Power System Modeling
The Power System Modeling Group leverages capabilities in power systems engineering to develop and advance methods for modeling and simulating the transmission, distribution, and use of electric power. This group stewards capabilities in:
- Bulk Energy System Modeling - Applying knowledge of power system transmission and grid modeling to study regional and interconnection-scale grid dynamics and advance approaches to bulk energy system modeling and co-simulation.
- Grid Edge Modeling - Applying knowledge of power systems and modeling tools to advance the integration and coordination of distributed energy resources.
- Power Markets – Applying knowledge of electric power markets to develop novel modeling tools and methods for assessing technologies under different policy and regulatory environments and grid conditions.
Energy Systems Resilience
The Energy Systems Resilience Group develops methods, tools, and testbeds for integrating power electronics at scale and enhancing the cyber-physical resilience of energy system operations. This group stewards capabilities in:
- Power Electronics Modeling – Modeling, testing, and validating at-scale integration of power electronic devices and systems.
- Cyber-aware Design & Testing – Developing methods for cyber and physical security risk evaluation and testing of secure communications for energy systems.
- Grid Operations Testing & Validation – Evaluating new modeling methods and control strategies for improved real-time power system operations using hardware-in-the loop testbeds.
- Resilience Engineering – Applying knowledge of power systems, risk analysis, and infrastructure and consequence modeling to evaluate the resilience of energy systems
Energy Systems Engineering
The Energy Systems Engineer Group develops software tools and computing methods to speed up and scale the design and operations of energy systems. This group stewards capabilities in:
- Architecture & Communications – Defining architectural principles and data structures to enable the secure design, testing, integration, and coordination of grid edge devices and systems.
- Sensing & Measurement – Designing next generation sensing and measurement methods and systems that monitor the extended grid state, inform edge computing resources, and enable both wide-area monitoring and low-latency controls.
- Advanced Computing – Applying advanced computational methods and architectures, including high-performance, distributed and quantum computing, for more efficient system operations in terms of scale and complexity.
- Tool Development – Grid Edge Applications – Applying skills in software engineering to develop and deploy tools to enable coordination of grid edge devices and systems.
Optimization & Control
The Optimization & Control Group develops methods, algorithms, and applications to control and optimize the reliability, resilience, and efficiency of energy systems. This group stewards capabilities in:
- Control Methods – Developing methods and algorithms grounded in control theory for at-scale integration of distributed energy resources and cyber-physical resilience of energy systems.
- System Optimization – Developing and applying optimization principles, methods, and tools for planning and operational decision making in energy systems.
- Analytics & Learning – Integrating and leveraging machine learning, statistical analysis and data analytic techniques and approaches to develop next generation decision support strategies for energy systems.
- Control Design – Designing control and optimization solutions with a focus on real-world deployment in buildings and grid-edge applications.
Energy Policy, Economics & Planning
The Energy Policy, Economics & Planning Group develops methods for analyzing economic and societal impacts of energy system policies and regulations, and defines new planning frameworks that speed the deployment of a modernized and equitable energy system. This group stewards capabilities in:
- Energy Policy – Applying knowledge electricity policy and regulatory structures to inform the design and implementation of new policies that support grid modernization objectives.
- Energy Economics – Applying knowledge of economic theory and valuation methods to assess the distribution impacts of investments in energy technologies, at the asset or portfolio level.
- Energy Transition Planning – Applying expertise in clean energy policy and skills in stakeholder and community engagement to create and implement new energy system planning paradigms that promote energy equity and environmental justice.
Building Simulation & Design
The Building Simulation & Design Group models and analyzes the impacts of policies and standards to advance energy efficiency in new construction, develops new workflows for building electrical system design, and deploys tools to speed the adoption of energy efficient technologies. This group stewards capabilities in:
- Building Energy Simulation – Applying knowledge of building energy systems and building energy modeling to simulate building performance, evaluate impacts of technologies and policies, promote integrated designs, and advance modeling methodologies.
- Building Electrical Systems Engineering – Applying knowledge of building electrical systems to validate technologies and advance digital tools and workflows that facilitate integrated design, configuration, and operation.
- Building Energy Policy – Applying knowledge of building energy systems and energy policy to assess their impacts and advise stakeholders on the integration of energy efficient technologies through building energy codes and standards.
- Tool Development – Building Applications – Applying knowledge of software engineering to develop and maintain decision support tools for energy efficiency applications.
Building Systems
The Building Systems Group studies the operation and performance of the existing buildings and the integration of new building technologies to improve efficiency and indoor environmental quality. The group stewards capabilities in:
- Building Automation & Controls – Applying knowledge of building automation and control systems and building operations to validate novel control methods and demonstrate optimized performance of HVAC and other controllable systems.
- Building Mechanical Systems Engineering – Applying knowledge of building systems engineering and procedures for testing and validation of component technologies for energy efficiency in laboratory and field environments.
- Performance Evaluation – Applying knowledge of building systems engineering to develop and test new methods for evaluating whole-building and campus performance for energy, water, and carbon emissions.
- Indoor Environmental Quality – Applying knowledge of architectural engineering and human factors to study the interaction of humans with the indoor environment and inform human-centered design of lighting and other building systems for occupant human health, wellbeing, and productivity.
Energy Technology Deployment
The Energy Technology Deployment Group applies expertise in program design and management to speed the deployment of technologies that improve the efficiency and resilience of the built environment. The group stewards capabilities in:
- Market Transformation – Designing and implementing programs that speed market adoption of energy efficient building technologies through stakeholder engagement, training and education, and direct technical assistance.
- Federal Technical Support – Applying knowledge of federal agency energy and sustainability performance mandates, missions, and operations to support the implementation of institutional changes (e.g., programs, policies, behavior) that enable their achievement.
