5. Telelab with Cloud Computing for Smart Grid Education

As the demand for energy increases, the need to generate and distribute energy to the customers with greater efficiency also increases. Introduction of smart grids provides platform for the utilities to collect and analyze consumption data in real time. This helps them to define the generation profile and offer competitive energy prices to the customers. Customer on the other hand can use the knowledge of his own consumption profile to define and tune his energy usage. Education about smart grid environment which involves software, hardware devices, and network technologies for data collection and analysis is important for both utilities and customers. Research and development in Internet technologies promote remote laboratory as a cost-effective solution for users located across the globe. Cloud computing platform can further reduce costs involved in data storage and software used. This paper presents the idea of developing the remote laboratory located at South Westphalia University in Soest, Germany, further by integrating cloud computing and smart grid simulation environment. This will educate people across the globe by offering them hands on experience on smart grid technology and thus will contribute to the field of power engineering education.