Nowadays, the energy demand of the present electrical power industry is increasing exponentially, and most of the electricity production depends on fossil fuel resources. A research paper titled “Dynamic Economic and Emission Dispatch with Renewable Energy Integration Under Uncertainties and Demand Side Management”, published by Dr B Lokeshgupta, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, SRM University-AP, Andhra Pradesh, answers some of the pertinent questions regarding reducing the environmental pollution level.

Integration of renewable energy resources (RERs) along with demand-side management (DSM) is almost inevitable in the present scenario to meet the growing energy demand with minimum environmental pollution. This work proposes a combined model of dynamic economic and emission dispatch (DEED) and DSM to integrate renewable energy resources (RERs). In this analysis, the DSM load-shifting scheme is incorporated with the DEED problem to obtain the generation side operational benefits as well as the reduction in environmental pollution level. In this study, various smart home appliances and their complex constraints are included in the DSM load shifting process. The variability and stochastic nature of the load demand and RERs such as solar, wind are modelled with Normal, Beta, and Weibull distribution functions, respectively. The proposed model is implemented in both deterministic and stochastic approaches with the help of the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and the Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS) approach. In the stochastic model, the MCS approach appropriately handles the uncertainties of system load demand and RERs. Four different case studies are carried out in the simulation analysis to show the impacts of RERs and DSM integration on the traditional DEED problem.

Meeting the excessive energy demand with the minimum environmental pollution is a challenging task. The integration of RERs such as wind and solar into the grid is one of the superior solutions for this issue. However, the variability and uncertainty of the RERs bring challenges to the power system operation. Energy management schemes such as demand-side management (DSM) methods can help the power industry address the challenges of RERs integration. That is why the combination of renewable energy integration and DSM is one of the key solutions in the smart grid environment to meet the increased energy demand with the lowest possible energy cost and minimum pollution level. The RERs and DSM combination gives several financial, environmental, and technical benefits to the power industry along with a better system operation.

The dynamic economic and emission dispatch (DEED) is one of the widely adopted tools in the operation and planning of power systems. Both DEED and DSM are the essential tools in the smart grid environment for efficient energy management with the concern of economic and environmental aspects. The DEED’s primary task is to obtain the optimal scheduling of generators with minimum cost and emission for the given load demand. At the same time, the DSM’s primary goal is to improve the optimal values of system objective functions by shifting or managing the controllable loads of consumers. This work introduces a combined stochastic optimisation model of DEED and DSM scheme with the integration of solar and wind energy to show how DSM and RERs bring benefits to a generation company, and also to get better optimal operation cost and emission values simultaneously. The DSM load-shifting scheme is implemented in this study with the help of 10,000 active residential consumers. The effectiveness of the proposed combined model has been tested on a system of six thermal generating units, one wind-powered generator, and one solar-powered generator. The MCS approach and NSGA-II method are used in this paper to solve the proposed stochastic combined DEED and DSM optimisation model.

From the overall analysis, it is recognized that the implementation of the DSM load-shifting scheme along with RERs integration is essential for future smart grids to improve the financial savings of generation companies as well as to reduce the environmental pollution level. The paper is written in collaboration with Dr S Sivasubramani, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Patna.

In future, the proposed DSM optimisation can be extended with the inclusion of a neighbourhood power-sharing model in the environment of multiple smart home consumers and prosumers. The proposed DSM model can also be integrated with the distribution network planning and operation problems to enhance the financial and technical benefits of distribution companies.

The Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering at SRM University-AP organized a guest lecture titled “DC-DC Converters: Operation, Modelling and Control for Solar and Wind Applications” on December 3, 2021, at 11.00 am IST as part of the Departmental Lecture Series.

An eminent resource person, Dr. Ravindranath Adda, Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, IIT Guwahati, delivered the intriguing talk as the guest lecture. Many undergraduate students of EEE, research scholars and faculty members of SRM University-AP attended the riveting session.

In his lecture, Dr Adda discussed about the importance of DC-DC converters for solar PV and Wind power applications and emphasized the different non-isolated and isolated converter topologies. He also explained the output power variation of the solar PV or wind turbine as a function of weather conditions, and hence the requirement of DC-DC converters and storage systems to transfer the energy from non-conventional energy sources.

Finally, he discussed about the research scope of DC-DC converters, to increase gain, expedite efficiency, reduce the bulk, dynamic modelling, and large scale and small-scale modelling of DC-DC converters.

The lecture concluded with an energetic note with all the participants looking forward to putting to use all the knowledge and information that they had acquired because of it.

Dr Somesh Vinayak Tewari delivered an invited talk on “High Power Closing Switches” on November 25, 2021, during the Workshop on Pulse Power Technology and Applications (WSPPTA-2021) held from November 25, 2021, to November 27, 2021, at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Facility, Visakhapatnam, sponsored by Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences (BRNS), Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India in association with Power Beam Society of India.

The workshop served as a platform for pedagogical presentations, discussions on intricacies of pulsed power technology and mutual interactions among young researchers, engineers and students from academia and applied research laboratories and talks were delivered by scientists of BARC, IPR, DRDO, CEERI, professors from IIT, IISc and experts from industry.

Dr Tewari delivered a talk on “High Power Closing Switches”, highlighting the working principle, mechanism, and applications of vacuum switches like ignitron, thyratron, pseudo spark gap, gas-filled spark gap switches, liquid and solid dielectric switches, magnetic switches, and modern-day semiconductor switches.

After his talk, Dr Tewari was highly appreciated and felicitated by Dr D. C. Pande, Dr Raja Ramana Distinguished Fellow of DRDO. The proceedings were compiled in the form of book chapters and circulated to participants.

Do you dream about studying at a high-ranking university abroad?

The Department of International Relations has arranged an exciting session to help you realize your higher education abroad dreams. From the land of the Northern Lights, Uppsala University (Sweden) brings you an insight into the opportunities available at one of the most reputed institutes in the world.

Mansi Harish Ved, master student in Cell and Molecular Biology, will join us from Uppsala University and share her experience to help others pursue their studying abroad dream.

Join the webinar on January 06, 2022, at 3.00 pm IST and see what your life at Uppsala University could look like. This session might be the ticket to your dreams of receiving higher education abroad.

The students, faculty, and other staff members of SRM University-AP spent a memorable evening on the banks of River Krishna as a part of Celebrating the Rivers of India.

As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, organises various programmes on the theme Celebrating the Rivers of India. This revitalising excursion organised by the Department of Student Affairs at SRM AP was held in honour of the fourth largest river at Manthena Satyanarayana Arogyalayam, Thullur, Vijayawada.

Dr Manthena Satyanarayana introduced the gathering to the practice of naturopathic medicine which is based on modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods. Dr Gangadhar, Ms Chaitanya and Dr Prema led a short rejuvenating yoga and meditation session for the participants.

The practitioners at the Arogyalayam were honoured with stoles and mementos as tokens of appreciation. Dr R Premkumar-Registrar, Directors of various departments, and Deans of schools were present on the occasion.

Arogyalayam Research Centre advocates protecting health by increasing the level of immunity and enhancing life-force (praana sakti) amidst very pleasing natural environs, with the help of experts and experienced personnel, under the overall supervision of Dr Manthena Satyanarayana.

“The waterfront and the refreshing greenery of nature heals our mind and soul in this stressful modern-day life”, said Prof V S Rao, Vice-chancellor, SRM University-AP. The event, organised for Celebrating the Rivers of India, gave the participants an opportunity to unwind, relish the view of boats gliding smoothly on the river, enjoy the lush bushes growing all around, and do yoga in the delightful breeze with serene atmosphere.