Research InterestsPower systems optimization, microgrids, renewable energy integration, virtual power plant, artificial intelligence, big data and learning, distributed control and optimization.

Research DescriptionDistributed Control and Optimization in Smart GridsThe ever-growing demand, rising penetration level of renewable generation, and increasing complexity of electric power systems, pose new challenges to control, operation, management and optimization of power grids. Conventional centralized control structure requires a complex communication network with two-way communication links and a powerful central controller to process large amount of data, which reduces overall system reliability and increases its sensitivity to failures, thus it may not be able to operate under the increased number of distributed renewable generation units. Prof. Xu’s group exploresdistributed control strategy that enables easier scalability, simpler communication network, faster distributed data processing, and can facilitate highly efficient information sharing and decision making. Distributed approach is a promising candidate to address the features of modern power grids by providing fast, flexible, reliable and cost-effective solutions.Artificial Intelligence (AI)in Smart GridsPower systems keep on increasing on the basis of geographical regions, assets additions, and introduction of new technologies in generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. AI techniques have become popular for solving different problems in power systems like control, planning, scheduling, forecast, etc. These techniques can deal with difficult tasks faced by applications in modern large power systems with even more interconnections installed to meet the increasing load demand and intermittent renewable generation. Prof. Xu’s group focus on the research to perceive full advantages of upcoming AItechnology for improving the efficiency of electricity market investment, distributed control and optimization, efficient system modeling and analysis, particularly power systems with high penetration level of renewable energy resources.Integrated Energy Systems/Energy Internet/Multi-Energy System Optimization and ControlElectricity, district heating/coolingsystems, natural gas, and electric vehiclesare predominantly planned and operated independently. However, it is increasingly recognized that integrated optimization and control of such systems at multiple spatio-temporal scales can bring significant socioeconomic, operational efficiency, and environmental benefits. Accordingly, the concept of the multi-energy system is gaining considerable attention, Prof. Xu’s group focus on uncovering fundamental gains and potential drawbacksthat emerge from the integrated operation of multiple systems; developing computationally affordable optimization and control methods that maximize the overall social welfare, while acknowledging intrinsic interdependencies and quality-of-service requirements for each provider.