平特五不中

翱惫别谤惫颈别飞/础辫别谤莽耻

On April 25th and 26th, 2017, TISED hosts a two-day Research Workshop Program convening听various stakeholders to on the topic of microgrids.听We also held a public听event on April 25th: "Is there a role for microgrids in the energy future of Quebec and Canada?"听

Microgrids are locally controlled power systems, such as university campuses, usually grid connected, but able to operate as electrical islands. They have become an increasingly familiar power sector feature in recent years, representing one of the three legs of the smart grid stool, together with enhanced megagrid operations and grid-customer interaction. Recent reports claim dramatic growth in projects planned to around 116 GW total worldwide, of which about 43% is in world鈥檚 biggest market, North America (Navigant Research, 2016). Notably, the northeastern U.S. and Japan have embraced microgrids following the twin disasters of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Hurricane Sandy. These traumatic events represented a turning point after which the concept of microgrid and its perceived benefits shifted beyond economic and environmental goals towards resilience. Consequently, microgrids have begun to find a natural place in the regulatory and policy arena. Qu茅bec, whose energy situation appears blessed in many ways, does not seem to offer a fertile landscape for microgrids. With abundant, cheap, carbon-free electricity, relatively undeveloped electricity markets, and faded memories of the 1998 ice storm, the province looks distinct from its neighbors to the south. This workshop will assess the technology, policy, and economics of microgrids, and explore their potential contribution to Quebec鈥檚 energy future.

Development of microgrids has followed a crooked path that has led to interest being currently high in the U.S. and Japan, with significant activity but with much less dynamism elsewhere, and with different drivers. Where Qu茅bec lies in the microgrid landscape is an open question.

Perhaps surprisingly, microgrid history is fairly short, dating roughly from the turn of the last century. This is not to say independent power systems did not exist previously, which meet the modern definitions of a microgrid. Indeed they did, rather emerging technology has greatly expanded their capabilities and the spectrum of opportunities. Many commentators have noted that the power industry began as numerous small isolated power systems, which over time have become increasingly interconnected and interdependent. While the whole world is still not fully interconnected, some major regions are, such as North America鈥檚 huge Western Interconnection encompassing most of 11 U.S. states plus some corners of others, two Canadian provinces, and a toehold in Mexico.

It is also often noted that some legacy "microgrids" survive in remote locations, unconnected to the wider grid. This line of reasoning makes it easy to dismiss microgrids as nothing new but rather a holdover or renaissance of the industry's roots; however, this perspective misses key characteristics of the modern microgrid concept, which is conceived as a part of the whole legacy electricity supply system, not as something separate from it, and yet it is indeed semi-autonomous.

Looking at the future energy landscape that Qu茅bec will face, microgrids will likely be a feature at some uncertain level. Microgrids offer some interesting opportunities for power industry entrants, and the distinction between the domains where they might be central players and not represents one of the key fault lines that must be determined. In fact, microgrids of many forms are possible. In addition to the above-mentioned campus microgrids, similar large facilities like hospitals, commercial parks, financial institutions, and industrial facilities are also prime candidates. Emergency response capabilities, police, fire, medical, and more, are the particular focus of the large New York Prize microgrid program. As projects are built out, which few of them are to date, they are accompanied by circuit level reimagining of what the macrogrid is, how it might function to integrate these, or even how it might be structurally transformed into a foam-like structure of hundreds even thousands of much smaller 鈥榠sland-able鈥� grids that on good days still function as a public good while nevertheless having undergone a structural revolution at the micro- and nano- grid scale. These are the futures being imagined when programs like the New York鈥檚 microgrid prize and it's wider Reforming the Energy Vision regulatory proceeding are put into place.

While these microgrids are typically sizeable electricity consumers that primarily seek higher power quality, reliability, and resilience, other types of microgrids are certainly possible and likely. Community power systems, facilities with low-quality local energy resources (such as farms or wastewater treatment plants), critical infrastructure, (such as metro networks), are all potential microgrids. Identifying which may emerge here, defining and classifying them and observing how their roles may differ is a first analysis task. Then significance of these actors' existence in the distribution network must be assessed, and their consequences gauged.

There does seem to be a breaking point at which non-radical, everyday folks begin to consider electrical infrastructure a domain into which they can intervene. For some this has meant moving aging parents to a different state where the electricity system is more stable, for others it has meant getting a diesel back-up generator, microgrids and nano-grids (home sized 鈥榠sland-able鈥� electricity systems) also have a certain appeal especially after particularly horrific storm damage or to industries that are determined to not suffer even brief outages, such as data centers.

"Resilience" has emerged as the major driver for microgrids in the U.S. and Japan. This focus comes in the wake of severe natural disasters the two countries have experienced and growing concern about the extreme weather events climate change will spawn. A widely accepted definition of resilience appears in U.S. Presidential Policy Directive 21 (The White House, 2013): "鈥� ability to prepare for and adapt to changing conditions and withstand and recover rapidly from disruptions." While this definition does not make explicit that resilience is measured relative to a major catastrophe, this sense is quite clear in The Royal Society report. Current interest in microgrids then is in no small measure motivated by the promise that they have a better chance than the megagrid of delivering power during a disaster, and/or they can recover faster. To achieve this, however, they must have a fuel source or adequate storage. This has indeed been true in some notable cases. The public and policymakers in Japan were heavily influenced by the stellar performance of two microgrids, Roppongi Hills in Tokyo, and one of the Tohuku Fukushi University campuses in Sendai. In the northeast U.S., the resilience of New York and Princeton Universities, as well as other microgrids, make a similarly deep impression. When microgrid performance is discussed, it is naturally by comparison to the megagrid. In all of these examples, the microgrid was able to function at some level throughout a blackout of a few days, and without any other support services, such as fuel deliveries.

Another sector that needs power under highly adverse conditions is the military, and sure enough, it has shown great interest in microgrids. In the U.S. particularly, a significant effort is being made to harden power supply to bases using microgrids, primarily under a program called Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS). In fact, the U.S. military is probably the only institution worldwide that has endorsed microgrids as the default arrangement for its facilities.

Y a-t-il une place pour les minir茅seaux dans l鈥檃venir 茅nerg茅tique du Qu茅bec et du Canada?

Les 25 et 26 avril 2017, TISED accueillera un atelier de recherche sur le th猫me des minir茅seaux, qui r茅unira divers intervenants de ce secteur.听Dans le cadre de notre atelier, il y'avait aussi un 茅v茅nement "Is there a role for microgrids in the energy future of Quebec and Canada".听
Les minir茅seaux sont des r茅seaux 茅lectriques install茅s localement, comme sur des campus, qui sont habituellement connect茅s au r茅seau principal, mais qui peuvent fonctionner de mani猫re autonome. Depuis quelques ann茅es, ils sont de plus en plus communs et constituent maintenant un des trois piliers du r茅seau 茅lectrique intelligent, les deux autres 茅tant le m茅ga r茅seau am茅lior茅 et l鈥檌nteraction entre le r茅seau et le client. Selon des rapports r茅cents, le nombre de projets pr茅vus a augment茅 consid茅rablement; ils repr茅sentent environ 116听GW au total dans le monde; une part d鈥檈nviron 43听% de cette capacit茅 est li茅e 脿 des projets qui seront r茅alis茅s en Am茅rique du Nord, soit le plus grand march茅 mondial (Navigant Research, 2016). Il convient de noter que le nord-est des 脡tats-Unis et le Japon ont adopt茅 les minir茅seaux dans la foul茅e de l鈥檌mportant tremblement de terre qui a secou茅 l鈥檈st du Japon et de l鈥檕uragan Sandy. Ces catastrophes ont 茅t茅 des moments d茅cisifs apr猫s lesquels les minir茅seaux sont pass茅s de solutions qui offrent des avantages sur le plan 茅conomique et environnemental 脿 des moyens qui permettent d鈥檃m茅liorer la r茅silience. Par cons茅quent, les minir茅seaux se sont naturellement taill茅 une place dans les cadres r茅glementaire et politique. Le Qu茅bec, qui est privil茅gi茅 sur le plan 茅nerg茅tique 脿 bien des 茅gards, ne semble pas offrir le terrain fertile n茅cessaire 脿 la croissance des minir茅seaux. Cette province o霉 l鈥櫭﹍ectricit茅 est produite en abondance, 脿 faibles co没ts et sans 茅missions de CO2, o霉 le march茅 de l鈥櫭﹍ectricit茅 est relativement peu d茅velopp茅 et o霉 les souvenirs de la temp锚te de verglas de 1998 s鈥檈stompent, se distingue de ses voisins du sud. Cet atelier permettra d鈥櫭﹙aluer la technologie, les politiques et les facteurs 茅conomiques li茅s aux minir茅seaux et d鈥檈xplorer le r么le qu鈥檌ls pourraient jouer dans l鈥檃venir 茅nerg茅tique du Qu茅bec.

Le d茅veloppement des minir茅seaux suit un parcours sinueux comme en t茅moigne le fait qu鈥檌ls suscitent un vif int茅r锚t aux 脡tats-Unis et au Japon, o霉 l鈥檃ctivit茅 est importante 脿 leur 茅gard, mais beaucoup moins ailleurs, o霉 divers facteurs sont en jeu. Quelle est la place du Qu茅bec dans le secteur des minir茅seaux? Cette question est toujours sans r茅ponse.

Ce qui peut sembler surprenant est le fait que l鈥檋istoire des minir茅seaux est relativement courte puisqu鈥檈lle remonte 脿 peu pr猫s au d茅but du si猫cle dernier. Cela ne veut pas dire que les r茅seaux 茅lectriques autonomes, qui r茅pondent aux d茅finitions modernes d鈥檜n minir茅seau, n鈥檈xistaient pas pr茅c茅demment. Ils existaient, mais gr芒ce aux technologies 茅mergentes, leurs capacit茅s ont consid茅rablement augment茅 tout comme l鈥櫭﹙entail des possibilit茅s qu鈥檌ls offrent. De nombreux commentateurs ont soulign茅 qu鈥檃u d茅but, le secteur de l鈥櫭﹍ectricit茅 茅tait constitu茅 d鈥檜n ensemble de petits r茅seaux isol茅s, qui, au fil du temps, sont devenus de plus en plus interreli茅s et interd茅pendants. Bien que tous les r茅seaux du monde ne soient pas enti猫rement interreli茅s, un certain nombre de grandes r茅gions le sont, comme la r茅gion situ茅e 脿 l鈥檕uest de l鈥橝m茅rique du Nord o霉 un 茅norme r茅seau englobe la majeure partie de 11 茅tats am茅ricains, certaines parties d鈥檃utres 茅tats, deux provinces canadiennes et une r茅gion du Mexique.

En outre, on pr茅tend souvent que certains 芦听minir茅seaux听禄 r茅ussissent 脿 subsister en r茅gions 茅loign茅es, sans 锚tre reli茅s au r茅seau principal. En raison de cette perception, il est facile de consid茅rer les minir茅seaux comme n鈥櫭﹖ant rien de nouveau, comme un vestige ou une relance des origines r茅volues du secteur; toutefois, cette perception ne tient pas compte des caract茅ristiques cl茅s du concept moderne de minir茅seau, qui n鈥檈st pas s茅par茅 de l鈥檈nsemble du r茅seau 茅lectrique, mais en fait partie, bien qu鈥檌l soit, en effet, semi-autonome.

Si l鈥檕n consid猫re l鈥檃venir du Qu茅bec sur le plan 茅nerg茅tique, les minir茅seaux auront probablement leur place, bien que la port茅e qu鈥檌ls auront demeure incertaine. Les minir茅seaux offrent des possibilit茅s int茅ressantes pour les nouveaux venus dans ce secteur et l鈥檜ne des principales lignes de faille qui doivent 锚tre d茅termin茅es concerne les distinctions entre les domaines o霉 ils peuvent jouer un r么le de premier plan et les autres. En fait, les minir茅seaux peuvent prendre des formes diverses. En plus de les retrouver sur des campus, comme il est mentionn茅 ci-dessus, les minir茅seaux font souvent partie int茅grante de grandes installations similaires comme les h么pitaux, les parcs commerciaux, les institutions financi猫res et les installations industrielles. L鈥檌mportant programme de minir茅seaux New York Prize vise notamment les fonctions d鈥檌ntervention d鈥檜rgence, les services de police et d鈥檌ncendie et les services m茅dicaux. Au fur et 脿 mesure que les projets sont r茅alis茅s, et il n鈥檡 en a que quelques-uns 脿 ce jour, la conception est revue 脿 l鈥櫭ヽhelle des circuits 脿 l鈥檃ppui des grands r茅seaux, ainsi que la fa莽on dont les minir茅seaux peuvent y 锚tre int茅gr茅s, ou m锚me la fa莽on dont les grands r茅seaux pourraient 锚tre transform茅s en une structure spongiforme compos茅e de milliers de petits r茅seaux pouvant fonctionner de mani猫re autonome au service du public, mais ayant subi une r茅volution structurale 脿 tr猫s petite 茅chelle. Voil脿 l鈥檃venir tel qu鈥檌l est imagin茅 lorsqu鈥檕n met en 艙uvre des initiatives comme le programme de minir茅seaux New York Prize et la strat茅gie g茅n茅rale Reforming the Energy Vision.

Bien que ces minir茅seaux consomment g茅n茅ralement une importante quantit茅 d鈥櫭﹍ectricit茅 et offrent une alimentation de qualit茅, fiable et r茅siliente, la mise en place d鈥檃utres types de minir茅seaux est non seulement possible, mais probable. Les r茅seaux d鈥檃limentation communautaires, les installations dot茅es de ressources 茅nerg茅tiques locales de faible qualit茅 (comme les exploitations agricoles et les usines de traitement des eaux us茅es), les infrastructures essentielles (comme les r茅seaux de m茅tros) sont tous des exemples d鈥檌nstallations qui pourraient 锚tre dot茅es de minir茅seaux. La premi猫re t芒che d鈥檃nalyse consiste 脿 d茅terminer lesquels pourraient 锚tre d茅velopp茅s ici, 脿 les d茅finir, 脿 les classer et 脿 observer les diff茅rences entre les fonctions que chacun peut remplir. Par la suite, l鈥檌mportance de ces minir茅seaux dans le r茅seau de distribution doit 锚tre 茅valu茅e et leurs effets mesur茅s.

听

Il semble y avoir un moment d茅cisif o霉 les gens ordinaires commencent 脿 r茅aliser qu鈥檌ls peuvent intervenir en ce qui a trait 脿 l鈥檌nfrastructure 茅lectrique. Par exemple, certains convainquent leurs parents vieillissants de d茅m茅nager vers un autre 茅tat o霉 le r茅seau 茅lectrique est plus stable; d鈥檃utres se procurent une g茅n茅ratrice de secours aliment茅e au diesel. Les minir茅seaux et les micror茅seaux (r茅seaux 茅lectriques domiciliaires autonomes) ont un certain attrait, en particulier pour les gens qui ont subi des d茅g芒ts importants lors d鈥檜ne temp锚te ou pour les secteurs qui sont d茅termin茅s 脿 茅viter des pannes de courant, m锚me de courte dur茅e, comme les centres de donn茅es.

La 芦听r茅silience听禄 est devenue le principal moteur du d茅veloppement des minir茅seaux aux 脡tats-Unis et au Japon. Cet int茅r锚t d茅coule des graves catastrophes naturelles que les deux pays ont subies et des pr茅occupations croissantes engendr茅es par les ph茅nom猫nes m茅t茅orologiques extr锚mes caus茅s par les changements climatiques. Une d茅finition g茅n茅ralement accept茅e de la r茅silience est donn茅e dans la Directive pr茅sidentielle听21 des 脡tats-Unis (The White House, 2013). Elle est comme suit听: 芦听[traduction] ... capacit茅 脿 se pr茅parer et 脿 s鈥檃dapter aux conditions en 茅volution, 脿 r茅sister aux perturbations et 脿 se remettre rapidement des situations qui en d茅coulent听禄. Dans cette d茅finition, le lien qui existe entre la r茅silience et l鈥檌mportance d鈥檜ne catastrophe n鈥檈st pas explicite, mais il est assez clair dans le rapport de The Royal Society. L鈥檌nt茅r锚t que suscitent les minir茅seaux 脿 l鈥檋eure actuelle est fortement motiv茅 par les avis selon lesquels leur capacit茅 脿 assurer l鈥檃limentation 茅lectrique en cas de catastrophe est sup茅rieure 脿 celle des m茅gar茅seaux et qu鈥檈n cas de panne ils peuvent 锚tre r茅tablis plus rapidement. Pour ce faire, cependant, ils doivent pouvoir compter sur une source d鈥櫭﹏ergie ou un m茅canisme de stockage ad茅quat. Cela s鈥檈st av茅r茅 exact dans certaines situations notables. Le public et les d茅cideurs au Japon ont 茅t茅 fortement influenc茅s par l鈥檈xcellent rendement de deux minir茅seaux, soit celui de Roppongi Hills 脿 Tokyo et ceux des campus de l鈥橴niversit茅 Tohuku Fukushi 脿 Sendai. Dans le nord-est des 脡tats-Unis, la r茅silience de certains minir茅seaux comme ceux des universit茅s de New York et de Princeton a produit une impression tout aussi forte. Lorsqu鈥檕n parle du rendement des minir茅seaux, on le compare naturellement 脿 celui des grands r茅seaux. Dans tous ces cas, les minir茅seaux ont 茅t茅 en mesure de fonctionner 脿 un certain niveau et sans arr锚t pendant une panne de courant de quelques jours et sans avoir 脿 recourir 脿 d鈥檃utres services de soutien, comme l鈥檃pprovisionnement en carburant.

Les forces arm茅es sont un autre secteur qui a besoin d鈥櫭﹍ectricit茅 dans des conditions tr猫s d茅favorables; il n鈥檈st donc pas 茅tonnant qu鈥檈lles consid猫rent les minir茅seaux avec grand int茅r锚t. Aux 脡tats-Unis, en particulier, des efforts consid茅rables sont d茅ploy茅s pour am茅liorer la fiabilit茅 de l鈥檃limentation 茅lectrique sur les bases militaires 脿 l鈥檃ide de minir茅seaux; ces travaux sont principalement effectu茅s dans le cadre d鈥檜n programme nomm茅 Smart Power Infrastructure Demonstration for Energy Reliability and Security (SPIDERS). En fait, l鈥檃rm茅e am茅ricaine est probablement la seule organisation au monde 脿 avoir approuv茅 le recours aux minir茅seaux par d茅faut pour ses installations.

Speakers, PPTs, Videos

Chris Marnay, Moderator, TISED Scholar-in-Residence, 平特五不中

What is a microgrid?
Marnay slides
Power systems that could legitimately be called microgrids, i.e. locally controlled and able to function either grid connected or as electrical islands have existed since the dawn of the industry. Their modern development, though, has mostly occurred in this century, and their deployment is rapidly accelerating. Primarily for resilience reasons, the northeastern U.S. and Japan have embraced microgrids following their twin disasters, the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Hurricane Sandy. This presentation will provide an introduction to microgrids, report on the research and development that took place during the first decade of the century, and describe alternative future pathways the electricity supply sector may follow.

Gretchen Bakke, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, 平特五不中

The human dimension
Bakke slides
Since about 2008 there has been a groundswell of intervention in the workings of what we now call the macrogrid that aren't coming from within the utility sector. One of the great drivers of this shift from indifference toward action is the failing reliability of the current system. One blossoming idea is that microgrids, even if privately owned, can still serve members of a damaged community by offering, heat, light, etc. during and following a disaster. Microgrids that promote community level resiliency seem to be most popular in densely populated areas, like the eastern seaboard after Superstorm Sandy or New England after Hurricane Irene. Microgrid projects once commonly blocked by regulators and utilities are now being offered a certain regulatory ease in storm affected densely populated areas. They are accompanied by circuit level reimagining of what the macrogrid is, and even how it might be structurally transformed into a foamlike structure of hundreds even thousands of much smaller islandable grids.

Fran莽ois Bouffard, Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, TISED, 平特五不中

Grid Issues
Bouffard slides
The planning and operation of microgrids represent a wide set of exciting problems which are challenging some of the core principles of electric power engineering. Nonetheless, these challenges give rise to multiple opportunities for improving energy system resilience and carbon footprint. In this presentation, we look at some of those challenges and opportunities through a Qu茅bec lens. We will discuss some scenarios for microgrids to be rolled out within this truly distinct power system.

Angelo Giumento, Manager听Smart Grid & Technology Solutions at Hydro-Qu茅bec

The Hydro-Qu茅bec Perspective
Giumento slides

听Peter Lilienthal, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), HOMER Energy

Microgrid Activity around the World
Lilienthal slides
There are tens of thousands of microgrids around the world, but the majority of them are very simple diesel-powered systems. Advances in renewable energy, storage, power electronics and control technology are being deployed to create more sustainable microgrids supplying high quality, reliable power.听 This presentation will distil insights from HOMER Energy鈥檚 database of 25,000 microgrid projects in 193 countries.听 These projects range from tiny systems to power African villages that have never before had power to power systems for islands the size of St. Thomas, Aruba, or Maui.听 A new category is the grid-connected microgrids that are being developed to make critical infrastructure more resilient against catastrophic events, such as ice storms and terrorist actions. Hurricane Sandy has prompted local authorities throughout the Northeast US to develop pilot projects. The best example of this is in New York State, where the NY Prize program has funded 83 conceptual designs and is now pursuing final design on 11 projects throughout the state.听 NY is also embarking on its ambitious REV (Reforming Energy Vision) program to incentivize utility companies to promote distributed power and microgrids.

Pierre-Olivier Pineau, Professor, Department of Decision Sciences, Chair in Energy Sector Management, HEC Montr茅al

Qu茅bec & Canada鈥檚 Electricity Situation
Pineau slides
Canada has the largest energy consumption per capita in the world, among countries with a population greater than 5 million. This is in part explained by the very high electricity consumption in Canada, fueled by the abundant and cheap hydroelectricity available in some provinces, especially in Quebec, where most of the hydropower production takes place. Hydropower development in Quebec is based on megagrids, with many power plants at 1,000 km from loads. Residential users consume between 13 and 20 MWh per year on average, depending on their region. Consequently, microgrids developments will face many obstacles.

Saad Sayeef, Research Scientist, CSIRO

Microgrids in Australia
Sayeef slides
Australia鈥檚 electricity system supports our economy and lifestyle and it is changing at an unprecedented scale. The transformation is driven by customers, as they embrace new technologies, take control of their energy usage and support action on climate change. Australia, like Canada, has a vast land area with some of the world鈥檚 longest transmission lines and feeders. The country also has a large number of remote communities that are powered by off-grid systems, where the penetration of renewables has been increasing significantly in recent years. This presentation will provide an overview of recent trials, deployments, and developments in the microgrids space across Australia.

The Microgrid Working Group wants your constructive comments, suggestions, and your questions!听

What are the opportunities and challenges for microgrids? The working group will produce a听white paper published on TISED's website and thoughtful written comments will be considered!听Your input will make a difference! If you'd like, submit your comments here听(anonymously if you'd like).听

Envoyez-nous vos commentaires!

Le groupe de travail sur les minir茅seaux souhaite que vous lui fassiez parvenir vos commentaires constructifs, vos suggestions et vos questions!

Quelles sont les possibilit茅s qu鈥檕ffrent les minir茅seaux et quels d茅fis posent-ils? Le groupe de travail produira un livre blanc qui sera publi茅 sur le site Web de TISED; Votre participation fait une diff茅rence! Si vous souhaitez apporter votre contribution, parvenir vos commentaires en cliquant sur ce lien听(de fa莽on anonyme si vous le pr茅f茅rez).

Members of the "Microgrid听Working Group"听

Chris Marnay (Chair), TISED Scholar-in-Residence, 平特五不中
Chris Marnay is a retired Staff Scientist from the Energy Technologies Area of LBNL, where he had worked for 29 years, focusing on microgrids for about 15 years. He has lectured widely on microgrid principles, economics, and demonstrations, chaired the first ten annual Microgrids Symposiums, and serves as Convenor of CIGR脡 WG6.22 Microgrid Evolution Roadmap. He invented and then led work for over a decade on the development of the DER Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM), which finds optimum technology neutral combinations of equipment and operating schedules, given prevailing economic circumstances and available equipment descriptions. He has an A.B. in Development Studies, an M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics, and a Ph.D. in Energy and Resources, all from the University of California, Berkeley.

Pierre-Olivier Pineau (co-Chair), Professor, Department听of Decision Sciences, Chair in Energy Sector Management, HEC Montr茅al
Pierre-Oliver Pineau (Ph.D., HEC Montr茅al) is a professor in the Department of Decision Sciences of HEC Montr茅al and holds the Chair in Energy Sector Management. He is an energy policy and management specialist, focusing on electricity reforms. He has published widely, typically exploring the links between energy and sustainable development. He participates regularly in public debate on energy and has authored many reports for the government and other public organizations. He is a member of the CAEE, CIRODD and the institute EDDEC. Before joining HEC Montreal, he was an associate professor at the School of Public Administration, University of Victoria (2001-2006).

Louis Beaumier (co-Chair),听Directeur ex茅cutif,听Institut de l'茅nergie Trottier
After earning a research-based Master鈥檚 degree in Electrical Engineering at Polytechnique Montr茅al, Mr. Beaumier began his career in software development. He is active in many fields of application, ranging from distributed immersive simulation systems to speech recognition interfaces. The experience that he has acquired over the years in the various positions that he has held (from Developer to Director of Research and Development), has taught him that a poorly understood problem, or poorly presented solution, can each lead to difficulties within software project contexts. In light of this, he is committed to product management, emphasizing a better understanding of the needs and presentations of technical solutions, which ultimately enhance听relationships with clients. This experience is what he brings to Institut de l鈥櫭﹏ergie Trottier (IET).

Gretchen Bakke, Assistant Professor, Anthropology, 平特五不中
Gretchen Bakke holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Cultural Anthropology. Her work focuses on the chaos and creativity that emerges during social, cultural, and technological transitions. For the past decade, she has been researching and writing about the changing culture of electricity in the United States. She is the author of The Grid: The Fraying Wires between Americans and Our Energy Future (2016). Gretchen is a former fellow in Wesleyan University鈥檚 Science in Society Program, a former Fulbright fellow, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at 平特五不中. Born in Portland, Oregon, Bakke now lives in Montreal.

Fran莽ois Bouffard, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 平特五不中
Fran莽ois Bouffard is an Associate Professor and William Dawson Scholar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at 平特五不中. His research expertise is at the interface of electric power engineering and operations research. He is particularly interested in the formulation of decision-support tools aimed at low carbon energy system operators and planners.

Angelo Giumento, Manager Smart Grid Technology Solutions at Hydro-Qu茅bec
Angelo Giumento is currently the Manager of Smart Grid and Technology Solutions at Hydro-Qu茅bec, where he has served since spring 2015. He follows multiple new technologies and new business practices, including transportation electrification, grid impact studies, energy distribution technology, sales and marketing, contract negotiations, IT, and corporate strategy. Previously he has held various other positions at HQ, including Project Manager, Smart Grid Engineer, and Electric Transportation Engineer. He has also worked at CEATI International and Future Electronics. He holds a B.Eng from 平特五不中 and a DEC from Marianopolis College.

Soam Goel, Partner at Anbaric Development Partners
Soam Goel is focused on growth and development through acquisitions听for Anbaric. Soam Goel has been the Chief Commercial Officer of Power Network New Mexico, a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs Global Infrastructure Fund (GSIP). He originated the project for GSIP. At Power Network he was responsible for the overall economics/ profitability, regulatory filings, customers and markets, and the commercial success of the project.Mr. Goel founded Enersights in 2004 to provide strategic advice to senior executives of utility companies and financial participants. Prior to that, he spent 10 years with PA Consulting and its predecessor firms. He was named Partner in 1998 and co-headed the energy M&A practice. Under his leadership, the firm conducted assignments such as utility M&A, generation, and transmission transactions 鈥� $40M to $8B in size 鈥� for utilities, industry vendors, investment banks, and private equity. Prior experience includes leading several multi-client studies at UMS Group for energy companies to identify world class operations benchmarks and best practices. Soam was selected in the fast-track management development program at Unilever Group of Companies. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

Peter Lilienthal, CEO, HOMER Energy
Peter Lilienthal is the CEO of HOMER Energy. Since 1993, he has been the developer of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory鈥檚 HOMER庐 hybrid power optimization software, which has been used by over 180,000 energy practitioners in 193 countries. Dr. Lilienthal was the Senior Economist with International Programs at NREL from 1990 鈥� 2007. He helped create NREL鈥檚 Village Power Programs. He has a Ph.D. in Management Science & Engineering from Stanford University. He has been active in renewable energy since 1978, including teaching at university, project development, and consulting to industry and regulators.

Andrew Melchers, Digital Grid Products, Siemens Canada
Andrew Melchers develops business for Digital Grid in the Energy Management division at Siemens Canada. The current focus within the Digital Grid business is on microgrids, but previously has also included protection and control, substation automation, and feeder automation. Prior to joining Digital Grid Andrew developed the solar photovoltaic inverter business for Siemens Canada, where he focused on sales and marketing involving the launch of the central and string inverters.

Normand Mousseau,听Directeur acad茅mique, Institut de l'茅nergie Trottier (IET), Titulaire de la Chaire de recherche du Canada en physique num茅rique des mat茅riaux complexes, Universit茅 de Montr茅al
Normand Mousseau is a Professor of Physics at Universit茅 de Montr茅al and holder of the Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Computational Physics of Complex Materials. After completing his Ph.D. at Michigan State University, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at Oxford University in England and at Universit茅 de Montr茅al. An internationally acclaimed researcher in complex materials and biophysics, Normand Mousseau has authored more than 150 scientific articles and is passionate about the popularization of science. Since 2005, he has had a special interest in energy and natural resources, and in addition to his numerous media interventions, he has published a number of books on this topic. In 2013, he co-chaired the Commission听sur听les听enjeux听茅nerg茅tiques du Qu茅bec, that published the report entitled 鈥淢a卯triser听notre听avenir听茅nerg茅tique, pour le b茅n茅fice 茅conomique,听environnemental听et social de tous鈥�. This report was released to the public in late February of 2014.

Mark O'Malley,听Flaherty Visiting Professor (TISED), Prof. Electrical Engineering, University College Dublin
Mark O'Malley was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1962 and graduated with a BE and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Ireland in 1983 and 1987 respectively.听 He is Professor of Electrical Engineering at University College Dublin (UCD), founding Director of the Electricity Research Centre and Director of the UCD Energy Institute a multidisciplinary, multi-institutional, industry supported research activity.听 He is recognized as a world authority on Energy Systems Integration and in particular Grid Integration of Renewable Energy.听 He has active research collaborations in Europe, the United States (US) and China and is a co-founder of the International Institute for Energy Systems Integration.听 He has spent sabbaticals in the University of Virginia, University of Washington and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.听 He has received two Fulbright Scholarships (1994 & 1999).听 He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and a Member of the Royal Irish Academy.

鈥�Alexandre Prieur, Smartgrid Project Leader, Canmet ENERGY, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan)
Prieur is a Smart Grid projects leader at CanmetENERGY, an energy and science research laboratory of the federal department of Natural Resources Canada. His research activities focus on the application of flexible resources and renewable energy integration into Smart Grids. Alexandre he is also leading a project on Smart Grid standardization in Canada. Prior to joining CanmetENERGY in 2009, he worked for 10 years within the private sector, in the telecommunication industry.

Janos Rajda, Senior Technical Advisor, RYDA Design & Service Inc.
Janos Rajda is a distributed energy resource power systems and power electronics consultant. He provides microgrid/energy storage/UPS design solutions, advisory services, applications and equipment engineering and technical sales consultancy services in Senior Technical Advisor and/or Technical Sales Consultant contractor roles. Through RYDA Design & Service Inc., Janos provides technical sales insights to project development teams and advanced inverter product applications support to its clients, such as NRCan/Canmet ENERGY, Canadian Solar Solutions' Microgrid Test Center Development, SMA America LLC/SMA Canada Inc., United Technology Corp./ UTC-Power, Celestica International Inc, EnerDel Inc., and others. As a Director of Application Engineering and Technical Sales at Satcon Technology Inc/Inverpower Controls Ltd., Janos contributed a unique MV Sub-cycle Disconnect Switch solution for Santa Rita Jail Smart Microgrid Grid project enabling true seamless grid connect-disconnect islanding transfers. Janos earned his Master of Engineering degree at the University of Toronto and holds several U.S. and PCT patents for innovative, medium voltage power electronic equipment designs. He is a registered member of the Association of Professional Engineers of Ontario and a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

Saad Sayeef, Research Scientist, CSIRO
Saad Sayeef is a Research Engineer in the Grids and Energy Efficiency Research Program within the Energy Business Unit of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), working in the areas of renewable energy integration and energy efficiency. Prior to joining CSIRO, he was a Research Fellow at the University of Wollongong where he worked on the control of wind turbines and energy storage for Remote Area Power Supply (RAPS) systems. Saad holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Australia.