Title: VRB Energy Storage Performance Characterization for Microgrid Applications
Speaker: Mariesa Crow, Fred Finley Distinguished Professor, Missouri S&T University
Abstract: Energy storage technology is a critical aspect of future development of portable, scalable microgrid technology. One of the most important parameters in microgrid operation is the ability to predict the power and energy characteristics of any energy storage system. To achieve optimal use of renewable energy resources and energy storage, the energy storage system must be modeled accurately and must include all parasitic and operational losses from environmental controls. Furthermore, the energy storage operation must be modeled in conjunction with the particular renewable resource with which it will be used.
This seminar will discuss recent efforts to characterize the Vanadium Redox Battery (VRB) for microgrid applications. An electrical model of the VRB will be developed including charge and discharge efficiencies, balance of plant parasitics, and integration with photovoltaic systems. The model will be validated via a field demonstration at Fort Leonard Wood Army Base in Missouri. This model will be used as a basis for the development of a microgrid control strategy for heterogeneous energy storage systems, on and off-grid operation, and renewable energy.
Speaker Bio: Mariesa L. Crow is the Fred Finley Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering at Missouri S&T. She received her BSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan and her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois -Urbana/Champaign. Her area of professional interest is computational methods and power electronics applications to renewable energy systems and energy storage. She has been PI or Co-PI on $21 million in externally funded research sponsored by the National Science Foundation, DOE, DOD, DOT, DOEd, the State of Missouri and several utilities. She has authored over 200 technical articles and several textbooks and book chapters. She is the IEEE Power & Energy Society VP of Publications. She is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Missouri and a Fellow of the IEEE.