PA 510 Smart Grid and Sustainable Communities: Version 4.0

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PA 510 Smart Grid and Sustainable Communities: Version 4.0

A Two-Term Course Series, Winter and Spring Terms, 2013

Winter Term: (January 17-March 21)

The Smart Grid and Sustainable Communities: Making the Connections

Spring Term (April 11-June 13)

Making the Smart Grid Work in the Real World

Preliminary (April 22) Course Plan for Spring Term

(Note: This course plan will be replaced by a Course Syllabus at it develops over the term)

Thursday evenings, 6:30-9:40 PM Urban Center, Room 204, 506 SW Mill

Public website: http://www.pdx.edu/cps/smart-grid-for-sustainable-communities

Link to Desire to Learn (D2L) course website for registered students with password: https://d2l.pdx.edu

Faculty and Staff

(faculty bios at http://www.pdx.edu/cps/faculty-for-smart-grid-courses)

Ø Jeff Hammarlund, Lead Faculty, Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow, Mark Hatfield School of Government, PSU, and President, Northwest Energy and Environmental Strategies, , 503-249-0240

Ø James Mater, Co-founder and General Manager, Smart Grid Business, QualityLogic; founding member and chair, Smart Grid Oregon, , 503-780-9796

Ø Mark Osborn, Senior Vice President, Five Stars International, Ltd; formerly, Smart Grid Manager, Portland General Electric, , 503-709-9373

Ø Lawrence Beaty, Executive Director and Chair of the Idaho State University Energy Systems Technology and Education Center, , 208-282-3265 (class advisor and guest presenter)

Ø Michael Jung, Policy Director, Silver Spring Networks, , 503-360-3881 (Special Course Advisor and Speaker)

Ø Lisa Harrison, Course Assistant, , 503-206-4534

Ø Bill Henry, Class Blogger, , 503-475-0391

Course Scope and Objectives

This two-term course series explores a set of emerging concepts, technologies, applications and business models, and the related trade-off decisions involved in transforming the nation’s century-old, centralized power grid into a climate and renewable energy-friendly “Smart Grid.” If offers a cross-disciplinary approach intended to deepen individual areas of expertise in the context of multidisciplinary teamwork. The first term establishes a basic Smart Grid literacy, while the second term applies this knowledge base to specific “real world” case studies.

Many visionaries informed about the world of energy policy believe that this emerging “internet for energy” will enable individuals and businesses alike to participate in both the quality and quantity of energy they use to live and work, generating and storing energy from multiple sources, and managing the amount and timing of their use of that energy. The smart grid is expected integrate generation from both directions – home/business and central station plant – and move it as needed to meet load while incorporating solar panels, wind farms, fuel cells, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and other energy sources. This intelligent electric network will manage load shape and will achieve greater utilization than today. Its full value will be achieved when it is combined with an emerging participatory network model that enables consumers to actively manage their electricity consumption and sell back to the grid the surplus power they generate.

Smart grid advocates argue that the concepts, technologies, and models addressed by this course hold the promise of a significant new paradigm for the generation, use and delivery of electric power that is more efficient, sustainable, robust, flexible, and environmentally sound, and that encourages a much higher level of consumer participation and control. Some advocates argue that converting to the smart grid also opens up additional opportunities to make other infrastructures (including waste water, transportation, telecommunications, and natural gas) greener and more sustainable during the conversion process.

During our winter term course, called The Smart Grid and Sustainable Communities: Making the Connections – 12 graduate students and 29 professional development students learned the smart grid basics and fine-tuned their ability how to work effectively in multidisciplinary small group teams. The spring term course, Marking the Smart Grid Work in the Real World, will explore additional aspects of the smart grid with new presentations from our expert faculty and additional guest speakers. But it will also offer opportunities for students to work in small group interdisciplinary teams (often referred to in the academic literature as “small group learning communities”) to apply much of what we have learned in “real world” projects. By working on actual projects, our small group teams will help advance the “state of the art” associated with this still-emerging concept of the smart grid by determining if and how it (and related concepts such as demand response, energy storage, and enhanced renewables integration )can actually support sustainable development. Is the smart grid mainly just hype or is there hope that, over time, it can fulfill its promises? Let’s find out!

The course objectives for the spring term sessions are to further student’s the understanding of:

Ø How a comprehensive strategy involving the smart grid, demand response, and storage can enhance the integration of solar power into the electric grid.

Ø Smart grid application and implementation strategies that some other parts of the county are pursuing and their potential relevance to the Pacific Northwest.

Ø The benefits and challenges of communicating and collaborating in interdisciplinary and multi-disciplinary small group “leaning communities” and in larger group settings, and successful strategies to enhance the benefits and overcome the challenges.

Ø Strategies to collaborate in small teams to research, develop, and present a professional paper and a presentation on that paper to clients and other professionals in a public setting.

Ø The subject matter associated with the specific case study your small group team selects.

Course Approach and Innovative Features

This is the fourth year PSU has offered an interdisciplinary graduate level course on the smart grid. Past editions have been heralded by all four governors and many members of Congress from the four Northwest states, the Secretary of Energy, and numerous energy educators and experts for its innovative features. We will continue and build upon many of these innovative features this year. For example, the course:

Ø Serves two critical audiences: (1) graduate students in engineering, information technology, public administration/policy, urban planning, business, economics, law, and related fields; and (2) mid-career professionals from the utility, information technology, public administration, architecture, urban and transportation planning, business, legal, and related communities who are interested in getting up to speed on the smart grid as a part of their professional development.

Ø Is taught by a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary faculty team that can offer academic knowledge and practical experience in policy and planning, power engineering, information technology, and business. We apply academic theory and research to address real world challenges (“Making Oregon our Classroom”).

Ø Invites additional nationally known experts to offer their perspectives. For example, underwriting in 2011 allowed us to invite some of the nation’s top smart grid experts who are working in regions of the country that are ahead of Oregon on smart grid policy development, at least in some respects. These speakers included the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Administration, the chairman of the Colorado Public Utilities Commission, and smart grid leaders from California, Illinois, Texas, Ohio, New York and elsewhere. They offered valuable insights and recommendations on what Oregon should and should not include in the state’s Smart Grid Roadmap.

Ø Offers a cross-disciplinary approach that deepens individual areas of expertise in the context of teamwork. For example, we establish interdisciplinary small group “learning communities” that require communication, learning, and the completion of group assignments across traditional disciplines. We believe that an ability to communicate across traditional disciplines is critical to the successful development of the smart grid. It is also a skill that is highly valued by employers interested in positioning their companies for a successful future.

Ø Runs over two consecutive terms, with the second term building on the first. The first term focuses on establishing the smart grid basics and learning how to function in multidisciplinary student teams; the second term adds to the knowledge base but places primary emphasis on applying this knowledge to help support “real world” projects that identify and test how the smart grid can support sustainable development. Examples of actual projects our multidisciplinary small group learning communities have addressed so far: PGE’s Salem Smart Power Project, Strategies for the Smart Grid to Support Emerging EcoDistricts and District Energy Systems in Portland; Exploring the Connections between Smart Grid and Vehicle-to-Grid: Opportunities and Challenges in Oregon; The Smart Grid’s Role as an Enabler of Renewable Energy Integration in Oregon and the Pacific Northwest; and Strategies to Include Low-Income and Other Vulnerable Consumers as Smart Grid Beneficiaries. We do not require seminar participants to enroll for both terms but we encourage them to do so.

Ø Concludes with a conference or public forum at which we present our findings and recommendations to government and business leaders. For example, in 2011, each of the student teams offered a presentation and a briefing book for the members of simulated “Governor’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Panel on Oregon’s Smart Grid Policy.” While the panel had no official standing, it consisted of people who could easily serve on such a panel and was chaired by the governor’s actual senior advisor on jobs and the economy. Some of these recommendations have been incorporated in the governor’s actual Ten-Year Energy Plan. Faculty member Michael Jung was asked to chair Governor Kitzhaber’s Ten Year Energy Plan Task Force, and Jeff Hammarlund was asked to lead the smart grid workgroup associated with this plan. This year’s concluding conference is tentatively scheduled for the evening of June 13, which is also when our class would normally meet during final’s week.

An additional innovative feature for this year involves making this course available in real time to other interested parties in the Northwest region through PSU’s Distance Learning Center. This allows interested students enrolled at partner universities and mid-career professionals working at partner electric utilities to take this course as part of their university curriculum or professional development training. Three Distance Learning options are available for students and mid-career professionals:

Ø Video Conference. Participants may view the class presentations and interact with the faculty and guest speakers in real time at participating receiving Distance Learning Centers. This is the recommended option when possible.

Ø Live Stream. Participants may view the class live but will not be able to interact with the faculty and guest speakers in real time.

Ø Media Archive. Each class and presentation will be captured and stored for later viewing. A link will be provided for access to the archived media, which should be available the next day.

Small Group Learning Community Case Study Projects

During the final class session of winter term, the faculty proposed ten potential small group learning community case study projects. We identified and ranked candidate projects using a number of criteria reflecting our best guess as to each projects likely potential to:

Ø Enhance the prospects for helping students secure new jobs or better jobs (professional development). This includes:

o Advancement in current employment – e.g., gaining promotions due to added experience

o Employment opportunity improvement – e.g., improving attractiveness of resume and references

Ø Meet the workforce needs of our course sponsors (Intel, Portland General Electric, and Veris Industries) and other employers. These employers include BPA, both investor and consumer owned electric utilities, vendors, consultants, trade associations, government agencies and non-profits.

Ø Synchronize well with faculty knowledge and interest. Faculty members will be more helpful and enthusiastic if they support projects they are both interested in and knowledgeable about.

Ø Synchronize well with student interests.

To test our assumptions about the student interest criterion, we requested and received student feedback during class. Based on this guidance and on additional faculty interactions with representatives of the potential “clients” associated with these projects, we narrowed our initial list of ten “candidate” projects to the four “finalists.” They are:

Ø A Demand Response and Smart Grid Component of PSU’s Clean Energy Upgrade Project;

Ø Analysis related to two components of PGE’s Smart Power Project in Salem;

Ø A Smart Meter Consumer Data Study; and

Ø The Smart Grid and Demand Response Component of the Oregon Convention Center’s Strategic Energy Plan.

Our plan is to recruit members of an Advisory Team for each project. In most instances, at least some of the members of the advisory team will also be representatives of that group’s “client” (PGE, PSU, Oregon Convention Center.) When possible, advisory team members will meet with their group for a formal “consultation session” during one of our regularly scheduled class periods. All students are encouraged to attend and learn from each of these consultation sessions, but the primary dialogue will be between the student group and their respective advisory team. Each student team will be encouraged to prepare and deliver questions to their advisory team in advance to ensure that their advisors’ precious time is used wisely.

The faculty will offer brief summaries of the project finalists during our first week of class and ask those students who are interested in joining a small group learning community to identify their top two choices for group class projects. It is important to note that professional development students may choose to participate in a small group or not. We are confident that all professional development students who attend most of the class presentations, participate in class discussions, listen in on the in-class consultation sessions, and tackle at some of the required readings will learn a lot in this course will learn a lot from this class. We will make this as easy as possible by recording all class lectures and in-class discussions and making these available on the password protected Desire 2 Learn class website the very next day. We are just as confident that professional development students will learn far more if they choose to supplement these important course activities by also joining a small group and participating in a class project. At the same time, we also appreciate that participation in a “real world” class projects such as these represents a significant time commitment that may not be possible for all professional development students. If you simply don’t have time to take this on, choosing not to join a small group learning community is 100% acceptable.

If you are a professional development student who is “on the fence”, be assured we do not expect you to make the same level of commitment to a class project that is expected of the graduate students. But we will expect you to be clear with yourself and your teammates regarding the level of commitment you can make. We would rather a professional development not join a small group learning community at all than make a commitment to take responsibility for on a specific aspect of the group project and fail to follow through.