Dr. Kevin Schneider Gives CURENT Special Seminar on Thur., Nov. 8

Dr. Kevin Schneider will give a seminar to CURENT on Thur., Nov. 8th from 1:00 pm  - 2:00 pm in MHK 124. All CURENT students and faculty are invited to attend.  

Title: Flexibility as a Resiliency Resource

Abstract: The nations electric power infrastructure is facing an increasing array of operational challenges. These include major storm events, cyber-security concerns, the interconnection of non-utility assets, and an increasing level of complexity that is making it difficult for utilities to maintain a “business as usual” approach. Due to the wide range of events that can negatively impact a power system, it is becoming less practical to deploy systems that address only a narrow range of events. This presentation will discuss work that is being conducted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, as part of the DOEs Resilient Distribution Program, to increase operational flexibility to improve resiliency. This work focuses on increasing flexibility from both utility and non-utility assets. For utility assets, the work examines the use of reconfigurable self-healing systems, advanced controls, and microgrids. For non-utility assets, it examines the feasibility of actively engaging these assets for resiliency, and not just economic objectives.  The presentation will provide an overview of existing work and how it is being transitioned to utilities.

Bio: Kevin P. Schneider (S’00, M’06, SM’08) received his B.S. degree in Physics and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. His main areas of research are distribution system analysis and power system operations. He is currently a Chief Engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, working at the Seattle Research Center in Seattle Washington.  Dr. Schneider is an Adjunct Faculty member at Washington State University, an Affiliate Associate Professor at the University of Washington, and a licensed Professional Engineer in Washington State.  He is the past chair of the Distribution System Analysis Sub-Committee and the current Vice-Chair of the Analytic Methods for Power Systems (AMPS) Committee.