powerlines (large)

The Energy Modeling, Analysis and Control (EMAC) group addresses the engineering and techno-economic challenges to decarbonizing electric power systems. Some of the basic questions we work on are: (1) How can future power systems be made sufficiently flexible to accommodate very large penetrations of wind and solar generation? (2) How does heavily distributed renewable electricity generation impact the operation and economics of low voltage distribution systems? (3) What is the value of energy storage in large-scale power systems? (4) What energy efficiency opportunities can be identified with electricity consumption data alone?

Our work ranges from applied to theoretical. Sometimes we use third party simulation platforms; sometimes we build our own simulation tools. Much of our work focuses on building new control and optimization frameworks to facilitate the operation of low carbon grids. We are increasingly working with “big data” – especially electricity consumption data and solar production data – and building tools and algorithms to process and infer policy-relevant information.

EMAC is led by ERG assistant professor Duncan Callaway and includes undergraduates, graduate students and postdocs from a variety of backgrounds; most come from ERG but we also have members from the college of engineering. We also collaborate with researchers in the Energy and Environmental Technologies Division at LBNL. EMAC alumni have gone into either consulting or academia.