WCU wins big at Appalachian Energy Summit
By Chaz Lilly
Western Carolina University’s Office of Sustainability and Energy Management led a group of student, faculty and staff to the annual Appalachian Energy Summit at Appalachian State University in June.
The energy summit is a multi-day, annual event designed to share ideas and put into action ecological, financial and social processes designed to improve energy efficiency across the University of North Carolina System, the state and beyond.
Some WCU students that attended the summit were members of the Campus Sustainability Initiative, a committee responsible for allocating money towards the implementation of renewable energy projects, energy efficiency improvements, research and internships on campus.
Other groups representing WCU were Facilities Management staff and faculty and students from the College of Engineering and Technology.
Led by electrical engineering professor Bora Karayaka, CET students Andrew Warner and Trey Vang submitted their capstone project in the Energy Summit Poster Competition and won first place. The capstone project “Machine Learning Based Design Optimization for Clean Microgrid Power Generation Systems” focused on nuclear and wind energy integration.
“Right now, it costs more money to make electricity from clean sources like sunlight and wind compared to using things like coal or gas. That's because the sun doesn't shine all the time, and the wind doesn't blow constantly,” said Vang, a senior from Hickory. “Our project's goal was always to make these clean ways of making electricity cheaper while also including nuclear energy. We managed to make the system that uses solar panels, windmills, batteries and nuclear power cost less, while still making enough electricity for all the places we tested it.”
Previously, the first phase of their capstone project was presented at the IEEE SoutheastCon and published in IEEEXplore digital library. The paper “Streamlining Clean Microgrid Economics: Multivariate Cost Optimization with Nuclear Power Integration” also investigated nuclear and solar integration.
“The main takeaway from this yearlong capstone project is the amount of personal growth that I had undergone within this timespan,” Vang added. “The project was a journey that pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to take initiative, manage ambiguity and develop a greater sense of ownership over my own work. Going through a yearlong project as a student was not only about completing a task, but also about gaining invaluable skills, knowledge and experiences that have contributed to my personal and professional development.”
Both the poster and publication are part an ongoing research project funded by a grant from The Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
“Electricity is a very difficult matter to store,” said Karayaka. “When you produce it, you need to use it. Or, you store it, in a battery or some other mechanism. Those mechanisms are expensive. The students knew that. That’s why they designed this system. By introducing nuclear into the equation reduces the price significantly.”
Karayaka is currently working with the students on another submission for a professional conference. This submission will continue to focus on nuclear, wind and solar integration.
“Dr. Karayaka really set the bar high regarding professionalism and leadership,” said Warner who graduated in the spring and is now working as a plant engineer at a chemical company. “He has played a pivotal role in my academic and professional success. I can’t stress enough how important his involvement as a faculty member at WCU has been for me.”
