The University of Vermont and Vermont Electric Power Company (VELCO) have signed a five-year strategic agreement to collaborate on research projects, curricular enrichment, and workforce development. The agreement’s purpose is to advance use-inspired research that helps to ensure a more resilient, affordable, and sustainable transmission system as Vermont accelerates the clean energy transition.
This agreement, which builds on a number of previous UVM-VELCO collaborations, will support the development of UVM’s NES2T (Next-gen Energy Systems Simulation Technology) lab, which will be housed on the main campus. This lab will support the evaluation of what-if scenarios on a “digital twin” of the Vermont power system, leveraging UVM researchers’ innovative power systems research and VELCO’s operational knowledge, grid planning information, and real-time data to increase the electric grid performance. Such a digital twin will enable the exploration of rare operating regimes in a simulation setting and then develop mechanisms, tools, and methods that optimize how the system can achieve the desired outcomes. These types of insights have never been more critical in light of changing technologies, state policies, customer preferences, and federal rules.
“As the pioneering research organization in the state of Vermont with deep expertise in power systems, the University of Vermont researchers are uniquely positioned to study these scenarios representing the decarbonization of grid resources,” said new Electrical Engineering (EE) faculty Amritanshu Pandey, who was part of the college’s recent double-hire in electric power/energy systems along with fellow EE faculty Samuel Chevalier. Chevalier adds, “It is exciting to see UVM’s power & energy team advance its in-house capabilities to build and use high-fidelity computer models of Vermont’s electric grid in collaboration with Vermont’s electricity industry to improve the resilience of the VT electric grid.”
Vermont has set an ambitious goal to obtain 90% of energy needs from renewable sources by 2050. This will drive continued expansion of renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind turbines that introduce additional system variability. In addition, as consumers electrify their vehicles and their homes, the demands on the grid continue to grow and fluctuate based on need and convenience. Lastly, federal rules that set transmission grid requirements are changing, requiring more precise data, to reflect a quickly evolving, more integrated, and complex system.
“What you have is a situation that creates an ebb and flow of generation and demand,” said Mads Almassalkhi, the L. Richard Fisher Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering. “There is a lot of renewable solar and wind generation coming onto the grid, and at the same time, you have a proliferation of larger loads because of electrification, heat pumps, electric vehicle charging, and other devices, like batteries, consuming power at different times.”
Almassalkhi sees the unique research strengths that the University brings to the table to be three-fold: Access to faculty with deep and well-funded research roots in energy systems, renewables, and power grids; extensive programs in autonomy, data science, and complex systems; and cutting-edge research developments in spatial analysis.
As to VELCO, it is the nation’s first transmission-only company, and remains unique in two important ways: its ownership comprises the state’s 17 distribution utilities and a public benefits corporation, and its for-profit structure returns value to its owners, their customers, and every Vermonter. VELCO manages Vermont’s electricity backbone—a complex system of 738 miles of transmission lines, over 1,600 miles of fiber optic communication networks, as well as 55 substations, switching stations, and terminal facilities. Its Mission is to serve as a trusted partner and its Vision is to help to create a sustainable Vermont. VELCO has been at the forefront of finding non-transmission alternatives and using grid-enhancing technologies to wring greater value from its existing system interconnected with those of New York, Quebec, and the rest of New England.
While the company continuously invests in new infrastructure and technology to ensure the reliability of the state’s grid, the new partnership with UVM will allow the company to leverage the College of Engineering and Mathematical Sciences (CEMS) research strengths to help unlock greater grid investment value.
The new agreement also promises rich new experiences for undergraduate and graduate students. Classroom modules, capstone projects, and other undergraduate and graduate research opportunities will leverage the “digital twin” to answer questions directly benefiting Vermonters, thereby serving the university’s land-grant mission.
Almassalkhi hopes the partnership will help VELCO solve challenges while creating more unique opportunities for students to gain a deeper understanding of Vermont’s electric grid and help better prepare them for careers in the field.
“This exciting agreement with VELCO is representative of the type of partnerships we hope to cultivate where collaborative research helps develop the technology, infrastructure, and workforce for a greener, cleaner, and more sustainable future for Vermont,” said Kirk Dombrowski, UVM’s Vice President for Research and Economic Development. “We welcome innovative companies interested in solving these types of complex energy challenges to connect with us and learn how we can work together.”