Two years after Alfred University acquired software from GE Vernova to use in a new power grid simulation lab, a group of faculty, staff, and students from Alfred’s Inamori School of Engineering were called on to help install similar software for the University of Arkansas.
Jannatun Naiem (left), a master’s degree student in electrical engineering at Alfred University, and Naimul Haque, who earned a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Alfred in May, were instrumental in helping install power grid simulation software in a lab at University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College.
Alfred University’s GE Vernova Advanced Power Grid Lab is part of a workforce development initiative that will prepare students for careers in the growing renewable energy industry. It is supported by a $466,853 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) and $2.8 million in software licenses donated by GE Vernova.
The University was initially awarded $786,000 in Advanced Energy Management System (AEMS) and Advanced Distribution Management Solutions (ADMS) software packages from GE Vernova, to be used in 2023-24, the first year of the project. GE Vernova has since awarded the University an additional $2 million in software, which will be used over the ensuing five-year period.
The Advanced Power Grid Lab was launched in May 2024. It benefits students in the Alfred University Inamori School of Engineering’s Renewable Energy Engineering and Electric Engineering programs by providing them with access to state-of-the-art equipment and training to prepare them for jobs in the power industry. The NYSERDA workforce development initiative also allows the university to subcontract with the EPRI, an independent, non-profit research and development organization, to conduct industry-standard training short courses for students and power industry professionals.
Located on the second floor of the Inamori School’s McMahon Engineering Building, the lab houses a microgrid control center and a DERs (distributed energy resources) command center used as a training resource. Software provided by GE Vernova facilitates training in power grid planning and operations.
Earlier this year, University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College (UA-PTC) acquired AEMS and ADMS software from GE Vernova to install in their own lab, for use in training workers in the power industry, including electricians and linemen. Xingwu Wang, professor of electrical engineering in Alfred University’s Inamori School of Engineering, said the GE Vernova software is “very popular” in the power industry, used in more than 50 percent of grid management facilities nationwide.
Wang explained that GE made its initial donation of power grid simulation software to the University of Central Florida in January 2023, and provided technicians to assist the university with the initial software installation. Alfred University was the next school to receive a software donation, as part of the University’s NYSERDA-supported workforce development initiative. By then, GE Vernova had split from GE to form an independent energy equipment manufacturing and services company and did not provide the same detailed tech support for the software installation as GE did for UCF.
“GE Vernova provided limited support to us. We did most of the heavy-lifting,” said Wang, explaining that electrical engineering faculty used GE Vernova’s on-line resources to guide them in the install. The software packages were installed in the spring of 2024, shortly before a May ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the GE Vernova Advanced Power Grid Lab.
Wang said Alfred University is one of the only universities that can install GE Vernova’s AEMS and ADMS software on individual computers. When staff at UA-PTC realized they had no technical support to aid in their software installation, they reached out to Joseph Franz, senior director of Applied Grid Innovation at GE Vernova, “who referred them to us,” Wang said.
“We had developed a relationship with GE Vernova,” said John Simmins, ’84, PhD ’90, director of the GE Vernova Advanced Power Grid Lab at Alfred University. “Joe Franz said these people at (UA-PTC) need your help.”
Simmins said he and Wang, along with Naimul Haque, then a master’s degree student in electrical engineering at Alfred University who is now studying for his PhD at Louisiana State University, and Jannatun Naiem, a current master’s degree student in electrical engineering, worked remotely to install the ADMS and AEMS software in the UA-PTC lab.
“Whenever they hit a glitch, or needed help, they reached out to us,” Simmins said. “Now they have software that works.”
UA-PCT was appreciative of the help from Alfred University. “We sincerely thank you for all your help and support with our Energy Grid Simulation Room project,” UA-PTC said in a thank you note to the Alfred team, which was accompanied by a box of locally-made chocolates. “Your time, expertise, and willingness to assist made a meaningful difference, and we truly appreciate your partnership throughout the process.”
