Forskning

Strategy, organisation and co-operation

The research strategy of the Power Systems Group is very much influenced by a close co-operation with SINTEF Energy Research. The research activities in the group are in fact closely integrated with SINTEF, in terms of common projects as well as in terms of geographical integration of NTNU faculty members and SINTEF researchers. Usually, NTNU professors are scientific advisors within SINTEF, and experienced SINTEF researchers are used as advisors for students in project and thesis work, as well as giving lectures in specific courses. The group has an adjunct professor with main position at SINTEF Energy Research. PhD- and MSc-students are also integrated in this scheme, which allows them to draw on knowledge and experience from a quite wide research environment. In total, this scheme of integration provides a research potential that is considerably larger than the two parts NTNU and SINTEF could have obtained individually.

Under the umbrella of SINTEF Energy Research as well as the common curriculum ‘Energy and environment’ the Power Systems Group co-operate with researchers in thermal energy processes. This co-operation is particularly relevant for models and methods applied in energy planning with mixed resources and carriers. The Power Systems Group has an adjunct professor with background in thermal energy. This professor has his main position at Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) at Kjeller, a fact that expands the contacts and potential of the group. This is in line with an important strategy: to make wider and to strengthen the competence in energy planning within the group.

Furthermore, the Power Systems Group has an adjunct professor with main position in the Norwegian State Power Company (Statkraft). Besides providing additional and supplemental competence to the group this is also a strategic alliance with the dominating actor in hydro power generation in Norway, as well as an actor with considerable involvement in other sources and carriers, such as wind power and hydrogen.

Research areas

Hydropower scheduling and optimization

Hydropower is the backbone and the dominating source of electricity generation in Norway. Methods for scheduling and optimization have been developed over many years also before the open market was introduced in Norway from the beginning of the 1990s. As the open market has expanded within the Nordic countries and power exchange and trade has increased between these countries and between Nordel and the remaining part of Europe, the modelling techniques have been extended and improved to include the market aspects and environmental impact of the trade between systems with different power resources.

Power markets and transmission issues

In an open power market transmission pricing and transmission congestion are important issues. The research includes different principles and methods for transmission pricing and congestion handling, emphasizing also the physical power flow modeling.

Dispersed generation and mixed energy distribution systems

There seems to be an international trend towards an increase of dispersed generation feeding electricity into the sub-transmission and distribution level. Examples are small wind parks, small hydro units and combined heat and power units. Power system impact and aspects (technical and economical) of such units is a research issue.

Energy distribution systems with mixed sources and carriers (electric power, district heating, gas) have traditionally been planned independently by different agents and companies. By regulation in Norway local communities and network companies have been instructed to make plans such that energy sources and carriers supplementing the existing electric infrastructure should be evaluated. This presents research challenges: to develop systematic methods for problem structuring, analysis and evaluation of alternative solutions.

Network analysis and simulation methods

This is a classical research area where methods have been developed and matured over a long period. However, the current trend where power system operation is coming closer to security limits presents new challenges to maintain stability and security. Therefore, methods to detect and monitor operation close to these limits and to avoid serious blackouts are an important research topic. Also, introduction of wind parks in relatively weak areas present challenges and requires revisiting dynamic and control issues.

Quality and reliability of energy systems

This is a classical research area in power systems and quite mature for some applications. The unbundling of generation and transmission in a market based system presents new problems for security of operation in the grid, and there is a need to look for alternative approaches to the well known (n-1) criterion.

Another aspect is quality and reliability of supply in mixed energy distribution systems. With experience from power systems there is a challenge to find equivalent indices and methods to characterize other carriers and infrastructures and to characterize the total quality and reliability of supply as seen from customer point of view.