
Joe H. Chow, Professor, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York, USA
Joe Chow obtained his BS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and his MS and PhD degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He worked in the General Electric power system business before joining Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1987, where he is currently Institute Professor. His research interests include modeling and control of power systems and synchrophasor measurements. He is a fellow of IEEE, a member of the US National Academy of Engineering, and a Foreign Fellow of Chinese Society of Electrical Engineering. He is a recipient of Charles Concordia Power System Engineering Award and the Outstanding Power Engineering Educator Award from the IEEE Power and Energy Society.
Title: Synchrophasor Data for Power System Analytics and Monitoring
Abstract:
Synchrophasor data measured at a high sampling-rate offers unparalleled observability of power system dynamics in both disturbance and ambient conditions. This presentation will highlight some of the advances in power system data analytics and performance monitoring. The topics include missing PMU data recovery, inter-area mode damping control design, control system regulation analysis, and oscillation source location and identification. Some future research topics will be discussed.

Francisco M. Gonzalez-Longatt, Senior Lecturer, Loughborough University, UK
Francisco M. Gonzalez-Longatt is currently a senior lecturer in Electrical Power Systems at the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) at Loughborough University and invited full professor in electrical power engineering at Institutt for elektro, IT og kybernetikk, Universitetet i Sørøst-Norge, Norway. Founder and leader of the DIgEnSys-Lab = Digital Energy Systems Laboratory and a global research initiative for digital energy systems.
His academic qualifications include first Class Electrical Engineering from Instituto Universitario Politécnico de la Fuerza Armada Nacional, Venezuela (1994), Master of Business Administration (Honors) from Universidad Bicentenaria de Aragua, Venezuela (1999), PhD in Electrical Power Engineering from the Universidad Central de Venezuela (2008) and Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Professional Practice from Coventry University (2013) and Diploma in Leadership and Management (ILM Level 3), Loughborough University (2018).
He is a former Lecturer in Electrical Power Systems at Wolfson School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering and a member of the Centre for Renewable Energy Systems Technology (CREST) at Loughborough University, UK. He is a former academic staff of the Department of Aerospace, Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Coventry University, where he started as a Lecturer in Electrical Engineering in 2012 and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering in 2013. He was formerly with the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester as a Postdoctoral Research Associate (2009-2011). He is a former associate professor (1995-2009) and Chair (1999-2001) of the Department of Electrical Engineering of Universidad Nacional Politécnico de la Fuerza Armada Nacional, Venezuela (1995-2009).
He has written 20+ book chapters,50+ journal and magazine papers and 100+ conference papers. His work has over 4.5k+ citations, and his h-index is 33 (May 2023), according to Google Scholar. He has been invited as a professor at the Master of Renewables at the University of Seville, Spain, the Master of Renewable at the University Carlos III Madrid, Spain, and many other universities worldwide. He has been invited speaker at several top universities: KTH-Sweden, Leuven-Belgium, TU Delft-The Netherlands, etc.; keynote speaker at several important conferences, including session chair at very well-known IEEE conferences. He is an associate editor in several top-ranked scientific journals in the area of power systems.
He is Vice-President of the Venezuelan Wind Energy Association, a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (IEEE), a member of The Institution of Engineering and Technology – the IET (UK), a member of the International Council on Large Electric Systems -CIGRE. He received professional recognition as FHEA – Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in January 2014. His research interest includes innovative (operation/control) schemes to optimise the performance of future energy systems. His research is or has been supported by the Royal Society, British Council, UK India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) –UK. He has been collaborating on European research projects, including: “Integration of Offshore wind power into the Spanish Power System using HVDC”, at Universidad Carlos III, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Spain.
Two special research projects financially supported by the Royal Society and British Council deserve mention: “Exploring beyond the Frontiers to Build a Smarter Grid (EBF2BSG)” and “Smart Multi-Terminal DC micro-grids for autonomous Zero-Net-Energy Buildings”. More recent projects include Newton-Bhabha India UK Advanced Training School (IUATS), Optimal Design and Control of Smart Community: New Ideas for Off-grid Communities.
Title: Challenges and Solutions for Protection System in Power System with Inverter-based Resources
Abstract:
The transition to a net-zero energy system requires a massive change in the way that electricity is produced, transported and used; the power electronic converters are the core of this paradigm-shifting, and the control techniques used on them have a primary influence in the power system dynamic behaviour. It is well documented that the power electronic converter-based resources created new challenges from the protection system perspective. One of the challenges from the protection point of view is coming from the signature of the output current of inverter-based resource (IBR) during short circuit conditions. It differs from traditional rotational electrical machines during a short circuit. The semiconductor switching devices of the power electronic converter are intolerant to overcurrents, so the short circuit current contribution is limited to avoid damage to the switching devices, and during this limited operation, the output waveform can be nonsinusoidal. Additionally, the dynamic response of the PEC during fault conditions is highly dependent on the IBR programming impacting the voltage and current relationship at the point of connection. The IBR’s peculiar features affect its performance during fault conditions and the protection system at transmission and distribution. This keynote starts with an introduction of the IBR characteristics, control strategy and considering the pre-fauls performance and time frame after the fault. Discussion about the IBR transient rating and the protection are presented. The keynote is intended to present details of the challenges of traditional protection systems at the transmission and distribution level caused by the integration of IBR. The effects of the IBR performance of the protection are presented: traditional line protection scheme, traditional directional and non-directional overcurrent protection schemes, and negative and zero polarised directional protection. Off-line and real-time simulations are used to present the challenges. The keynote closes by presenting a comprehensive set of proposed solutions to increase the performance of the protection systems in power systems with high penetration of IBR.

Maryam Saeedifard, Professor, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, USA
Maryam Saeedifard received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Toronto, in 2008. Since January 2014, she has been with the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, where she is currently a professor and holds a Dean’s professorship. She is the recipient of Roger Webb’s Excellence in Mentorship Award from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech in 2023, the 8th Nagamori Awards from Nagamori Foundation in 2022, Roger Webb’s Outstanding Mid-Career Faculty Award from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech in 2021, U.S. Clean Energy Education and Empowerment (C3E) Technology Research & Innovation Award from the Department of Energy in 2021, First Place Prize Paper Award from the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics in 2022 and 2021, Best Transactions Paper Award of the IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics in 2018 and 2016, IEEE J. David Irwin Early Career Award in 2018, U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Frontiers in Engineering in Education in 2012, U.S. National Academy of Engineering, Frontiers in Engineering in 2011, Excellence in Research Award from the Office of Vice President in Research at Purdue University in 2012 and 2011 and IEEE Richard M. Bass Outstanding Young Power Electronic Engineer Award in 2010. She is an IEEE Fellow and is currently serving as a Co-Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics. Her research interests include power electronics and its applications in terrestrial and mobile power systems.
Title: Unlocking the Potentials of Multi-Terminal DC Grids in Future Power Systems
Abstract:
High Voltage DC (HVDC) transmission is a long-standing technology with many installations around the world. Over the past few years, significant breakthroughs in the voltage-sourced converter technology along with their attractive features have made the HVDC technology even more promising in providing enhanced reliability and functionality and reducing cost and power losses. Concomitantly, significant changes in generation, transmission, and loads such as (i) integration and tapping renewable energy generation in remote areas, (ii) need for relocation or bypassing older conventional and/or nuclear power plants, (iii) increasing transmission capacity, and (iv) urbanization and the need to feed the large cities have emerged. These new trends have called for Multi-Terminal DC (MTDC) systems, which when embedded inside the AC grid, can enhance stability, reliability, and efficiency of the present power grid. The strategic importance of MVDC and HVDC grids is evidenced by the number of worldwide projects currently in their advanced planning stage, e.g., European “Supergrids” and the Baltic Sea project along with several projects in the US and China. This presentation is focused on opportunities brought by the MTDC grids and addressing the technical challenges associated with operation and control of those grids in future power systems.

Dmitri Vinnikov, Professor, Tallinn University of Technology (TALTECH), Estonia
Dmitri Vinnikov (IEEE Fellow) received the Dipl. Eng., M.Sc., and Dr. Sc. techn. degrees in electrical engineering from Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia, in 1999, 2001, and 2005, respectively. He is currently the Head of the Power Electronics Group, Department of Electrical Power Engineering and Mechatronics, Tallinn University of Technology (Estonia). He was one of the co-founders and leading researchers of ZEBE – Estonian Centre of Excellence for zero energy and resource efficient smart buildings and districts. He has authored or coauthored four books, five monographs and five book chapters as well as more than 400 published papers on power converter design and development and is the holder of numerous patents and utility models in this field. His research interests include applied design of power electronic systems, implementation of wide-bandgap semiconductors, renewable energy conversion systems, energy-efficient buildings, reliability and fault-tolerance of power electronic converters. D. Vinnikov is a full member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and a Chair of the IEEE Estonia Section.
Title: Energy Efficient Electrification Technologies for Buildings and Neighborhoods
Abstract:
On the way to economy decarbonization and energy efficiency improvement in the European Union (EU), buildings were targeted in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), because they are responsible for roughly 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions. Nowadays, the design or retrofitting of buildings to achieve the highest class of energy performance is usually associated with the deployment of on-site energy generation, mostly employing photovoltaic systems. Another important decarbonization strategy for building stock is electrification of heating and cooling demands by means of heat pumps. Moreover, the revised EPBD requires the deployment of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in buildings’ car parking, incl. possibilities of smart charging and vehicle-to-grid services to foster a more efficient integration of electromobility in the power systems. All these measures require extensive use of power electronics technologies, which will play a crucial role in the transition towards highly energy-efficient and decarbonized buildings, meeting one of the key objectives of the EU Energy Roadmap 2050. However, conventional Alternating Current (AC) power distribution cannot sufficiently accommodate all these challenges and has no room for improving energy efficiency. Hence, a paradigm shift to power electronics-enabled Direct Current (DC) power distribution technology can further push the energy performance limits by reducing residential electricity consumption by up to 20%. On the other hand, residential DC buildings should be coupled with AC utility grid via a bidirectional converter and are seen by the utility as a prosumer performing economic dispatch. Therefore, the application of DC distribution can significantly improve the resilience and demand-side flexibility and facilitate the energy arbitrage of the residential buildings, thus making them future-proof and compatible with energy transition targets.
Power Electronics Group of TalTech is one of the European leaders in research on energy-efficient electrification technologies for buildings and neighborhoods. This keynote will explore the essence of residential DC distribution technology, and provide insight into recent development trends, standardization, and challenges. Also, it will give an overview of the innovative technologies developed by TalTech Power Electronics Group to boost the uptake of the up-and-coming residential DC distribution technology, provide high efficiency and reliability of power supply, facilitate high flexibility by implementing plug-and-play features, and ensure the safety of residents.

Enrique Romero-Cadaval, Professor, University of Extremadura, Spain
Enrique Romero-Cadaval received the M.Sc. degree in Industrial Electronic Engineering from the Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Industrial (ICAI), Universidad Pontificia de Comillas, Madrid, Spain, in 1992, and the Ph.D. degree from the Universidad de Extremadura, Badajoz, Spain, in 2004. In 1995, he joined the University of Extremadura where he teaches power electronics and researches within the Power Electrical and Electronic Systems (PE&ES) R&D Group in the School of Industrial Engineering. He is the Coordinator of the Energy Group for the Intelligent Specialization (RIS3) of the Extremadura Region (Spain). His areas of interest are power electronics applied to power systems covering power quality, active power filters, electric vehicles, smart grids, and renewable energy resources. He is Senior Member, Past-President of the Power Electronics and Industrial Electronics Jointed Spanish Chapter and President of Spanish Section of IEEE.
Title: Multi-port Smart Transformer as a Cooperative Converter for the Integration of Photovoltaic Electric Energy Generation to Smart Grids
Abstract:
Electric transformers are common elements in power system and can be substituted by Smart Transformers converting into the energy router of future smart grids and being a key element for integrating distributed renewable energy resources (DRER). Different architectures will be presented, determining the series connecting of converter presented at the high voltage ports offer the possibility to apply cooperative converter strategies that together with multiple output ports can optimize the energy routing when integrating DRER, Energy Storage Systems or Electric Vehicle Chargers. The Multi-port Smart Transformer can be the core of Microgrid, defining the border with the grid connecting and being the most appropriated device to control the connected and isolated operation of the microgrid.