PULLMAN, Wash. – WSU will lead a nationwide consortium of U.S. universities and industry partners in a five-year, $30 million joint research project with India to advance the development of the power grid in both countries.

The Department of Energy Wednesday announced a $7.5 million grant to the U.S. team, which will be supplemented by $7.5 million from consortium members. The Indian Ministry of Science and Technology and industry partners will match the $15 million, bringing the total to $30 million.

Focus on providing affordable, reliable energy

“This new consortium demonstrates U.S. and Indian commitments to ensuring access to affordable and reliable energy in both countries,” said U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry. “We know that continued grid innovation will promote economic growth and energy security in the United States and India.”

The initiative, supported by the DOE Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability, builds on the department’s efforts to foster the reliable, resilient, and secure delivery of electricity needed for U.S. national security, economic growth, and global leadership. The pact also furthers DOE’s collaboration with India under the U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE).

Noel Schulz to lead U.S. team

Noel Schulz, professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) and WSU First Lady, is the principal investigator for the U.S. team. Anurag Srivastava, EECS associate professor, is the U.S. technical leader. Other WSU faculty involved in the project are Anjan Bose and Adam Hahn, EECS; and Christine Horne, Department of Sociology.

“WSU is excited to lead the U.S. team and collaborate with colleagues across this country and India to tackle the challenges of integrating renewables and storage for tomorrow’s distribution power systems,” Schulz said. “This project leverages the strengths of WSU’s Energy Systems Innovation Center and our power faculty and will provide national and international collaborations as we continue to advance our Drive to 25 to become one of the nation’s leading public research universities.”

Uniting academia, DOE national labs, industry

The new consortia brings together experts from academia, DOE national laboratories, and industry in India and the U.S. to evolve and advance the future electric power distribution grid. The effort will allow the continuing increase and integration of distributed energy resources penetration, such as solar, wind, storage, and electric vehicles, advancing the goal of creating a carbon-free electricity system.

“WSU very much appreciates being selected for this award by DOE,” said Christopher Keane, vice president for research at WSU. “The award is a testament to the hard work and collaborative spirit of the WSU faculty and staff involved in grid research. The U.S.-India partnership will result in numerous important advances that support the power grid of the future.”

Modernizing electricity grids in both nations

The project will allow experts to conduct research and deploy new smart grid and energy storage technologies that will modernize the grids of both nations to make them “smarter,” while increasing resilience and reliability.

The U.S. team will contribute its expertise and capabilities as India expands energy access to its remote areas, improves its grid reliability and resilience, and strengthens its energy security. In turn, U.S. participants will gain insight from India’s grid modernization efforts — a potential export market for U.S. equipment worth billions of dollars — as well as promote the access of researchers to India’s grid operational experience.

MIT, Texas A&M, Berkeley National Laboratory among U.S. partners

In addition to WSU, the U.S. team includes MIT, Texas A&M University, University of Hawaii, Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Snohomish County Public Utility District, Avista, Burns and McDonnell, ETAP Operation Technology, ALSTOM Grid/GE Grid Solutions, Clean Energy Storage, ABB, Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).

The Indian team is led by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and includes the partners IIIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, IIT Bhubaneshwar, and The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi.

The research effort is in keeping with WSU’s Grand Challenges, a suite of research initiatives aimed at large societal issues. It is particularly relevant to the challenge of meeting energy needs while protecting the environment.

Complete list of consortium partners

United States

WSU Pullman (U.S. lead)

MIT

Texas A&M

Hawaii Natural Energy Institute

Idaho National Laboratory

Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Snohomish County Public Utility District, Everett, Wash.

AVISTA Utilities, Spokane, Wash.

Burns and McDonnell

ETAP, Operation Technology Inc.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association

GE Grid Solutions, Seattle

Clean Energy Storage, Inc.

ABB Inc.

Philadelphia Navy Yard

India

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (India Lead)

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar

The Energy and Resources Institute

NTPC Energy Technology Alliance

BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd

UP Power Corporation Limited

Power Grid Corporation of India

Customized Energy Solution, Pune

GE Global Research, Bengaluru

Synergy Systems and Solutions, Gurgaon

Mindteck, Bengaluru

Panasonic India

Media Contact: