Laboratory setup to meet the educational needs for the future smart grid workforce

The ideas of smart grid and microgrid have gained prominence over the last decade and they are anticipated to be key players in the future power grid. With support from the Department of Energy (DOE) several universities have updated their power engineering curriculum with courses focused on the various aspects of smart grid. The intent of this paper is to demonstrate the recently setup “Smart Renewable Systems Laboratory” at the University of Houston. The specific laboratory demonstrations presented in this paper will supplement the smart grid curriculum developed for the undergraduate power engineering technology major.