NEW YORK, NY (November 30, 2011) — The 2nd IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications (SmartGridComm) recently concluded in Brussels, Belgium with hundreds of global experts attending nearly150 presentations dedicated to the world’s power delivery infrastructure. Developed by the IEEE Communications Society (ComSoc), IEEE SmartGridComm 2011 was highlighted by four days of technical sessions, keynotes, panels, tutorials and workshops detailing the latest methods for supporting the efficient consumption of energy, two-way flow of energy and information, rapid response to power outages and integration of renewable energy sources.
Commencing on Monday, October 17, the international event began with a full day of tutorials and workshops offered by leading scientists representing institutions based throughout Italy, Japan, Belgium, The Netherlands, United States, Austria, Serbia, United Kingdom and Denmark. For instance, Andrea M. Tonello of the University of Udine in Italy and Masaaki Katayama of Nagoya University in Japan began the morning by outlining how the integration of existing electrical infrastructures are currently turning “Power Line Communications for the Smart Grid” into high-speed backbones for cost-effective home office networking, in-vehicle and videoconferencing communications. Dr. Katayama then continued the discussion by describing “intelligent and dynamic grids” that in the very near future will use renewable energy and advanced modulation techniques to operate long-distance, high-speed networking services that will disseminate and gather information from multiple points in real-time.
Other Monday highlights included the presentation of two, all-day workshops dedicated to the technologies, interdependent market variables, power flows and information networks involved in the research and deployment of both domestic and European Smart Grids. Held simultaneously, “Smart Grid Modeling & Simulation” offered 20 separate technical papers ranging from the “Coordinated Charging of Electrical Vehicles” and “Cyber-Physical Attack Construction & Simulation” to “Optimal Real-Time Pricing” and “Low Voltage Network Environments,” while the “Workshop on European Smart Grid Projects” presented the EU’s efforts to achieve maximum energy efficiencies through the implementation of innovative ICT solutions, open access standards, renewable resources and active distribution networks.
Over the next three days, Tuesday through Thursday, attendees were then feted to a wide array of keynotes, executive business panels and more than 100 technical presentations offered during 24 separate sessions organized across 11 independent symposia. In all, hundreds of paper submissions were received from authors representing 39 different countries. Among the chosen submissions were discussions of “Advanced Metering Over Wide Area Cellular Networks,” “Energy Delivery Transaction Pricing,” “Cellular Load Management in Green Power Delivery Systems,” “Real-Time Vehicle-to-Grid Control Algorithms,” “Joint Cyber Attack Detection & State Recovery” and “Efficient & Versatile Energy Control Systems for Home Energy Management.”
In addition, Tuesday also marked the first day of the conference’s executive program, which opened with the presentation of four consecutive high-level keynotes. Manuel Sanchez Jimenez, Policy Officer of the European Smart Grid Commission, initiated the series by “Highlighting European Efforts for Smart Grids and the Way Forward.” During his speech, Jimenez spotlighted Europe’s efforts to implement “electricity networks that ensure efficient sustainable power and the seamless integration of new applications,” while noting that 80 percent of all the upgrades currently in production are being funded by systems operators themselves.
Afterwards, Rolf Adam, Director of Global Solutions Development for Utilities Industry & Smart Grid Sales EMEA, Cisco, elaborated on this theme during his address on “Gridonomics: A Future History of the Grid.” Branko Bjelajac, Executive Vice President and CFO of Landis+Gyr then followed this presentation by emphasizing the importance of resilient and upgradeable infrastructures in his keynote titled “The Last Mile – Reloaded.” According to Bjelac, “the building of intelligent infrastructures that businesses will follow” is essential for the design of Smart Grids that will not only accommodate “future requirements and applications,” but also overcome the challenges posed by increased energy demands, unsustainable energy mixes and outdated technologies.
Concluding the day’s keynote agenda, Lennart Soder, Professor of Electric Power Systems at the Royal Institute of Technology, KTH in Stockholm, Sweden, spoke extensively about “The Power of SmartGrids for Power Systems” and “controllability.” This included the development of energy distribution formulas that provide “consumers with electricity when they want,” while maintaining “the continuous balance between production and consumption.”
Additional conference highlights from Wednesday and Thursday included the presentation of the senior-level panels titled “The Cross-Industry View on Smart Grid Communication” and “Smart Grid Communication Visions for 2015, 2020 & 2030.” Throughout these sessions, leading scientists and government officials representing the European Commission, Cisco, GE Global Research, University of Albany, NETovations and the Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden spoke openly about the evolution of smarter, ICT-enabled power grids that are also self-healing, self-sufficient and energized by research that “gets out of the comfort zone” and “aligns with investment.”
Furthermore, Thursday served to spotlight the conference’s new “Student Video Contest,” which invited students to submit one- to three-minute videos offering original viewpoints on innovative smart grid concepts and benefits. Among the honorees was the 2011 Competition Winner, Austin Montgomery of the University of Waterloo for his entry named “Making the Smart Grid Smarter with Social Media.” The two additional finalists included Fernando Wittmann, Joao Montemezzo and Luan Filipe of UNIOEST Western Panama State University in Brazil for the video titled “In Preparing for the Future of Electric Systems” as well as Aastikta Sharma of NIT Puducherry for the entry on “Power Smart G Phones.” All entries can be found on the IEEE SmartGridComm website.
For information on IEEE SmartGridComm 2012, which will be held in Tainan City, Taiwan from November 5 – 8, 2012, please visit www.ieee-smartgridcomm.org/2012 or contact Heather Ann Sweeney of the IEEE Communications Society at h.sweeney@comsoc.org