Meet our people: Dr Qinmiao Li

We make renewable energy “friendlier”

It’s a very good time to be working in the energy industry! Everyone is talking about the energy transition, exploring renewables and green energy.

My goal – in addition to serving customers – is to make renewable energy generation friendlier to the existing power grid! This was the topic of my research when I was getting my PhD at North Carolina State University. Specifically, I studied how to control renewable energy generation.

It’s important because everyone agrees we need more renewable sources of energy, but when we put things like PV (photovoltaic cells) and wind turbines into the grid, they cause pressure on it. This is because renewable energy is not controllable. These sources don’t adjust their output according to the power system’s needs. With thermal generation, grid operators can increase or decrease output as needed in real time.

I hope to design a way to control, say, a PV system that can react immediately and appropriately to the grid’s fluctuating needs. 

We add value with new solutions

As consultants, my teammates and I get to interact directly with customers, more so than with any stake holder in the company. Consultants get to meet customers directly, speak to them directly, and solve their problems directly. It's the perfect opportunity to stay on top of the market: What's trending and what customers need right now.

For example, recently we had a customer from a utility company in China. They asked us to develop a new power system planning tool for them. Along the way, we discovered that a newly emerged generation unit which aggregates energy storage, PV, load, and even thermal generation was not considered in their original scope of developing this tool. Despite that this new generation unit behaves differently than other conventional ones, we were able to account for this new unit in the planning tool. Because of that, they could model also how these new units would impact their grid.

It was an added value for the customer as it made them really proactive and demonstrated their innovative approach to grid planning. Our partnership proved to be a win for all parties!

Why I chose Hitachi Energy

I enjoy working for Hitachi Energy for many reasons. One, it’s an international company. I spent a long time in the US, and I wanted to work for a company with a certain kind of culture and management approach. Hitachi Energy has the global culture I was looking for in an employer.

Second, we have a very strong technical foundation. We have the most advanced technology behind everything we do: Support for projects, discussions with customers, everything. Customers believe in Hitachi Energy’s technology!

Finally, Hitachi Energy makes it easy to develop professionally, to learn new things and new technologies. I still get to do research! I appreciate having such a strong base to grow from.

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