Keynote address at ASTR Academic days -2011, Sept. 22, Timisoara, Romania

By Prof. Frede Blaabjerg, IEEE Fellow, Aalborg University, Denmark


"Renewable energy: the case of Denmark"


Outline


Denmark has since the mid-eighties changed their energy infra-structure from being a centralised fossil based system to a highly dispersed generating system with close to 50 % of the electrical energy coming wind and biomass. They have a plan to be completely independent on fossil fuel in 2050. The presentation will tell the story - describe how the system is today and also how it is expected to be in the next decades. One key technology is power electronics and this will esepcially be discussed how it will contribute to making the wind turbines to be real power plants and also how it may affect the future smart-grid system.


A short biography of Prof. Frede Blaabjerg, IEEE fellow, Aalborg University, Denmark


He was employed at ABB-Scandia, Randers, from 1987-1988. During 1988-1992 he was a PhD. student at Aalborg University. He became an Assistant Profes­sor in 1992 at Aalborg University, in 1996 Associate Professor and in 1998 full professor in power electronics and drives the same place. In 2000 he was visiting professor in University of Padova, Italy as well as he became part-time programme research leader at Research Center Risoe in wind turbines. In the period of 2006-2010 he was the dean of the faculty of Engineering, Science and Medicine at Aalborg University, Denmark. In 2002 he was visiting professor at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia as well as he became visiting professor for Zhejiang University, China. His research areas are in power electronics, static power converters, ac drives, switched reluctance drives, modelling, characterization of power semiconductor devices and simulation, power quality, wind turbines, custom power systems and green power inverter. He has been involved many research projects with the industry. Among them has been the Danfoss Professor Programme in Power Electronics and Drives. He is the author or co-author of more than 600 publications in his research fields including the book “Control in Power Electronics” (Eds. M.P. Kazmierkowski, R. Krishnan, F. Blaabjerg) 2002, Academic Press. Out of those +400 papers are registered in IEEExplore with more than 160 ISI-registered journal papers.

Dr. Blaabjerg is a member of the European Power Electronics and Drives Association and the IEEE Industry Applications Society Industrial Drives Committee. He is also a member of the Industry Power Converter Committee and the Power Electronics Devices and Components Committee in the IEEE Industry Application Society. He is associated editor of the IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Journal of Power Electronics and of the Danish journal Elteknik. From 2006 he has been Editor in Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics as well as Distingueshed lecturer for the IEEE Power Electronics Society from 2005 to 2007. It is followed up as Distingueshed lecturer for the IEEE Industry Applications Society from 2010 to 2012

He has served as member of the Danish Technical Research Council in Denmark 1997-2003 and from 2001-2003 he was chairman. He has also been chairman of the Danish Small Satellite programme and the Center Contract Committee which supports collaboration between universities and industry. He became a member of the Danish Academy of Technical Science in 2001 and in 2003 he became a member of the academic council. From 2002-2003 he became a member of the Board of the Danish Research Councils. In 2004-2006 he was chairman of the programme committee Energy and Environment. In 2007 he became a member of board of the Danish High Technology Foundation and 2008 member of the board of the Danish Strategic Research Council. Finally he is also member of a number of international research councils e.g. European Research Council.

He received the 1995 Angelos Award for his contribution in modulation technique and control of electric drives, and an Annual Teacher prize at Aalborg University, also 1995. In 1998 he received the Outstanding Young Power Electronics Engineer Award from the IEEE Power Electronics Society. He has received nine IEEE Prize paper awards during the last ten years (the last in 2008) and another prize paper award at PELINCEC Poland 2005. He received the IEEE Power Electronics Society Distingueshed Service Award in 2009 as well as the EPE-PEMC 2010 Council award. In 2002 he received the C.Y. O’Connor fellowship from Perth, Australia, in 2003 the Statoil-prize for his contributions in Power Electronics, in 2004 the Grundfos Prize in acknowledgement of his international scientific research in power electronics and finally the Director Ib Henriksens Research Prize for the acknowledgment of high level international research in power electronics. In 2010 he received the EPE-PEMC Council Award for his contributions in power electronics. He became IEEE Fellow in 2003.