Project PRICAM

Project PRICAM 

The chair is the PI of the group G2PI in the project "Proyecto de Redes Inteligentes de la Comunidad de Madrid".

This proposal, whose title can be translated into English as Program of Smart Grids in the Community of Madrid has been presented to the 2013 call for the creation of research macro-groups in the Community of Madrid. The aim of this call is the generation of research groups that include interdisciplinary teams from inside the community to start research activity that includes, in particular, international collaborations.This call is, then, an opportunity to establish international research activity between universities of the Community of Madrid and the UNM.

From a scientic point of view, the proposal is motivated by the fact that many power grids in Spain contain many of the so called smart elements, as smart meters, smart synchro-phasors and other devices, but the conceptof Smart Grid is not being introduced in the power systems at any level. This proposal is aimed to use as experimental elements the data provided by the existing smart elements, to introduce concepts and technology related to machine learning into the power grid and to construct a demonstrator that serves as a technological test bed for innovation in the power grids of the Community of Madrid. Most of the resources will be devoted to scholarships that will include interchange students between the Spanish universities and the University of New Mexico. Part of the budget will be used to acquire the needed equipment, which will be installed in the Laboratory IMDEA Energía of Madrid. The funding is about 1,000,000 euro.

The research group includes two groups from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, with experience in Machine Learning and Power Engineering respectively. The latter group has been working in Smart Grid since its inception. The group includes two groups from Universidad de Alcalá, both with an internationally renowned reputation in Power Electronics for Smart Grid and applications of Machine Learning to renewable energies respectively. Also, there is a group from Universidad Rey Juan Carlos with experience in Machine Learning, Sensors and Optimization. All the members have a solid background in research areas related with the dierent hierarchical levels of the smart grid, namely, devices and infrastructure, operation, management and decision. The proposal also includes two leading companies in the sector (Iberdrola and Indra), the IMDEA SEIL laboratory, the University Hospital of Fuenlabrada and the support from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The holder of the chair will lead the Machine Learning research group of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid in collaboration with the UNM, with the intention to co-advise at least a PhD student that will spend at least 50% of time in the UNM through the scholarship provided by this grant. 

The scientic program of smart grid for the Community of Madrid (PRICAM) addresses the problematic of a technologically relevant eld such as energy eciency and intelligent electric networks in a multidisciplinary way. There are various international initiatives that address the smart grid from dierent points of view, including new technologies of electricity, smart devices, development of systems and telecommunication standards appropriate electrical networks, or computer systems for massive data processing.

This proposal's fundamental contribution is the introduction of large-scale computational intelligence techniques, mainly based on machine learning, that use the above technologies as tools in order to endow the grid with intelligence capabilities. The main objective is to develop computation intelligence tools that allow improving dierent aspects of the future smart grid in the Community of Madrid. Also, this proposal should serve to control the many power electronic devices that connect to the grid, renewable energy interfaces, energy storage elements, management of micro-grids, HVDC connections, power quality, and others. In turn, these elements will be provided with control and communications systems capable of responding to these control requests and achieve an intelligent response.

The specic objectives of this project are:

  • Integration of power electronic devices such as FACTS, HVDC connections and SSTs in smart grids. Layer: devices/infrastructure.
  • Introduction of communication between the dierent levels of the grid hierarchy to make smart management. Layer Management and across all layers.
  • SoftNormally Open Points (NOPS) technology. Layers: devices/infrastructure and operation.
  • Development of the control system in a micro-grid. Layers: management and operation.
  • Prediction and Optimization of Renewable Generation Backup Systems in Smart Grids by Computational Intelligence Techniques. Layers: Management and Operation.
  • Breakdown of electricity consumption. Data collection using smart meters and sensors. Layers: Devices/Infrastructure, Management and Operation.
  • Optimization of planning activities and plan rates in the Fuenlabrada University Hospital rates. Layers: Management and Decision.
  • Management of energy demand in variable pricing scenarios. Layers: Management and Decision
  • Improving the quality and safety of electrical service. Layers: Management and Decision.