Presentation on YouTube.

Transition to renewable energies contributes to reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and thus, offsetting carbon intensity of the energy sector. To expand the uptake of renewables, however, a number of challenges related to their reliability (intermittent nature) and cost efficiency (smaller scale set-ups) have to be addressed. Hybridizing renewable energy sources has the potential to improve the economy of scale and diversify the sources contributing to improving reliability and efficiency. Hybrid solutions are particularly feasible and beneficial in urban environments, with access to a more stable grid as the back-up, and in community-scale where the incorporation larger scale energy storage systems as the back-up becomes viable. In this seminar, we explore a number of recent developments in use of optimization models and data analytics for design, configuration/sizing, scheduling and control of hybridized renewable energy systems (wind, solar, biomass, hydrogen, and geothermal) integrated with backup systems such as urban grids, energy storage technologies, and at last resort, diesel/natural gas generators/boilers considering a variety of urban/community loads (power, heating, and cooling). In each case, the systems design/configuration characteristics will be discussed followed by the notation of the optimization problems, and the subsequent analysis/interpretation of the results.

Bio – Dr. Fuzhan Nasiri is a full professor at Department of Building, Civil, and Environmental Engineering at Concordia University and director of the Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Systems Engineering (SEISE) lab. Before joining Concordia, he worked at University College London (UCL) as a faculty member (2011-2014), at Yale University as a research scientist (2009-2011), and at GERAD research group as a postdoctoral fellow (2007-2009). He holds a PhD in Environmental Systems Engineering and MASc and BASc in Industrial Engineering. Dr. Nasiri is a systems engineer with deep interest in investigating the emerging challenges in design and operation of engineered (built) systems (facilities, infrastructure, and buildings) and their interactions with and impact on the environment and society from risk, resilience, and reliability perspectives. To this end, his research has been disseminated through 90 journal articles and 70 conference presentations. Dr. Nasiri has supervised/co-supervised 4 PDFs, 11 PhD students, and 12 MASc students to completion. He is currently supervising/co-supervising 1 PDF, and 14 PhD and 6 MASc students. Fuzhan’s research has been mainly funded by partnership projects with industry through NSERC Alliance and MITACS Accelerate programs, as well as individual NSERC discovery grants and VOLTAGE and FRQ team grants.