KAHRAMAA & Texas A&M organized the Second Conference on Smart Grid and Renewable Energy (SGRE2019) which is held in Doha between 19 and 21 November 2019 at the Hilton Hotel.
The conference is also sponsored by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) and the three largest societies of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Industrial Electronics Society, Power Electronics Society, and Power and Energy Society, among other sponsors.
The goal of the conference is to generate a long-term smart grid research agenda with renewable energy adaptation. This should lead to a smarter electric grid that is necessary for maintaining secured energy, rapid economic development, improved social lifestyle and a greener living environment. Furthermore, the conference generated awareness in the industries, engineers and researchers about advanced smart grid technologies and their benefits; renewable energy resources and their integration with the smart grid and information and communications technologies and their adoption in the smart grid.
HE Eng. Essa Bin Hilal Al-Kuwari, KAHRAMAA President, Chairman of the Smart Grid Centre at Texas A&M at Qatar and Honorary Chair of the Conference opened the conference with a keynote speech which highlighted the impressive economic growth that Qatar witnessed under the wise leadership of HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani, The Amir. He also mentioned Qatar Smart Program (TASMU), launched by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, which is designed to accelerate the movement towards digital economy and smart cities.
Al-Kuwari said, “This economic and digital growth increases energy demand and the need for an efficient energy infrastructure. Smart, innovative grids are key to the energy transformation required to meet Qatar’s climate and energy responsibilities.”
KAHRAMAA has finished its smart grid roadmap in collaboration with Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station and Texas A&M at Qatar, Al Kuwari said. Its smart grid vision is: To transform Qatar’s Grid into a secure, sustainable and digitally enabled grid that provides reliable and quality energy for our stakeholders by 2026.
He added, “Like any smart utility, KAHRAMAA faces challenges while upgrading its network. This includes continuous need for investment, technology choice and upgrade, and cyber security issues. However, our grid is highly capable of monitoring and controlling all its assets and operations together with its networks of smart meters, renewable energy and electric vehicles, while optimizing KAHRAMAA’s business and engaging its customers.”
A successful example of KAHRAMAA’s grid upgrade is a condition monitoring project of all substations, which achieved net savings of thirty-six million dollars and reduced faults by more than 50%. Customers’ engagement has also improved with the Advanced Metering Infrastructure project. More than three hundred and sixty thousand smart meters are installed in our Grid, connected with multiple smart technologies, including fiber optics. Moreover, all KAHRAMAA meters will be smart by the end of the year 2020. KAHRAMAA’s smart efforts also include water sustainability and Quality which encourages innovation and new technologies specially to decrease water losses and advanced desalination techniques.
KAHRAMAAs President said Qatar is committed to the Paris Agreement Goals to combat climate change and to mitigate green-house emissions effects. Qatar is currently preparing the first "carbon neutral" World Cup in 2022.
“To further help in reducing emissions and diversifying energy sources, Qatar has set goals to increase the share of renewable energy. In this regard, KAHRAMAA will install the first mega photovoltaic station in Qatar with a capacity of Seven Hundred Mega Watt in the year 2022. KAHRAMAA is currently working to finalize Qatar’s renewable energy strategy by the end of 2020.Moreover, KAHRAMAA is currently installing a network of electric vehicle charging stations. This includes installing the first photovoltaic energy storage EV charging station as well as the first e-buses charging units in Qatar. Furthermore, policy and specifications are in final revisions with the support of the Ministry of Transport and Communications. In addition, KAHRAMAA has launched the National Program for Conservation & Energy Efficiency “Tarsheed” which was able to reduce carbon emissions by almost four million tons and achieve financial savings of almost half a billion dollars in 2018 through technical, legal and awareness initiatives.”
SGRE2019 looks at the significant importance of the smart grid and renewable energy resources integration in our lives. It is exploring the viability of such advanced technologies and brought together leading scientists, researchers and stakeholders from international and national research and governmental institutions, universities, and industry to exchange information on medium- to long-term research and future challenges of power electronics, smart grid and renewable energies.
Attendees were engaged in discussions of ongoing and future research toward next-generation power electronics, renewable energy technologies and applications, leading to research collaboration opportunities among participants. The event includes an exhibition highlighting KAHRAMAA, Texas A&M Qatar, QNRF and other organizations and companies, highlighting their efforts and latest technologies in the field.
Dr. Haitham Abu-Rub, SGRE2019 Co-chair and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M at Qatar said, “The statistics are already highlighting the success of the conference: 152 research articles were submitted, involving more than 500 authors from 20 countries. We are proud to tell you that the SGRE 2019 program committee has put together an outstanding program, including many keynote speeches. We hope that this conference will lead to many future collaborations in the area of smart grid to advance the field in Qatar and beyond.”
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