Note: This seminar is being hosted by the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as part of its lecture series.

Title: The Changing Electric Grid: The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Abstract: The Electric Grid began in the late 19^th century and was declared by the US National Academy of Engineers as the greatest engineering achievement of the 20^th century.  Today largely driven by the dramatic increase in the penetration of variable renewable energy (VRE) from wind and solar photovoltaic the electric grid is potentially on the cusp of some very profound changes which could position it to be the greatest engineering achievement of the 21^st century.   These profound changes are coming about because of the characteristics of VRE; variable, somewhat difficult to predict, distributed and interfaced to the grid via power electronics.  Under an assumption that the penetration of VRE will continue to increase for the next several decades there will need to be a paradigm shift in how the grid is planned and operated if the fundamental objective of the grid is to be preserved i.e., “meet supply demand balance at least cost to a specified level of reliability at all points in time and at all locations”.  Change creates challenges and opportunities and through his own experience Dr. O’Malley has identified that there are good challenges and opportunities, there are bad challenges and opportunities and there are ugly challenges and opportunities.  This presentation will focus on identifying and elaborating on some of the good, some of the bad and some of the ugly.

Bio: Mark O’Malley is the Leverhulme Professor of Power Systems at Imperial College London.  He is a co-founder of the Global Power System Transformation Consortium and a Hagler Fellow at Texas A &M.

Between 2020 and 2022 he was the Chief Scientist at the Energy Systems Integration Group and between 2018 and 2020 he was the Chief Scientist, Energy Systems Integration at the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory, USA.  In 2017 he was the James M. Flaherty Visiting Professor in Electrical Engineering at McGill University.

He is recognized as a world authority on Energy Systems Integration and in grid integration of renewable energy.  He works closely and collaboratively with industry and researchers across the globe in a multitude of disciplines, including economics, social scientists, mathematicians, and geologists to address the challenges of transitioning the energy system.

He is a Foreign Member of the US National Academy of Engineering, a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and a foreign fellow of the Chinese Society for Electrical Engineering and has received two Fulbright Fellowships.