Dr. Sen

The usage of electricity is rapidly increasing due to the fast adoption of mega-sized data centers, electric vehicles, etc. To combat the greenhouse effect, the generation of renewable energy is also skyrocketing. However, the other important piece of the puzzle is to transport electricity from where it is generated to where it is used in load centers in the most reliable, efficient and affordable way. The power industry’s pressing need for the most economical ways to transfer bulk power along a desired path may be met by building new transmission lines, which is a long and costly process. Alternatively, it may be quicker and cheaper to utilize the existing transmission lines more efficiently. Power flow control in a transmission line is an art that is still being perfected. The presentation will cover

·         basic principles of power flow control theory,

·         an overview of the most commonly used power flow controllers, and their merits and demerits, and

·         future trends.

The audience will hear from an expert who actually designed and commissioned a number of power electronics-based FACTS controllers since their inceptions in the 1990s.

Biography:

Speaker: Kalyan Sen is the President & Chief Technology Officer of Sen Engineering Solutions, Inc. (www.sentransformer.com) that specializes in developing SMART power flow controllers—a functional requirements-based and cost-effective solution. Kalyan worked for 33 years in academia and industry. He was a key member of the Flexible Alternating Current Transmission Systems (FACTS) development team at the Westinghouse Science & Technology Center for which he became a Westinghouse Fellow Engineer. He contributed to concept development, simulation, design, and commissioning of FACTS projects at Westinghouse. He conceived some of the basic concepts in power flow control technology for which he was elevated to the IEEE Fellow grade with the citation: for the development and application of power flow control technology. He is the Co-inventor of the Sen Transformer, which is commercially available to regulate ±6.5 MVA line power in a 33 kV line.

Kalyan holds BEE, MSEE, and PhD degrees, all in Electrical Engineering, and an MBA. He is a licensed Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania and New York. Kalyan has authored or coauthored more than 25 peer-reviewed publications, 8 issued patents, 2 books, and 3 book chapters in the areas of power flow control and power electronics. He has been serving as an IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Distinguished Lecturer since 2002. In that capacity, he has given presentations on power flow control technology more than 200 times in 20 countries. He serves IEEE Society on Social Implications of Technology (SSIT) Board of Governors as Education Committee Chair. He also serves IEEE Region 2 as its Professional Activities Chair.