On October 29, Professor Gareth Harrison, Bert Whittington Chair in Electrical Power Engineering at the University of Edinburgh, UK, together with Principal Investigator Sun Wei, visited the Department of Electrical Engineering and Applied Electronics (EEA) at Tsinghua University and delivered academic lectures respectively. Professor Gareth Harrison presented on the topic “Accelerating Power System Decarbonization”, while Sun Wei presented on “Assessing Data Center Flexibility: Current Capabilities and Future Prospects”. Kang Chongqing, Dean of EEA, Sun Kai, Deputy Dean, and Associate Researcher Guo Hongye attended the event. The seminar was chaired by Guo Hongye, with more than 20 postdoctoral fellows and graduate students from the department participating.

Scene of the Seminar

Guo Hongye Chairing the Seminar

During the seminar, Gareth Harrison conducted an in-depth discussion of the historical transformations experienced by the UK power system in addressing climate change. He emphasized the integration of renewable energy and the profound impacts of emerging power loads on the system. Harrison pointed out that future power systems will face a series of complex challenges, and that maintaining secure and economical electricity supply while achieving decarbonization targets will be of critical importance.

Harrison Delivering His Presentation

Sun Wei focused on the flexibility of data centers, analyzing the pressure of their energy consumption within the global energy system. He introduced a reinforcement learning framework designed to optimize data center operations, balancing carbon emission reduction with the maintenance of high service quality. Through case studies, Sun Wei demonstrated the effectiveness of this framework in supporting low-carbon operations and enhancing coordination between data centers and power systems, highlighting the important role of data centers in future sustainable development.

Sun Wei Delivering His Presentation

After the presentations, attending faculty members and students engaged in discussions with the speakers on topics such as the integration of high shares of renewable energy into power systems. At the conclusion of the event, Kang Chongqing and Harrison held more in-depth discussions on power systems and decarbonization planning in their respective countries, exploring the challenges and opportunities of power system transitions in both nations.

Group Photo of Some Participants

Speakers’ Biographies:

Gareth Harrison is currently the Bert Whittington Chair Professor in Electrical Power Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. He has held multiple administrative leadership roles within the School of Engineering and currently serves as its Dean. His research focuses on power systems with high shares of renewable energy, and he is well known for applying meteorological modeling and optimization methods to the operation and planning of power networks. He is currently a co-investigator on multiple projects funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) as well as Ofgem/Innovate UK, covering areas such as energy storage and power networks. He previously served as Deputy Director of the EPSRC UK Centre for Integrated Energy Systems (2016–2022) and as Principal Investigator of the EPSRC project on Adaptation and Resilience of Energy Systems (2012–2015), which examined the impacts of climate change on energy system resilience. In addition, he has participated as a co-investigator in several UK–EU collaborative projects. Gareth Harrison is a Chartered Engineer in the UK and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET).

Dr. Sun Wei received his PhD in Power Systems Engineering from the University of Edinburgh and is currently a Principal Investigator (Presidential Fellow) in the field of Integrated Energy Systems at the university. His research addresses the planning and operation of smart energy systems, with a focus on the development and application of novel optimization methods. He has previously served as a lead researcher at the UK Centre for Integrated Energy Systems and has participated in multiple EPSRC-funded projects related to energy storage, energy system resilience, and green hydrogen. Dr. Sun Wei is also a Chartered Engineer in the UK.