NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Mathematical modeling and control of the electric grid has been an active area of research for decades. However, in 1996 a major outage that affected 11 Western states and 2 Canadian provinces—coupled with emerging concerns that computers would malfunction after December 31, 1999—increased awareness of a lack of complete understanding of the overall system and its frailties. For several decades the Electric Power Research Institute funded a program of research to develop tools for recognizing early signs of instability and means to counter them. That research was largely of a mathematical nature.
Archive for the ‘Smart Grid’ Category
Lights Out? Storm Surge, Blackouts, and How Clean Energy Can Help
Monday, November 2nd, 2015UNION OF CONCERNED SCIENTISTS
To maintain our present and future access to reliable electricity—and all the health, safety, and economic benefits such access allows—we must prepare our electric grid for increased coastal flooding. One necessary approach is adapting electricity infrastructure. However, it is also critical to simultaneously pursue solutions that go beyond intervening with specific pieces of equipment. For that, we can look to bolstering the overall electricity resilience of critical facilities and vulnerable populations.
Toward a 21st Century Electricity System in California
Monday, August 31st, 2015ADVANCED ENERGY ECONOMY INSTITUTE (AEE INSTITUTE)
California’s portfolio of policies, statutes and regulatory actions, whether existing or proposed, has set the state on a path to significant de-carbonization of its energy sector. When coupled with broader industry and societal trends, a transformation of the grid is underway at both the wholesale and retail levels.
Guest on The Infra Blog: Graham Richard, CEO, Advanced Energy Economy (AEE)
Wednesday, August 19th, 2015Graham Richard is CEO of Advanced Energy Economy (AEE), a fast growing national association of businesses working toward a prosperous future based on secure, clean, affordable energy, and CEO of the Advanced Energy Economy Institute, AEE’s charitable and educational affiliate.
“We’re seeing consumer power has been growing, meaning the clout that consumers have in many different dimensions of our economy. And I see that happening now in energy. In that same opportunity where consumers want to know where that power’s coming from, they want to know what the cost is—but they’re also willing, when you have an opportunity to explain what the technology could do, to improve that aging infrastructure.”
View this complete post...Easing the Transition to a More Distributed Electricity System
Friday, March 6th, 2015INTERSTATE RENEWABLE ENERGY COUNCIL (IREC)
In recent years, new technologies have emerged on the customer side of the electric system, including distributed energy resources (DER) such as distributed generation, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, energy storage and demand response technologies, among others. These technologies are allowing growing numbers of energy consumers to decrease their electricity demand, act as energy producers and otherwise manage their energy usage…Together, these compounding factors have driven the movement toward a more modern grid that enables significant increases in the amount of clean energy produced; universal consumer access and facilitation of consumer choice, including the adoption of DER; integrated resource planning; two-way flow of energy and information; and increased reliability, security and resiliency.
INFOGRAPHIC: Understanding the Grid
Wednesday, November 19th, 2014Ever since Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla battled it out during the War of the Currents in the late 19th century, electricity has been a central part of life in America. We are constantly connected to the power grid, which keeps our food refrigerated, our homes heated, our computers running and our rooms lit. Power lines, transmission stations and power plants have become a part of the landscape — to the point that we hardly notice them.
View this complete post...Climate Change & Resilience: Recommendations to the President
Tuesday, November 18th, 2014PRESIDENT’S STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL LEADERS TASK FORCE ON CLIMATE PREPAREDNESS AND RESILIENCE
At state, local, tribal, and territorial levels, leaders are making bold decisions on ways to invest in more resilient infrastructure, revise land use, update building codes, and adjust natural resource management and other practices to improve the resilience of their communities to climate impacts. The Federal Government has a critical role to play in supporting these efforts by ensuring that Federal policies and programs incorporate climate change, incentivize and remove barriers to community resilience, and provide the information and assistance communities need to understand and prepare for climate risks.
Blackout: Extreme Weather, Climate Change and Power Outages
Wednesday, April 23rd, 2014CLIMATE CENTRAL
Climate change is causing an increase in many types of extreme weather. Heat waves are hotter, heavy rain events are heavier, and winter storms have increased in both frequency and intensity. To date, these kinds of severe weather are among the leading causes of large-scale power outages in the United States. Climate change will increase the risk of more violent weather and more frequent damage to our electrical system, affecting hundreds of millions of people, and costing Americans and the economy tens of billions of dollars each year.
This Infra Week
Friday, January 31st, 2014INFRA STORIES YOU SHOULDN’T MISS!
San Bernardino, California: Divided No More
Miami Transportation Planners Light the Way
Big Energy Buildings Go Greener
Sprucing Up the Waiting Game
Atlanta Snowstorm Strands Drivers
Strategic Directions: Utility Automation and Integration
Friday, January 31st, 2014BLACK & VEATCH
Since the rollout of the first smart grid programs, there has been a realization that automation and “smart” programs benefit all types of utilities and infrastructure systems. Gas and water smart grids, for example, will result in more efficient storage, improved distribution, reductions in system losses and expanded customer engagement.
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