FEUP student receives REN Prize with Master´s theses in the area of renewable energies

The winner of REN Prize 2019 edition for best Master's theses in the area of Energy was Nuno Gonçalo dos Santos Soares, from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP), achieving first place with a thesis on the integration of renewable energies. This was the first edition of the REN Prize open to doctoral theses. 

The REN Prize ceremony took place today, 9 December, in Lisbon, and was attended by the Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, who closed the session and by Rodrigo Costa, Chairman & CEO of REN, Francisco Pedro Balsemão, Chairman of the Impresa Group, and João Peças Lopes, chairman of the REN Prize jury, among others. The award ceremony was preceded by a presentation by Tom Rowlands-Rees, Head of Research EMEA, Bloomberg/BNEF, on the topic 'Are we ready for the energy transition?'.

The winning Master's thesis for the 2019 REN Prize was written by Nuno Gonçalo dos Santos Soares, from the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto (FEUP). This work is based on the assumption that with the increased integration of renewable energies into the electricity market, due to growing environmental concerns, there is a need to increase the system's flexibility, not only due to the variability of supply, but also due to the often unpredictable nature of renewable resources. It seeks to study flexible ramps in the context of the electricity market to increase the flexibility of the system, along with optimisation through DR programmes.
In second place, from Instituto Superior Técnico, was Guilherme Marto Paraíso, with a work on DC distribution networks, while the third place was awarded to Cláudio Miguel Marques Pinto dos Santos, from FEUP. This thesis concerns the implementation of automated distribution systems with intelligent technologies to improve the reliability and efficiency of system operation. Special Mentions were also awarded to João Pedro Pereira Carvalho and Vasco Miguel Agante Campos, both from FEUP.

Created in 1995, the REN Prize is an award for the best master's theses in the field of energy, written by students of Engineering, Economics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Information Systems, and Computer Science. This year's edition is the first to award doctoral theses, and this award will only be given biennially.

Winning theses in each of the 24 editions of the REN Prize have been following the defining changes and developments that have shaped the energy sector, anticipating challenges, identifying problems, and putting forward innovative solutions.

The winner of the Best Doctoral Thesis receives €30,000, while the winner of the Prize for the Best Thesis receives €25,000. Second place wins a prize of €15,000, and third place €10,000. Each special mention will receive a prize of €2,500.