Qipeng (Phil) Zheng, assistant professor of industrial and management systems engineering at West Virginia University, received a $172, 655 grant from the National Science Foundation to study ways to integrate renewable energy resources into next-generation power systems.

Zheng will create an electric power infrastructure that uses a mathematical modeling tool known as stochastic programming to distribute energy from power grids more efficiently. It will incorporate energy storage devices and on-demand response from an electricity grid.

“If the project is successful, it will provide planning authorities with the most advanced electricity system modeling and computational tools,” Zheng said. “This research holds great potential to transform the current planning practice in the electricity sector, resulting in substantial savings for consumers and sustainable power systems.”

Zheng’s models and algorithms could also provide an efficient methodology for other operational systems beyond the electricity sector. He said his findings will be integrated into a curriculum and be disseminated widely to the scientific community to encourage testing and collaboration.

—WVU—

dar/09/17/12

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CONTACT: Mary C. Dillon
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