Impact of New Technologies on Power System Planning

This event is sponsored by FAMU-FSU Engineering Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Center for Advanced Power Systems and IEEE.

Abstract: Recent advancements in energy technologies, AI-powered data centers, and machine learning-driven decision-making are reshaping the landscape of electric power grids, presenting both new opportunities and significant challenges. For example, a utility in Midwest US, has a peak load of 1000MW is expecting nearly 3500MW load from AI based data centers within the next 3 years. Out of the many challenges one of the areas that are less investigated but seeing significant impact is resource inadequacy and transmission planning. Key concerns include long-term planning impacted by unobservable and non-dispatchable generation, the rise of hybrid behind-the-meter generation, and the substantial energy demands of AI-based data centers, which can impact system reliability and alter transmission line utilization. The discussion will conclude by highlighting a key research challenge in future transmission planning aimed at enhancing reliability quantification to ensure a resilient and adaptive power grid.

Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan

Professor, Ward-Jewell Energy Faculty Fellow

Electrical and Computer Engineering - Wichita State University

Speaker Bio: Dr. Visvakumar Aravinthan is a Professor and Ward-Jewell Energy Faculty Fellow in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Wichita State University, where he currently serves as the Department Chair and Director of the Center for Energy Studies. He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, and his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Wichita State University. His research interests span across power system reliability, long-term planning with renewable resources, the impact of grid-edge technologies on transmission systems, cyber-physical decision systems, power grid resilience, and community risk.