About SCV-PELS
The Santa Clara Valley chapter of the IEEE Power Electronics Society (IEEE SCV-PELS) is interested in the development of power electronics technology. This technology encompasses the effective use of electronic components, the application of circuit theory and design techniques, and the development of analytical tools toward efficient electronic conversion, control, and conditioning of electric power.

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Next Meeting

Date: Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
6:30pm: Networking & Pizza
7:00pm: Presentation
8:00pm: Q&A
Location:
National Semiconductor Building E Auditorium
2900 Semiconductor Drive, Santa Clara, CA 94051

Cost: Donations for food accepted


RSVP:

Title

Aggregated Dispatchable Loads: Beyond Traditional Demand Response

Speaker

Alec Brooks, PhD.

Abstract

Today, the power grid is operated largely by controlling generation to match load. As ever-greater amounts of intermittent renewable generation sources are added to the grid, it will become increasingly difficult to achieve the overall balance of generation and load with the current approach. Active control of load offers a new capability to help manage the grid. Aggregated dispatchable loads will be able to provide grid services well beyond traditional demand response.

These services can help compensate for the variability of some renewable generation sources. Loads that participate in providing these services could realize a reduced cost of electricity. The talk will go through some fundamentals of how power grids operate and describe how loads could be controlled to provide some of the same grid services that are currently performed by powerplants. An example of how plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles could provide these services will be presented.


Biography

Alec Brooks joined Google in 2008 where he is working in the areas of renewable energy and integration of plug-in vehicles into the power grid. Previously, Alec worked on vehicle and aircraft projects at Tesla Motors, AC Propulsion, and AeroVironment.

At AeroVironment he led the development of the GM SunRaycer solar racing car and later led the development of the GM Impact electric vehicle, the forerunner of the EV1. At AC Propulsion, he spearheaded the development of concepts by which vehicles could supply ancillary service functions to the power grid and coined the shorthand term "V2G" to describe this technology. Later at AeroVironment he was chief engineer for the Global Observer high altitude hydrogen powered unmanned aircraft.

At Tesla Motors he developed and demonstrated how smart vehicle charging can perform grid ancillary services even without bidirectional power flow.

Education:

PhD. Caltech Civil Engineering
M.S. Caltech Civil Engineering
B.S. UC Berkeley Civil Engineering