Smart Grid Technologies for a Modern Power Grid

Gain an understanding of the challenges and opportunities existing in the modernization of the electric utility grid.

Major portions of the U.S. electric grid are half a century old, and compared to other infrastructure, the adoption of new technology into the U.S. grid has been relatively slow. This slow adoption of technology compared to other sectors such as telecommunications has been attributed to the reason that the existing grid is 99.97% reliable and therefore should not need upgrading. However, its structure and topology are relatively inflexible since its underlying framework was designed assuming unidirectional flow of power, control and information. As a result of this inflexible structure, integrating common renewable energy sources such as solar and wind into the grid is prohibitively expensive and unwieldy. Also, electric vehicles, now having been introduced in several markets of the country, especially California, present major challenges when plugged into the grid. A smart grid would allow two-way power flow, two-way communications flow and two-way control flow. This will allow the grid to be more flexible, smart, self-healing, resilient and efficient. To enable such a grid, a host of advanced technologies such as information technology, wireless and mobile devices, sensor and control systems, etc., have to be architected and integrated into the existing grid. This OnDemand Webinar will present research and technical opportunities and challenges, upcoming market opportunities and their challenges, and current research progress at UCLA's Smart Grid Energy Research Center. You will get an understanding of the challenges and opportunities existing in the modernization of the electric utility grid with a focus on the distribution side of the grid.