Energy experts from around the world will gather at Clemson University next week to exchange the latest ideas about “smart grid” technology that is opening the door to more green energy and helping more customers generate and sell their own power.
Utilities and conservation groups recently came to an agreement on net metering, a compensation plan for customers who send power to the grid. Last year’s Distributed Energy Resource Act also gave a boost to solar energy.
Delegates from 19 nations are expected to attend the 14th Clemson University Power Systems Conference from March 10-13. Dr. David Ortiz, deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Energy, will be a featured speaker.
Attendees at the conference will include business executives; professionals and experts in the electric power industry; and researchers in government and academia.
Experts will discuss the future of a century-old electrical grid that needs a steady, predictable flow of electricity to operate without blackouts. “Smart grid” technologies allow experts to control a more unpredictable flow of energy into the grid.
“Sustainable smart grid technologies are absolutely essential to bringing us into the 21st century,” said Dr. Kumar Venayagamoorthy, the conference’s general chair, Clemson’s Duke Energy Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Real-Time Power and Intelligent Systems (RTPIS) Laboratory. “This conference will allow us to enrich our collective knowledge so as to improve the art of modern power and energy systems engineering.”
For more information, visit psc.rtpis.org.
