Resilient, Intelligent and Sustainable Energy Systems (RISES) Center

UCF’s Resilient, Intelligent and Sustainable Energy Systems Center, or RISES, works to develop sustainable and resilient energy systems and storage to make sure we have power and stay connected when disasters strike.

This Center, which has grown from it’s original cluster origination, focuses upon holistic analysis, design, development and deployment of distributed renewable energy resources, including advanced information, communication, control and optimization technologies and the economic and management policies that go along with them.

This research helps integrate renewable resources into the power generation mix while generating better power quality and allowing energy customers to make informed and environmentally conscientious decisions.

Media & Other Resources:

• The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the University of Central Florida as the national winner of its seventh CyberForce Competition®, held on November 13. The event challenged 120 U.S. college and university teams from 33 states and the District of Columbia to thwart a simulated cyberattack.

“As cyber threats grow and we continue to develop the clean energy grid of the future, recruiting and retaining a highly skilled workforce to protect and defend our nation’s energy systems is critical,” said Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk. “I’m proud of the students who joined us this past weekend to expand their cyber skills and knowledge, while channeling their passion for cybersecurity.”

• Dr. Kelly Stevens, Assistant professor in UCF’s School of Public Administration and RISES research cluster initiative member, along with researchers at Ohio University, authored a report that argued for relaxing state regulations regarding what are known as power purchase agreements. They worked with Solar United Neighbors, a nonprofit that promotes solar energy production, along with RISES on the study. It concluded that by paving the way for more solar energy production could result in a $3 billion boost to the State of Florida along with supporting 18,000 jobs.

“The standards have improved, the technology has improved, but the rules haven’t changed,” Stevens said. “And so, there’s still these added requirements and insurance liability requirements that really add to the cost that make it more cost prohibitive for customers who would like to add solar to their property.”

The full story can be found here, with Spectrum News13

UCF Colleges Involved with Resilient, Intelligent and Sustainable Energy Systems (RISES) Center Research:

• RISES Center
• College of Engineering and Computer Science
• College of Optics and Photonics
• Florida Solar Energy Center
• College of Community Innovation and Education