Seminar Series: Dr. Stanley Atcitty
Energy Storage Power Electronics Program at Sandia
ZOOM PRESENTATION / Monday, November 30, 2020 / 1 – 2 p.m.
Dr. Stan Atcitty
Distinguished Member of Technical Staff
Energy Storage Technology and Systems Department
Sandia National Laboratories
Dr. Atcitty CV
Grid-tied energy storage systems are a key subsystem to the electric utility infrastructure in that they provide multiple technical and economic benefits such increasing asset utilization and deferring upgrades of the grid, providing flexibility for the customer and cost control, maintaining power quality, and increasing the value of variable renewable generation from photovoltaic and wind generation systems. Such systems will ultimately improve the flexibility, reliability, security, quality, and cost effectiveness of the existing and future electric utility systems. Current energy storage systems including the power conversion system are packaged in standard shipping containers for the ease of transportability and siting. They are attractive because they have lower installation cost and less installation time to operation. This design approach provides unique technical challenges for the energy storage technology as well as the power conversion system. Due to the containerized approach, high power density and small footprint design is critical.
There has been increase interest in the utilization of wide band gap (WBG) devices such as SiC and GaN for switch mode power supply applications. These materials offer the potential for higher switching frequencies, higher blocking voltages, lower switching losses and a higher junction temperature than traditional silicon-based switches. It has been shown that WBG-based power conversion systems along with advanced capacitors, magnetics and packaging can result in higher power density than silicon-based system and thus an attractive approach for containerized energy storage systems. This presentation will focus on the role of power electronics used in grid-tied energy storage systems. In addition, this presentation will also highlight some of tribal energy storage projects.
Bio: Dr. Stan Atcitty is a member of the Navajo Tribe and he received his BS and MS degree in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University in 1993 and 1995, respectively. In 2006, he was the first American Indian male to receive a Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Virginia Tech University. He is presently a Distinguish Member of Technical Staff at Sandia National Laboratories in the Energy Storage Technology and Systems department. He leads the power electronics subprogram as part of the DOE Energy Storage Program and has gained international recognition for its state-of-the-art research and development under his leadership. Five of his projects have won the prestigious R&D 100 award and one Gold Green Energy award from the Research & Development magazine.
His interest in research is power electronics necessary for integrating energy storage and distributed generation with the electric utility grid. Stan has over 60 publications and holds four patents and another three pending. In 2007, he received the American Indian Science and Engineering Society Technical Excellence Award for his American Indian community involvement and technical achievement. He was recently featured in a middle school level children’s book titled “Energy Basics – Energized!” published by Sally Ride Science book in 2012. In 2013, he coauthored a book titled Power Electronics for Renewable and Distributed Energy Systems. In addition, President Barack Obama presented Stan with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientist and Engineers on July 31, 2012. This is the highest honor bestowed by the US government for outstanding scientist and engineers who show exceptional leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the twenty-first century.