Peng Zhang, a professor at Stony Brook University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is leading an AI-grid project to enhance the resilience of power grids. The initiative focuses on microgrids, which are self-sufficient small energy systems that can improve power reliability, especially during disasters like hurricanes. Networked microgrids (NMs) offer increased benefits but present challenges such as complexity, data management, and cybersecurity risks.
AI grids address these challenges by using artificial intelligence to make NMs more reliable. "We use AI to control and to make the system way more resilient," said Zhang. "We use AI to learn the model out of the data. Then we use the learned model to control the microgrid, and it has worked really well."
The AI-Grid project offers benefits including lower costs, improved reliability, and enhanced protection against cyber threats for a range of consumers from civilian to military sectors. "We are helping utilities, we are helping the renewable energy vendors," said Zhang. "We also put in a significant amount of effort to help with the Department of Defense to help with our naval military bases to make sure their systems are resilient against different attacks."
The project collaborates with various organizations for testing and market introduction. The AI grids will be tested with partners such as Hitachi and ConEd.
"Our mission at the Energy Solutions Lab at Hitachi America R&D is to democratize the grid to accelerate the adoption of renewable energy sources," stated Bo Yang, vice president and head of the Energy Solutions Lab at Hitachi America R&D. "Our collaboration with Stony Brook University proved that utility companies can leverage the cloud to bolster the use of micro-grids and deliver efficient, low-cost, clean energy to the communities they serve."
Hitachi has developed a cost-efficient edge device for microgrids in collaboration with Stony Brook University, reducing costs by about 50 percent compared to commercial alternatives.
— Angelina Livigni