Abstract:
A global sustainable future is being increasingly threatened by adverse environmental impacts of global warming. This is believed to be caused primarily by greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere during generation of energy needed for day-to-day energy needs, social comfort, mobility and overall economic growth of a society. The quest for sustainable future in various societal dimensions including sustainable mobility and sustainable economic and societal development has led to a renewed focus on the research on sustainability in energy production, as it is central to modern life and a key driver of economic growth.
An exponential growth in the demand for electric energy to meet societal needs is mainly driven by two factors: (i) to replace other forms of energy, such as human/animal muscle energy, with modernization and economic prosperity, and (ii) to shift from petroleum-based resources to environment-friendly electric energy. The growth in energy demand must be accompanied by adequate investment in energy generation technologies in order to ensure a reliable supply of electricity to the society. Lack of supply reliability results in excessive power outage costs and “lost opportunity” costs for economic development. Energizing a sustainable future requires investment in renewable energy and supporting technologies, such as energy storage systems and smart monitoring/control of energy supply and demand. It will be very challenging to achieve reliable energy systems that are affordable to the society, and meet the global sustainability goals. This talk will focus the role of sustainability of energy systems, and the challenges in supporting a sustainable future.

Biography – Dr. Rajesh Karki is a professor in the department of Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. He is the director of the Reliability Research Lab in the Power System Research Group. He is a Fellow of Engineers Canada. He specializes in the area of power system reliability and value based reliability investment with 30 years of experience in research, application, education and consulting work for electric power industries and academic/research institutions. His research includes renewable energy, storage, smart-grid initiatives and electricity market implications on the environmental compliance, efficiency, reliability and resiliency of power systems. He has published over 150 technical papers, 5 books, many book chapters and technical reports in this field. He serves in the editorial board of several journals.