The Faculty of Technical Sciences at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, hosted the 2022 IEEE/PES Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe (ISGT Europe 2022) on 10–12 October 2022. The focus of this event centered on power grid modernization and the applications for the wide use of information and communication technologies for the more intelligent operation and automation of electric power systems and integration of renewable and distributed energy resources (DERs). It featured six plenary speakers, three industry plenary speakers, three super sessions, 10 panel sessions, three invited speakers, and 187 paper presentations, welcoming authors from close to 50 countries around the world. The record indicates that 270 attendees were present during this event.
The conference began with a warm welcome by conference General Chair Dr. Luka Strezoski and IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Vice President Wayne Bishop. The main theme of this conference was grid modernization, particularly the enhancement of automation. Throughout the conference, participants learned that automation platforms in power systems, including energy management system (EMS), advanced distribution management system (ADMS), and DERs management system (DERMS), could benefit from better connectivity to accommodate the needs for electrification. For the EMS, optimal coordination between new variable renewable energy power plants and existing traditional power plants is of significant importance to ensure the sufficiency of the energy reserve. Additionally, the integration, dynamics, and coordination of grid-forming inverters and conventional generation units require considerable attention.
The biggest challenges for the ADMS and DERMS platforms stem from the fact that with the mass integration of large numbers of DERs, the entire paradigm of passive distribution grids with a straightforward power flow (from the supply substation to the end customers) is fundamentally changing. The ADMS software needs to consider a proper dynamical model of all these novel devices as well as functional models for demand response and energy efficiency programs and to properly consider their existence and operational characteristics in all the applications for the control, management, and protection of distribution grids. Seamless integration and coordination between EMS and ADMS, when combined with untapping the DER aggregator potentials, could enable the participation of small behind-the-meter DERs as well as bigger DERs connected to the middle-voltage grid; participation of DERs in an energy market; optimal usage of DER flexibility for nonwire alternatives; etc. for a more efficient and accelerated electrification of the power sector.
The first plenary talk, by Prof. Frede Blaabjerg, provided a thorough review of power electronics technologies and a perspective on future developments for the seamless integration of power electronics and power systems [Figure 1(a)]. The second plenary talk, by Prof. Alex Stankovic, highlighted the significance of electricity in the border energy domain and the needs for future innovations [Figure 1(b)]. The third plenary talk, by Prof. Nikos Hatziargyriou, highlighted the European Union’s research and innovation priorities for smart grids to achieve a decarbonized and sustainable future. Then, Prof. Thomas Overbye highlighted the importance of storytelling and visualization in research for better and more effective science communication. The fifth plenary session, by Dr. Dejan Milojicic, highlighted sustainability and its direct link between IT and vice versa. The sixth and final plenary talk, by Prof. Vladimir Terzija, focused on digitalization; a revolution leading to sustainable and low-carbon energy systems.
Among all the sessions, three super sessions stood out in which experts discussed various problems related to
These super sessions ran for a total of 8 h collectively.
Figure 1. Talks by (a) Prof. Frede Blaabjerg and (b) Prof. Alex Stankovic. The enthusiastic engagement of the attendees is visible.Figure 1. Talks by (a) Prof. Frede Blaabjerg and (b) Prof. Alex Stankovic. The enthusiastic engagement of the attendees is visible.
The first super session (Figure 2) focused on the stability, dynamics, and control of emerging renewable-rich power systems and addressed the mass integration of inverter-based resources, highlighting how the technological revolution is fundamentally changing the dynamics and characteristics of power system and brings some new dynamic phenomena into system operation. There were discussions on the root causes and manifestations of potential system instability phenomena under weak and low-inertia conditions to effectively develop mitigation solutions. The challenges with respect to power system dynamic assessment were highlighted, while the applications of machine learning and AI in this context were also discussed. Finally, it was discussed how, and to what extent, inverter-based technologies could help with system stability and dynamic support and how this could be enhanced via new and innovative converter control mechanisms, including a novel nonlinear control approach, “Droop-e.â€
The second super session focused on power system resilience as, with the increased frequency of extreme events due to climate change, there is increased scrutiny on the resilience and reliability of gas and electric networks, whether isolated or coupled. The deficiencies in traditional metrics used to define the resilience of networks were highlighted, with special attention brought to dynamic indicators, such as the FLEP (Fast, Low, Extensive, Promptly) metric. The impacts of historical extreme events such as droughts, wildfires, earthquakes, and supply obstructions were discussed, with a follow-on presentation of detailed modeling efforts at U.S. national laboratories. Weighted short circuit ratios and their merits were discussed with application to spatial resilience knowledge of electric network operational conditions. A discussion on the frequency impacts of supply and demand disruptions on power systems and the potentially stabilizing effects of inverters followed. A final conversation on the merits and needs of coupled simulation efforts rounded out the panelists’ presentations prior to a rousing discussion with the audience about the heightened need for transparent and firm definitions of resilience and reliability for future analysis and application.
Figure 2. Dr. Costas Vournas, chair of the IEEE European Public Policy Committee, delivering his talk during the first super session, “Stability, Dynamics, and Control of Emerging Renewable-Rich Power Systems,†chaired by Dr. Mehdi Ghazavi Dozein, University of Melbourne, Australia. Speakers were Dr. Thomas Overbye, University of Texas A&M, USA; Dr. Rick Wallace Kenyon, encoord Inc., USA; Dr. Costas Vournas, IEEE Europe-an Public Policy Committee, Greece; Dr. Jochen Cremer, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands; Dr. Panagiotis Papadopoulos, University of Strathclyde, U.K.; and Dr. VinÃcius Albernaz Lacerda Freitas, Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain.
Figure 3. Dr. Milos Subasic, Hitachi Energy, Germany, engaged in a discussion during the third super session, “Artificial Intelligence for Active Power Distribution,†chaired by Dr. Jochen Cremer, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands. Speakers were Marija Markovic, University of Colorado Boulder, USA; Dr. Mladen Kezunovic, University of Texas A&M, USA; Dr. Milos Subasic, Hitachi Energy, Germany; Dr. Pedro Vergara Barrios, Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands; and Dr. Laurine Duchesne, Haulogy, Belgium.
The third super session (Figure 3) discussed the opportunities and challenges for AI-based algorithms for distribution networks, revolving around AI-based methods that have promising opportunities in designing tools for grid management and applications. Regarding the opportunities, it was discussed that (“bigâ€) data are available in the two transmission and distribution systems. However, much information about the grid is unknown in distribution systems, and data labels are rare. The most promising applications for using AI for active distribution networks were discussed to be those where currently no approach exists. In such applications, distribution grid operators have “nothing to lose†in adopting these AI-based methods. Then, many other typical reasons (such as the lack of explanations and generalizations) for not adopting AI-based methods may be less important than making these new applications possible. However, less promising applications seem to exist where the AI-based algorithms’ role is to improve the accuracy, scalability, or computational times by a few percentages. The main existing challenges related to AI were discussed to be scalability, regulations, nonstationary data, and environments, guaranteeing the feasibility and explainability of the control actions.
Figure 4. Speakers of the WiP panels at this event. (a) Prof. Lina Bertling Tjernberg, KTH – the Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, talking dur-ing the first WiP panel, moderated by Dr. Jiawei Wang, Technical University of Denmark. Other speakers were Dr. Jelena Lukic´, Institute Nikola Tesla, Serbia; Dr. Elvisa Bec´irovic´, Electric Power Industry of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Dr. Panagiotis Papadopoulos, University of Strathclyde, U.K. (b) Dr. Jelena Ponocko, The University of Manchester, U.K., talking during the second WiP panel, where she served as the moderator. Other speakers were Dr. Marija Zima-Bockarjova, ABB, Switzerland; Dr. Ivana Krstic, Schneider Electric, Serbia; Prof. Yilu Liu, University of Tennessee, USA; and Dr. Annabelle Pratt, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA.
Figure 5. The industry showcase during this event. (a) Schneider Electric. (b) Typhoon HIL. (c) RCM Technologies Engineering. (d) GE and ALBO Energy. (e) encoord Inc. (f) POWER Engineers. (g) Electrical Networks of Serbia.
PES Women in Power (WiP) in IEEE Region 8 organized two WiP panels during this event. The first WiP panel, titled “Taking the Most of IEEE and CIGRE Memberships,†brought together experts from CIGRE and PES to share their views on the importance of being part of such large and influential technical communities [Figure 4(a)]. The speakers with international experience came from industry and academia, and most of them have volunteered in and benefited from both Societies. The panelists had an open discussion with the audience on the types of membership; the influence of working groups for standardization; and the possible benefits for career progress (e.g., charterships).
The second WiP panel titled “Multidisciplinary Skill Needs as a Response to Global Challenges in Power and Energy,†introduced speakers from around the world who discussed how global power and energy challenges are shaping the skillsets needed today [Figure 4(b)]. The panelists gave their own viewpoints on the topic, sharing their career stories and the different (not only technical) skills they acquired along the way. The audience was very interested to hear how to educate and train new generations of engineers to have future-proof skillsets but, at the same time, keep them within the power and energy industry or academia.
This conference benefited greatly from the support provided by industry, which generated significant interest among the attendees and fulfilled the goal of bringing industry and academia closer together. In addition to the companies displayed in Figure 5, others present were Montop PRO and NIS Group.
All presentations from the conference are available online to the public on the PES Resource Center at https://resourcecenter.ieee-pes.org/.
We thank all authors, anonymous reviewers, speakers, and attendees whose contributions served as the foundation of the success of this event. We express our special gratitude to Prof. Boris Dumnic, Dr. Bane Popadic, Dr. Aleksandar Selakov, Prof. Igor Kuzle, Barbara Vujkov, and all volunteers, individuals, and parties involved in the organization of this conference for the invaluable support they provided.
We especially acknowledge and thank Dr. Mehdi Ghazavi Dozein, Dr. Jochen Cremer, Dr. Rick Wall Kenyon, Dr. Jelena Ponocko, Dr. Srijib Mukherjee, Dr. Michael Murphy, and Prof. Vedran Peric for their generous support throughout the planning and execution of this conference and their contributions to the preparation of this conference summary note. Finally, we express our appreciation for the IEEE and PES staff, Kathy Heilman and Dean Fiorino, and the international ISGT Steering Committee, especially Prof. Lina Bertling Tjernberg, Prof. Dirk Van Hertem, Prof. Mahdi Pourakbari Kasmaei, and Prof. Gianfranco Chicco, for affording the local organizing committee the opportunity and supporting them throughout the entire process.
The local organizing committee dedicates this conference to the late Prof. Andrija T. Saric (1962–2021), one of the most accomplished Serbian power system scholars (Figure 6).
The next IEEE/PES ISGT Europe will be hosted in Grenoble, France, in 2023. For more information, visit https://ieee-isgt-europe.org/.
—Amirhossein Sajadi , the technical chair of the 2022 IEEE PES ISGT Europe, and Luka Strezoski, the general chair of the 2022 IEEE PES ISGT Europe
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MELE.2022.3233118
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