Sustainable Electrical Energy

The generation, provision and consumption of electrical energy have undergone significant change of late and will see even greater change over the coming years. Increasing penetration of renewables, new forms of load and changing consumer behaviour will have an ongoing impact on the network. Many of these changes call into question the assumptions that underlie the operation of traditional electricity grids. As the stochastic element of generation is increasing, the load is also moving away from its traditional description. We seek to apply our expertise in dynamical systems to address some of the challenges associated with the stable operation of the evolving electricity network.

We are participants in the Energy Institute. This co-operative venture between academic institutions and companies across Ireland is tackling fundamental applied research and demonstration challenges to underpin the emergence of future integrated, smart and sustainable electrical energy systems. The challenges addressed include the integration and optimisation of very high, variable renewable penetrations (40% energy and above), the development of an active, smarter electricity network enabled by the deployment of information and communication technologies, facilitation of customer and utility demand management, and electrification of segments of the heat and transport markets.