Electric Power Research Center (EPRC)

Zhaoyu Wang and collaborators use data to manage grid transformers, boosting reliability to homes, farms
The researchers and partners will work together to develop a data-driven system that monitors the loads on distribution transformers and gives utilities real-time awareness of which boxes should be checked and potentially upgraded or replaced. Read More

July 29, 2024
Poster winners from the EPRC 61st Annual Meeting
The Electric Power Research Center held their 61st Annual Meeting that focused on Grid Resource Adequacy and Resilience. Read More

July 18, 2024
Electric Power Research Center: Sixty years of aiding industry, preparing students, inventing solutions
The Electric Power Research Center began in 1963 as the Power Affiliates Program. Its mission was to “advance research and graduate education in electric power systems and strengthen industry ties.” Read More

June 23, 2023
Growing crops in a solar farm’s footprint
A new Iowa State University research project will explore how to grow crops and keep bees amid solar panels. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, most of the research will be conducted a few miles south of Ames, where Alliant Energy plans to begin construction in April on a 1.35 megawatt solar farm. Read More

February 15, 2023
Designing tomorrow’s wind energy innovations in Collegiate Wind Competition
Cyclone Engineering’s Wind Energy team is on their way to compete in Phase 2 of the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2023 Collegiate Wind Competition. The Iowa State student group was selected as one of the 13 teams to compete in designing and building a prototype wind turbine, designing an offshore wind farm and presenting about wind energy careers and outreach. Read More

February 14, 2023
Iowa State selected for Foundational Agrivoltaic Research for Megawatt Scale (FARMS) funding program
The Foundational Agrivoltaic Research for Megawatt Scale (FARMS) funding program examines how agrivoltaics can provide new economic opportunities to farmers, rural communities, and the solar industry. Read More

December 13, 2022
Opportunities for seed grants to support student research on the topic of agrivoltaics
The Agriculture and Solar Together: Research Opportunities (ASTRO) advisory group members come from across the United States and represent leading solar industry partners, state agencies, and other organizations focused on research, food and agricultural, and the environment. Read More

July 26, 2022
Cyclone Engineers aim to advance battery science and technology for Naval applications
A team of Cyclone Engineers hope to advance the fundamental understanding and capabilities of lithium-based batteries for Naval applications with the help of a new grant from the Office of Naval Research. Read More

June 2, 2022
Zhaoyu Wang featured by ISU Foundation for advancing Iowa State as a world leader
Zhaoyu Wang, a former Harpole-Pentair Assistant Professor and currently the Northrop Grumman Associate Professor in electrical and computer engineering, knows America’s aging power grids are not prepared for the peril posed by climate change and cyberattacks. It’s one of America’s most pressing energy and infrastructure issues, for which Wang is seeking solutions through Department of Energy-funded research on microgrids. Read More

February 1, 2022
Macrogrid study: Big value in connecting America’s eastern and western power grids
A "macrogrid" that increases the electricity moving between America's Eastern and Western interconnections, two of the biggest power grids on the planet, would more than pay for itself, according to research papers published this summer and fall by the Interconnections Seam Study. An Iowa State research team developed computer models for the study. Read More

November 18, 2021
Iowa State, Illinois cybersecurity experts working to protect region’s infrastructure
Cybersecurity experts from Iowa State University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are working to build a coalition that will train and educate a workforce capable of defending critical infrastructure, including energy providers, from computer attacks. A two-year, $2 million grant from the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity, a part of the National Security Agency, will support the project. Read More

November 4, 2021
Coming up: Microgrids and Energy Storage for Emergency Grid Resilience Webinar Series
Microgrids and Energy Storage for Emergency Grid Resilience Webinar Series, presented by the U.S. DOE Office of Electricity Energy Storage Program, Iowa State University Electric Power Research Center, and Sandia National Laboratories Read More

September 1, 2021
EPRC Student Scoop: Jinqiang Liu
During his time at Iowa State University, Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate student Jinqiang Liu has collaborated with multiple individuals to help develop a… Read More

May 17, 2021
ECpE’s McCalley: The US needs a macrogrid to move electricity from areas that make it to areas that need it

April 9, 2021
Tapping smart meters’ potential for grid resilience: Zhaoyu Wang receives NSF CAREER award
Zhaoyu Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been selected for the 2021 National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development… Read More

April 7, 2021