating energy development and
climate change goals. The mission also conducted a TNA for two
Non-Government Organizations to build their capacity for identifying
climate-based project ideas and assisting project developers.
- Small Business Administration
Federal and State Technology Partnership Award Program.
The Advanced Research Institute (ARI) is a part of the team
that has been awarded a five-year $150,000 per year grant from
the US Small Business Administration (SBA) as a part of the
first Federal and State Technology Partnership Program (FAST).
The team is led by the Virginia’s Center for Innovative
Technology (CIT) and includes the Office of Science and Technology
within the Office of Secretary of technology, J. Sargent Reynolds
Community College, the University of Virginia and the Department
of Business Assistance, among other organizations. The FAST
award funding, matched by proposal participants out of existing
funds, is designed to improve the economic environments for
small businesses to develop and commercialize technology. The
commonwealth's award will support plans to increase the number
of high-tech startup companies and the number of successful
Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards won throughout
the state and by women and minority-owned firms. The funding
will also focus resources on Virginia's growing biotechnology
industry.
- Wind Powering America
- Virginia Initiative. Several Mid-Atlantic states have
begun installing grid-connected wind energy projects in the
size range of 5 to 50 megawatts, to generate electricity which
can be sold as a "green" alternative to conventionally-generated
power. In Virginia, the Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy
has partnered with CEAGE at the Advanced Research Institute
of Virginia Tech, James Madison University, and the Environmental
Resources Trust to facilitate wind power development in Virginia.
This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind
Powering America program. Its objectives are to educate the
public and to inform decision-makers about wind energy development
in Virginia, in support of the Commonwealth's need for reliable
and affordable energy, environmental quality, and economic development.
CEAGE provides technical support by analyzing wind data and
answering questions from developers about the feasibility of
wind energy projects, as well as supporting local, state, and
federal agencies in exploring potential wind energy applications
on their lands, as well as informing counties and cities about
bulk power purchase opportunities from wind energy projects
in Virginia as a cost-effective means of improving air quality
and attaining compliance with federal ground-level ozone standards.
- Intelligent Distributed
Autonomous Power Sources (IDAPS): A Framework for Harnessing
and Dispatching Distributed Energy Resources. A profound
change is taking place in the way electricity is being generated,
transmitted, and distributed in the U.S. The traditional utility
system, once a vertically integrated structure made up of generation,
transmission and distribution components, has now been functionally
unbundled and deregulated. An equally important transformation
is taking place in the way electricity is being utilized with
new generation of appliances and machineries demanding premium-quality
electricity being introduced on a wider scale. Despite the shift
towards a market-oriented competitive scheme, the electric infrastructure
is experiencing operational and capacity bottlenecks, the result
of inadequate maintenance and expansion during the past few
years. The situation has been exacerbated in the past few years
by man-made and natural causes resulting in increased incidences
of congestions, brown outs, and power outages. It is in this
setting of demand-vs-capacity shortages that customers - wary
of reliability, supply security and power quality problems -
are increasingly installing backup and standby generation equipment
in their backyards. Dispersed throughout the distribution system,
such generation, commonly referred to as Distributed Generation
(DG), is fast becoming an important source of electricity. The
objective of this study is to develop a framework for harnessing
the substantial customer-owned distributed generation base that
is expected to be in place in the coming few years. This calls
for a novel approach in organizing, managing and dispatching
DG capacities at the distribution level. IDAPS is one such approach
proposed by the Center for Energy and Global Environment (CEAGE)
of Virginia Tech. IDAPS stands for Intelligent Distributed Autonomous
Power Sources, a collective of distributed generation units
connected to the same distribution grid and whose dispatches
can be scheduled or coordinated from a vantage point or in the
system. Central to this topology is a messaging system that
will enable the IDAPS units to communicate with each other as
well as a dispatcher. A messaging system based on Web-Services
is proposed for implementing the IDAPS framework. Web-Services
is fast becoming the preferred technology for exchanging structured
information in a decentralized, distributed environment. It
utilizes extensible mark-up language (XML) over HTTP thus ensuring
portability and interoperability among systems. The IDAPS Web-Services
will be used for controlling all aspects of DG operations as
well as for hosting a competitive bidding process amongst the
members. A key contribution of this research will be the design
of a metadata schema that will be used in the framework. The
schema will contain basic profile on an IDAPS such as its type,
size and location as well as continually updated information
based on generation history. IDAPS metadata will also be useful
to new entrants seeking interconnection enabling them to be
exposed or discovered by the local IDAPS hub. The study assumes
that all enabling technologies for DG interconnection such as
broadband communication interfaces, advanced power conversion/conditioning,
protection/relaying, metering/monitoring, etc., are readily
available and that utility and regulatory barriers to DG interconnection
are addressable.
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