University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison)

The University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) and its partners will develop realistic transmission system models and scenarios that will serve as test cases to reduce barriers to the development and adoption of new technologies in grid optimization and control. The EPIGRIDS project aims to construct realistic grid models by using software to emulate the transmission and generation expansion decision processes used by utility planners. This synthetic model development will utilize Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data on population density, industrial and commercial energy consumption patterns, and land use, over sizes ranging from the city-level to continental-scale. In order to test the robustness of the system’s solutions, it will allow users to tailor specific data sets and scenarios to challenge particular aspects of optimization and control algorithm development. Flexible methodologies for data set construction and connecting features of these data sets to geographically described energy use and land use constraints will enable collaborative development of new models, far beyond those directly delivered by this project.