Overview

The Sustainable Integrated Grid Initiative (SIGI) targets research and implementation of systems that demonstrate the successful integration of intermittent renewable energy, energy storage, and all types of battery electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and motors. Recent research and demonstrations focus on bidirectional EV charging, microgrid energy operations, and water-energy nexus management strategies.

SIGI was developed specifically to research and implement systems that demonstrate the successful integration of intermittent renewable energy, energy storage, and all types of electric and hybrid electric vehicles. UCR has well-established microgrid testbeds and laboratories for pre-commercial testing of new technologies in a "living lab" environment. Over the last six years, researchers have designed and implemented numerous microgrid systems including 2.2 MWh of battery energy storage, over 11 MW solar PV, 8 MW of Thermal Energy Storage (TES) for chiller operations, and multiple electric vehicle chargers including supervisory control and data acquisition systems. 

These unique microgrid/smart-grid testbeds with plug-and-play capabilities possess the ability to validate various Hardware in Loop (HiL) scenarios. In addition to energy system modeling, UCR can utilize its microgrid testbed for evaluating specific microgrid designs that will be placed elsewhere.  These testbeds are suited for researching and testing of different strategies and technologies in the real world, from building to neighborhood-scale applications.