Abstract:

In this seminar, we will look at some control and energy management issues associated with different kinds of energy resources in the form of microgrids, in particular, renewable resources. However, one of the major problems of renewable resources is their intermittency (except hydro plants). Therefore, stable power sources are needed to support load demands while renewable supplies fluctuate. From this prospect, nuclear power can be a viable choice, as nuclear power is stable, sustainable, and does not generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, existing nuclear power plants are large. Therefore, they cannot be easily integrated with renewable energy resources due to discrepancies in their respective power levels and dynamic characteristics. To deal with such issues, a new class of nuclear reactors, known as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), are being developed worldwide to make nuclear energy more comparable with renewable resources in the form of microgrids. This seminar will look at different types of SMRs under development and some international efforts to integrate nuclear power with renewable resources to form hybrid energy systems. Some microgrid configurations for such hybrid energy systems will also be presented. Finally, several latest results will be shared, and, more importantly, some potentially important research topics will also be discussed.

Biography:

Jing Jiang received a Ph.D. degree from the University of New Brunswick in 1989. He has been with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada since 1991. Dr. Jing Jiang is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada.

His research activities include advanced instrumentation and control systems for safety-critical applications, wireless sensor networks for post-accident monitoring systems, and coordination, control, and energy management for microgrids based on renewable energy resources. He is a registered professional engineer (P. Eng.) in Ontario and a fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.