The Workforce Development pillar (Pillar 3) of the Global Power System Transformation Consortium (G-PST) focuses on expanding access to technical training materials for both university students and professionals. The G-PST Teaching Agenda outlines ninety critical topics essential for power system transformation, which will be addressed through postgraduate education and training to prepare the next generation of power sector professionals.
Many of these courses were developed in collaboration with the Women in Power System Transformation (PST) initiative, which aims to enhance leadership and technical training opportunities for women in the power sector. Many of these courses, covering key topics related to operating high variable renewable energy (VRE) power systems, are designed and taught by women professionals and experts.
Course Topics
The graduate-level course materials include 3-5 hours of recorded lectures, supporting slides, student exercises, and assessments. Additional materials will be added as they become available. These resources are designed for easy integration into virtual or hybrid curricula or can supplement existing modules. They are also suitable for technical training programs or individual upskilling. All materials are downloadable for classroom use or personal streaming. To help the G-PST team understand the impact of these materials, please participate in follow-up surveys after downloading the content.
| Topic | Subject Area | Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| Declining System Inertia and Dynamic Reserve Requirements
This topic covers the impact of declining power system inertia due to rising shares of inverter-based resources (IBRs) on the grid, determining minimum inertia needs, and methods to monitor and maintain sufficient inertia. The important interplay between system inertia and frequency control mechanisms is explained to help strike the right balance between minimum inertia and faster / slower frequency response reserves based on the characteristics of individual power systems. |
Operation | Julia Matevosyan Chief Engineer, Energy System Integration Group |
| Power System Stability with 100% Inverter-Based Resources (IBR)
This topic discusses the impact of rising levels of IBRs on power system stability. First, key characteristics of IBRs affecting the robustness of power systems and their effects on power system control and stability are identified. Then, the control challenges and stability problems encountered in a weak (low short-circuit level), low-inertia power systems with high shares of IBRs are covered together with the solutions that have been put forward thus far. |
Stability and Protection | Claudia Rahmann Associate Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of Chile and Director of the Solar Energy Research Center of Chile |
| Impacts of Electric Vehicles on Power Systems
This topic covers the challenges and remedies around integration of electric vehicles (EVs) to the grid, including current global efforts, projections, regulation, and policies in different countries. This course is focused on modeling issues, commercial software for EV integration studies, underlying mechanism and root-cause analysis, and potential synergy between variable renewable energy resources and EV integration. |
Active Distribution Networks and Microgrids | Edvina Uzunovic Assistant Teaching Professor, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and IEEE Committee Volunteer |
| Network Planning and Pricing to Support Net-Zero Transition
This topic revisits current practices in network pricing across transmission and distribution (T&D) systems. The Great Britain system is used as an example to illustrate key differences in principles between T&D systems, evolution over time to accommodate growing variable renewable generation, impact on network users at different locations, and differing generation technologies. Ongoing reforms to harmonize pricing across transmission and distribution are highlighted. |
Markets and Investment | Furong Li Director of Centre for Sustainable Power Distribution at the Department of Electronic & Electrical Engineering, University of Bath |
| Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) High-Voltage Direct Current (HVDC)
This topic covers operation and control of MMCs for HVDC transmission. A simplified MMC is used first to analyse the characteristic dynamics and the operating limits of the converter. Next, the design of the control loops of the MMC is discussed, emphasizing the main design challenges and trade-offs. The performance of the MMC is demonstrated using a detailed dynamic model and an averaged model that is compatible with large-scale power system simulation models. An overview of the state-of-the-art in MMC and ongoing research and development is provided at the end. |
HVDC Transmission | Adrià Junyent Ferré Senior Lecturer at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London |
|
Multicarrier Energy Systems Multicarrier energy systems are emerging as a structure for the energy system that enable deep decarbonization by harnessing flexible resources across scales, vectors, and sectors. This topic covers the theoretical and applied perspective of multicarrier energy systems and the role they are playing in shaping our energy future. It explores what multicarrier energy systems are, what is driving their emergence, and their role in the energy transition. This course strives to foster a holistic perspective of the energy system and its transition to net zero. |
Planning | Dr. Madeleine McPherson Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering, University of Victoria |
|
Resilience Assessments for Power Systems The Resilience Assessment of Power Systems course covers the importance of protecting critical infrastructure and the challenges of creating resilient power systems. It focuses on definitions of power system resilience, the relation of resilience and reliability, real-world case studies, metrics of power system resilience, and methods for enhancing power system resilience. |
Resilience | Dr. Sijia Geng Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University |