Current Team

Group Members: Matt Stoel, Jesse Kreutzfeldt, Alex Fiegen
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Reinaldo Tonkoski
Sponsor: Missouri River Energy Services

Missouri River Energy Services (MRES) is looking to implement a utility scale solar generation system while simultaneously avoiding the generation queue process. A promising solution is to develop behind-the-meter solar gardens, which are utility scale PV plants located on the distribution side of a municipal substation. By developing solar gardens on the distribution side, the generation queue process can be avoided. Since behind-the-meter generation should avoid injecting power at the transmission level, a PV plant control scheme for the solar garden is developed to curtail or redirect the extra power of the solar garden.

Group Members: Alexander Steven Endreson, Kelby Escobin, Michael
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Reinaldo Tonkoski
Sponsor: SDSU Microgrid Laboratories, Sandia National Laboratories

With implementation of solar power into the power grid, keeping track of the system inertia has become a challenge for keeping the power grid stable in certain places. Fast-frequency support strategies using energy storage systems (ESSs) can be deployed to maintain the inertial response of the system, but accurate inertial response information of the system is critical for the effective implementation of such control strategies. This project aims to implement an approach for online estimation of the inertia constant in low inertia microgrids. An excitation signal will cause a disturbance in the power system and the frequency and power of this system will be monitored through sensing devices. The inertia constant will be derived through an algorithmic simulation technique known as moving horizon estimation (MHE). Many test scenarios will be taken in order to test the functionality of the algorithmic solution.

Group Members: Ian Berdan, Mason Rakowicz, Hamza Tasneem, Roberto Peñaloza Valencia
Faculty Advisor(s): Dr. Steven Hietpas
Sponsor(s): Jacob Gubbrud of Burns & McDonnell

A proposed theoretical battery energy storage system in Brookings, South Dakota will be coupled with a solar array under investigation by Brookings Municipal Utilities. This BESS system will serve as a means of providing time-shifted renewable power. Specifically, the BESS will be designed to interconnect with the Brookings Municipal Utilities 34th Avenue substation at a voltage of 12.47kV. The primary objective of this project is to design the battery energy storage system for a lifespan of 20 years providing 10MW/40MWh at a 0.95 lagging or leading power factor at the point of interconnection, with augmentation battery racks added every five years. To ensure design safety, the package will consist of grounding studies, arc flash studies, load flow and short circuit studies, and lightning protection plans. Project deliverables will be verified by engineers from Burns & McDonnell.

Dr. Tamrakar received the B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, in 2011, and the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University (SDSU), Brookings in 2015. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from SDSU in 2020 and is currently working as a Postdoctoral Appointee at Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM. His research interests include grid integration of renewable energy systems, energy storage analytics, power system modeling and stability, and optimal control. Recently, he has been actively involved in various IEEE task forces related to voltage and frequency stability of power systems with high renewable penetration.

Dr. Bereta dos Reis received his B.A.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering, in 2014 from PUCRS (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul), Brazil, his M.Sc. in Electrical Engineering in 2016 from UFSC (Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina), Brazil, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering in 2020 from South Dakota State University. He is currently a Research Scientist/Engineer at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA. His research interests include power systems modeling; grid integration of sustainable energy technologies; transactive energy; and power systems simulations and co-simulations.

Munankarmi received the B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Pulchowk Campus, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal in 2014 and M.S degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD, USA in 2019. He is currently a research engineer in National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO, USA. His current research interests are grid-interactive efficient buildings, building energy management system, building grid integration, and distribution system analysis.

Paudyal received the B.E. degree from the Department of Electrical Engineering, Pulchowk Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal, in 2014 and the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University in 2019. Currently, she is a researcher at National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, CO. Her current research interests include building and EV grid integration, distribution system modeling and analysis, distributed energy resources modeling and controls, and renewable energy integration.

Dr. Durvasulu completed his BE (2010), and ME (2015) in Electrical Engineering from Osmania University, India and his PhD (2019) in EE from South Dakota State University, Brookings. He is currently working as a Researcher in the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden. His Research interests are in sustainability, deregulated power markets, and modeling renewable technologies.

He is currently a Research Engineer in Grid Planning and Analysis Center (GPAC) at NREL.
He completed his Master’s in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University (SDSU),
USA, in 2019, and Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, in 2015.
His area of expertise includes distribution feeder modeling, DER impact assessment, time of use tariff design, Full-stack software development, and co-simulation across multiple domains.

Mr. Poudyal received his B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal in 2016 and M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University (SDSU), Brookings, SD in 2020. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student in Electrical Engineering at Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, WA. His research interests include power distribution system resilience and restoration, power distribution system modeling, and stochastic optimization.

Prajina Tandukar received the B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, in 2013 and the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from South Dakota State University, in 2017. She worked on “Energy Management System Considering Battery Lifetime” with Dr. Tonkoski, Dr. Hansen and Dr. Fourney while in SDSU. She is currently working as Controls Engineer at Intralox, Maryland on automation and controls of conveyance solutions.

Dr. Shirazi is the President’s Professor in Energy at the University of Alaska, at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She received the B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in 1996 and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. She is interested in bridging power electronics and power systems research to understand the performance of converter-dominated microgrids.

Dr. Wies received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Wyoming in 1992, 1995, and 1999, respectively. Since 1999, he has been at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he is currently a professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, with a concentration in electric power systems. He leads research focused on the engineering challenges of renewable energy integration in remote islanded microgrids in collaboration with the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. Dr. Wies has served on the PES Power Systems Dynamic Performance and Power Engineering Education Committees, contributed to two task force reports, and been invited to present on several panels at IEEE sponsored conferences about his research work with remote islanded microgrids. His specific research interests include the development of advanced distributed generation and load control schemes and optimal power dispatch strategies for remote islanded microgrids employing high penetrations of renewable energy. His other research interests include grid-forming operation with standalone asynchronous renewable generation, impacts of renewable power on food and water systems, and stability of converter-dominated grids.

Dr. Cicilio is a Research Assistant Professor at the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She received a B.S. degree in chemical engineering in 2013 from the University of New Hampshire. She received the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering in 2017 and 2020 from Oregon State University. Her research interests include power system reliability and dynamic power system modeling particularly of loads, inverter-based resources, and distributed energy resources.

Dr. Andrade is the director of the Sustainable Energy Center (SEC) and associate professor in Power electronics applied to renewable energy in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at The University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. His main research interests include modeling, analysis, design, and control of power electronic converters, principally for dc/ac power conversion, grid-connection of renewable energy sources, and Microgrid application.

Dr. Irizarry-Rivera obtained his B.S. from the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez in 1988, his M.S. from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor in 1990 and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1996, all degrees in electrical engineering. His research interests are electric power systems dynamics, renewable energy resources and sustainable integration of renewables into existing power grids. He is a member of IEEE, IEEE Power and Energy Society and Tau Beta Pi. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Puerto Rico and Member of the College of Engineers and Surveyors since 1991.

Dr. O'Neill-Carrillo is a Professor at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department of the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM). He holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Arizona State University (1999), an MSEE from Purdue University (1995) and a BSEE from UPRM (1994). He is a Registered Professional Engineer in PR. He was the PI in a distance learning Masters Program on sustainable energy between UPRM and University of APEC (UNAPEC, Dominican Republic) which was followed by work in an undergraduate option in renewable energy at UNAPEC. Fifteen Dominican engineers earned their masters degrees from this program. He is currently collaborating with efforts in two communities to integrate renewable energy, efficiency and conservation into their initiatives in order to transition to more sustainable energy practices focused on the use of local resources. His participation in these community collaborations is supported by two projects funded by DOE and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Dr. Mather is the manager of the Integrated Devices and Systems Group and Principal Engineer in the Power Systems Engineering Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). He received his BS and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wyoming and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, working within the Colorado Power Electronics Center (CoPEC). His research interests include the development of grid-connected power electronic interfaces to ease renewable generation interconnection, co-simulated transmission and distribution system analysis to investigate system interactions with high levels of distribution-connected generation, and technical standards development. Dr. Mather has more than 90 publications in these research areas and is the author of the “High Penetration PV Integration Handbook for Distribution Engineers” which is used as a reference by many utilities world-wide.

Dr. Ropp has more than 20 years of experience in research and education in power engineering, power electronics, and photovoltaics. He has authored over eighty technical publications and holds six patents. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE and is active in standards creation, and is a registered Professional Engineer in South Dakota and Hawaii. His primary technical interests are in the planning, design, modeling and simulation, control, dynamics, protection, reliability, diagnosis and event analysis of low-inertia, distributed and inverter-dominated power systems, and he also has a long-standing fascination with electrified transportation. Dr. Ropp is passionate about the education of future electrical engineers and engages in education, mentorship and outreach whenever possible. He does occasionally still get to use his musical skills.

Dr. Reno is a Principal Member of Technical Staff in the Electric Power Systems Research Department at Sandia National Laboratories. His research focuses on distribution system modelling and analysis with high penetration PV, including advanced software tools for automated analysis of hosting capacity, PV interconnection studies, and rapid Quasi-Static Time Series simulations. Matthew is also involved with the IEEE Power System Relaying Committee for developing guides and standards for protection of microgrids and systems with high penetrations of inverter-based resources. He received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.