Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

In Canada only, 50% of the potentially available - non-hydro - renewable energy capacity is underutilized. It is highly challenging to integrate small-scale, distributed renewable energy generators to the utility power grid due to their intermittency. This NSERC Discovery Research Program aims to develop a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) energy trading platform along with the state-of-the-art reliable and low-latency communications network that will enable unprecedented opportunities for sharing energy among distributed consumers, generators and storage. Over the long-term, energy trading can unravel the use of renewable energy more efficiently and strengthen the resilience of the highly networked power grid in the face of disasters and attacks. The transformative research conducted under this program will contribute to the leadership of Canadian researchers in power and communication fields. In the short term, this program will lead to new analytical models and algorithms that will enhance the operation of the power grid along with its reliable, low-latency wireless communication infrastructure. This 5-year program will develop game-theoretic and stochastic multi-level optimization strategies to reach optimal trading decisions and enhance small cell networks in order to serve fast and reliable communication needs of energy trading. Multi-leader multi-follower games will be designed for players who do not have hierarchical organization. To the best of the applicant's knowledge, a tri-level optimization model will be developed to allow strategic bidding of players, for the first time. This project will focus on future wireless cellular networks consisting of ultra-dense small cells, to provide the flexibility and ubiquity for the on-the-road players (EVs) as well as plug-and-play generators. Facilitating energy trading over a network with high level of densification, call for effective dynamic network planning techniques that can optimize capacity, coverage, interference, energy, and balance the network load, organize the access to random channel and handle mobility while taking into account both the traditional mobile user traffic and the traffic generated by the P2P energy trading platform. This NSERC Discovery Research program will increase Canada's competitiveness in energy and communications sectors. It will allow underutilized, distributed renewable energy generation capacity to be effectively utilized. The proposed solutions will increase resilience to disasters. It will train personnel to be experts in cross-disciplinary areas in power and communication engineering fields and to contribute to the leadership of Canada in those fields. The training provided with this program will help students to build academic success, unique and marketable skill sets and provide abilities to grow their own professional careers.