Florida Power & Light and GE Digital Launch State-of-the-Art Microgrid Control Laboratory at the University of Central Florida
Florida Power & Light and GE Digital have inaugurated the Microgrid Control Lab at the University of Central Florida. This advanced facility aims to provide engineering students with hands-on experience in grid control operations, emphasizing the importance of renewable energy sources for grid stability. The lab will support over 1,400 students in electrical or computer engineering, enhancing their skills for future careers in the energy sector. GE Digital also announced a new internship program to prepare students for roles in utilities and power sectors.
- The Microgrid Control Lab offers practical training for students, enhancing workforce readiness in the energy sector.
- GE Digital announced a new internship program aimed at developing future grid engineering leaders.
- The partnership involves philanthropic investment and design collaboration, benefiting students and companies alike.
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Microgrid Control Lab to serve as a hands-on facility that simulates a modern grid control room - Innovative research space to help America’s future engineers learning about critical issues and opportunities facing energy companies to ensure grid stability and reliability
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“The Microgrid Control Lab provides unprecedented access to a modern grid control center that enables some of the brightest young minds in the country to collaborate, learn and help reimagine the energy grid of tomorrow,” said
At today’s lab opening ceremony, leaders from the three organizations participated in a panel discussion focused on the engineering roles available to recent graduates in the energy sector and discussed opportunities for full-time employment. FPL and GE Digital together have approximately 400 UCF alumni in their workforces.
GE Digital also today announced a new internship program that invests in the development of its team and future grid engineering leaders. The program will offer UCF students an intensive experience in the utilities and power sectors and help students develop analytical and software development skills using emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Currently, more than 1,400 undergraduate and graduate students at UCF are studying electrical or computer engineering - disciplines that support energy systems and electricity grids. Another 500-plus UCF students have indicated they plan to pursue an electrical or computer engineering major once prerequisite coursework is completed.
UCF’s
“This new facility is exactly the kind of strategic partnership that makes UCF a premiere choice for students with future-focused career goals. GE Digital and FPL have been both philanthropic investors and design collaborators in this lab, ensuring our students in this field will be industry-ready on day one of their careers,” UCF President
The lab at UCF is designed to simulate the control center of a microgrid, a type of self-sufficient energy system that incorporates solar or other renewable energy sources and battery storage to power a small-scale area, independent of a large-scale grid.
“We are excited to bring this innovative research space to UCF engineering students,” said
The lab aims at safe, reliable, efficient and secure operation of large-scale distribution networks with extremely high penetration of renewables, a growing area in the energy industry. Through collaborating with industry and utility partners, UCF continues to offer students real-world opportunities as they prepare to go into careers that are shaping the future.
About the
About
About GE Digital
GE Digital transforms how our customers solve their toughest challenges by putting industrial data to work. Our mission is to bring simplicity, speed, and scale to digital transformation activities, with industrial software that delivers breakthrough business outcomes. GE Digital’s product portfolio – including grid optimization and analytics, asset and operations performance management, and manufacturing operations and automation – helps industrial companies in the utility, power generation, oil & gas, aviation, and manufacturing sectors change the way industry works. For more information, visit www.ge.com/digital.
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Media:
GE Digital
rachael.vanreen@ge.com
Media.Relations@fpl.com
561-694-4442
Heather.Smith@ucf.edu
407-823-3428
Source: GE Digital
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