Tom McDermott is a recognized expert in circuit simulation, distribution systems, lightning protection and power quality data analysis. But even better, he develops software tools to assist in those tasks.

McDermott is currently senior consulting engineer with EnerNex Corp. Early in his career, he established a specialty for performing transient studies as well as switching surge measurements in the field. He served as a principal investigator for the Electric Power Research Institute's early efforts to enhance the Electromagnetic Transients Program, producing the EMTP Primer and the EMTP Application Guide as the first in a series of new user documentation. He played a key role in developing the EPRI lightning protection design software for distribution systems and in the application of the EPRI DEWorkstation for distribution system design.

McDermott has helped develop a number of commercial software products for circuit simulation and finite element analysis, obtaining experience in a wide variety of simulation algorithms and modeling techniques. More recently, he has been involved with data analysis and simulation related to distributed generation and power quality. He is providing support to the Utility Wind Integration Group in the development of applications to analyze the impacts of wind turbines on utility distribution systems.

He will be leading the Distributed Wind Workshop in Fort Worth, Texas, on April 16. The workshop is a user group sponsored by the Utility Wind Integration Group.

“As a result of the distributed wind impacts project sponsored by UWIG, a core body of knowledge on the impacts of distributed wind projects on distribution feeders has been obtained,” the course description reads. This knowledge consists of a set of engineering software tools useful in studying the impact of the wind turbines on feeder voltage regulation, flicker, and overcurrent protective device coordination. The course presents the results of a distributed wind impacts project sponsored by UWIG, with application guides, case studies, long-term turbine monitoring and especially web-based software tools. This course is hands-on; students should bring a laptop and are also welcome to bring their own project data. See the course outline below.

The workshop will cover engineering software tools, the case study library, a measurement database and website, and application guides including IEEE 1547 and Flicker.

“Wind energy is receiving much attention lately, and wind plant integration raises a lot of interesting technical questions,” McDermott said. “Distributed wind projects have been held up by limited turbine availability over the past couple of years, but on the other hand, these small projects can put less strain on transmission resources and some of the financing incentives, like USDA grants and CREBs, have more impact on smaller projects. So distributed wind projects will once again become more important.”

McDermott will also be presenting “Designing and Maintaining a Pollution-Resilient Electric Power System,” at the IEEE PES Transmission & Distribution World Conference on April 23 in Chicago, Illinois. He has also taught short courses in Electromagnetic Transients Program usage, simulation for power electronics, insulation coordination, probability and statistics and lightning protection.

McDermott joined EnerNex as a consulting engineer before being promoted to senior consulting engineer in 2006. EnerNex is an electric power engineering and consulting firm specializing in the development and application of new electric power technologies to establish a cleaner, smarter, more reliable electric power system. It provides engineering services, consulting, and software development and customization for energy producers, distributors, users, and research organizations.

He has also worked at Ansoft Corp., Electrotek Concepts, Shaw/Power Technologies, and Westinghouse Electric Corp.

McDermott actually started out as a physics major at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, planning to become an astronomer. But with the cutbacks in space programs at that time, the career prospects didn’t look favorable, he said.

“So I went around to most of the engineering departments on campus and spoke with professors. The Electric Power Engineering Department professors impressed me the most; I liked the combination of academic and industrial experience they had, and also the unique nature of that department at RPI,” he said.

McDermott switched majors and took some co-op assignments at American Electric Power and has worked in the general field ever since. He went on to earn his B.S. in electric power engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1980 and his ME in 1981. He received a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1998. At Virginia Tech, his doctoral work involved the development and testing of a new algorithm for distribution system reconfiguration, which has been used by several utilities as part of the EPRI DEWorkstation.

He continues to keep his skills and knowledge up to date, which is what he encourages other engineers to do. “That’s probably the best form of job security. One of the best ways is through attending a short course, and teaching one is an even better way,” he said.

He enjoys being a consultant because of “the independence, flexibility, and many chances to try new things. Every consultant I know is extremely busy these days. After years or decades of hearing that power engineering would make a ‘comeback,’ now it finally appears to be happening.” McDermott said.

He is not only busy as a consultant, he is also a father of five, in grades four through 10. “There isn’t much spare time, and won’t be for awhile,” he said. But he does like to read, camp or play softball.

Distributed Wind Workshop Course Outline

1 - Screening Distributed Wind Projects

a - Wind Capacity Factor
b - Clean Renewable Energy Bonds, Production Tax Credits, USDA Grants
c - FERC Fast-track Acceptance
d - Voltage Flicker Screening

2 - Engineering Distributed Wind Projects

a - Interconnection Requirements
b - Wind Turbine Behavior and Modeling
c - Voltage Control on the Feeder
d - Overcurrent Protection on the Feeder
e - MultiSpeak Feeder Model Import

3 - Discussion and Future Plans