Tag Archives: Electric Grid

A 21st-century reinvention of the electric grid is crucial for solving the climate change crisis

At-a-Glance: 

With the falling costs of wind and solar power and existing nuclear power plants, many analysts believe the U.S. can cost-effectively and reliably operate a power grid with 80% to 90% clean electricity, but decarbonizing the last 10% to 20% will be notably more challenging. Unlike coal and nuclear, solar and wind are variable; they provide power only when the sun and wind are available. Finding sources of flexibility is the key. To learn more read, A 21st-century reinvention of the electric grid is crucial for solving the climate change crisis

Key Takeaways:

  • Hailed as the greatest invention of the 20th century, our now-aging grid was initially based on a combination of “base load” coal plants that operated 24 hours a day and large-scale hydropower.
  • With the planet facing increasingly intense heat waves, drought, wildfires and storms, we must transition the electric grid to carbon-free wind and solar and convert most other fossil fuel users in transportation, buildings and industry to electricity.
  • The Biden administration’s goal is to have a carbon emissions-free grid by 2035. One recent study found that the U.S. will need to nearly triple its 2020 growth rate for the grid to be 80% powered by clean energy by 2030.
  • Converting to a 21st-century grid that is increasingly based on variable resources requires a completely new way of thinking. New sources of flexibility – the ability to keep supply and demand in balance over all time scales – are essential to enable this transition.
  • There are basically three ways to accommodate the variability of wind and solar energy: use storage, deploy generation in a coordinated fashion across a wide area of the country along with more transmission, and manage electricity demand to better match the supply.

Path to 100% Perspective:

It’s no longer a question of if the world will transition to a carbon-free future, but when will it arrive? We have the technology necessary for the energy transition, but ensuring the adequate adaptability for sustainable fuels is the next step. Utilities can act now, creating strategies and investing in the right technology to make the transition to net zero possible. Government leaders must support the transition with funding and policy change.

Sustainable fuels can serve as the solution to the long-term storage problem highlighted in the article -. providing a backup power supply when there is insufficient wind or solar power available.

A process called Power to Gas (PtG) can be used to convert surplus wind and solar energy into renewable fuels, like synthetic methane and hydrogen. Those sustainable fuels can be stored in large quantities and for extended periods for long periods of use when it’s needed like in times of extreme weather.  These fuels can be used to generate electricity in flexible power plants that can provide carbon neutral firm, dispatchable capacity to the grid at any time.

Photo by Andrey Metelev on Unsplash

The grid’s big looming problem: Getting power to where it’s needed

At-a-Glance:

In the punishing heat wave that struck the Pacific Northwest, about 17,000 electricity customers were without power in Washington state in June. Nearly 20,000 more were enduring blackouts in Idaho, Oregon, California and Nevada. Those aren’t devastating numbers, but they are a reminder that the electrical grid in America is frayed and always operating close to the edge. To learn more, read “The grid’s big looming problem: Getting power to where it’s needed.” Reading this article may require a subscription from the news outlet.

Key Takeaways:

  • A central issue is chronic congestion on transmission lines that bring power from where it’s made to where it’s wanted.
  • In Texas, ERCOT says congestion costs the state about $1 billion a year. In northern Vermont, officials have put a moratorium on new solar and wind projects, because the transmission lines can’t carry any more electricity.
  • A consequence of congestion is that wind and solar equipment is sometimes unable to operate because there is no room on the lines to carry their electricity. For example, in New York state last year, 62 gigawatt-hours of wind power was curtailed.
  • A larger problem is that wind, solar, and other projects can wait years before they get the green light to connect to transmission lines. Currently, the waiting list includes proposed renewable power plants capable of turning out 680 gigawatts.
  • Up to now, much of the country has pursued a market-based approach, with different companies producing, transmitting and distributing power.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Addressing grid capacity will be essential to realizing a 100% zero emission electricity system by 2035. To accommodate the significant amount of renewables to be installed, flexibility in the form of energy storage and carbon neutral flexible gas power plants will be key to balancing the grid. The U.S. will need 410 GW of new battery energy storage by 2035, combined with 116 GW of new flexible gas-fired power capacity operating on renewable bio or synthetic carbon neutral fuels.

 

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Time Is Running Out, But Net-Zero By 2050 Is Doable. Here’s How

At-a-Glance:

Decarbonization is a buzzword bandied about in policy and corporate circles. But defining it and planning for it are separate challenges. The Low-Carbon Resources Initiative is charting such a course – an effort led by the Electric Power Research Institute and the Gas Technology Institute. To learn more, read “Time Is Running Out But Net-Zero By 2050 Is Doable. Here’s How.” Reading this article may require a subscription.

Key Takeaways:

  • This five-year initiative brings together industry stakeholders to accelerate development and to demonstrate low- and zero-carbon energy technologies through clean energy research and development.
  • The initiative focuses on four core pathways:
  • The United States has reduced its annual energy-related CO2 release by about 1 billion tons since 2005. That represents a 14% reduction even as the U.S. economy grew by 28%.
  • The initiative says to reach mid-century targets of 80% CO2 reductions, the U.S. will have to double the current pace over the next 15 years.
  • “We need a portfolio of technologies,” says the Gas Technology Institute’s Mike Rutkowski. “Our initiative will bring scale and financial leverage – working with industry sponsors to multiple success and meet this global challenge.”

Path to 100% Perspective:

Net-zero by 2050 is possible, but it will take a concerted investment in the research and development of clean energy technologies, such as green hydrogen. The Low-Carbon Resources Initiative exemplifies the kind of collaboration that is needed to accelerate the pace of these investments and achieve a decarbonized power system before mid-century.

 

 

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California wastes its extra solar, wind energy. Could hydrogen be the storage key?

At-a-Glance:

No amount of solar panels and wind turbines alone will be enough for California to reach its goal of a clean electrical grid unless the state can solve its energy storage problem. The state already generates an abundance of energy from wind and solar farms, particularly during the sunny and blustery spring and early summer months. But it loses much of that energy because it has nowhere to store it, and unlike fossil fuels, the sun and wind are not dispatchable, and therefore are unable to be called on to generate power 24 hours a day. Utilities must rely on gas-fired power plants to keep up with California’s energy demands during peak demand periods. To learn more, read “California wastes its extra solar, wind energy. Could hydrogen be the storage key?” Reading this article may require a subscription.

Key Takeaways:

  • Some experts and legislators say the missing puzzle piece could be hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, which can be used as a zero-emission fuel for power plants, vehicles and machinery.
  • “I would say it’s almost the missing piece of the puzzle,” said Jussi Heikkinen, Director of Growth and Development at Wärtsilä Energy, a Finnish technology company that has built battery storage systems in California. “We don’t need to get rid of the power plants, but we need to get rid of fossil fuels.”
  • State Senator Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, is carrying a bill, SB18, that specifies the state’s climate and electrical grid plans include “green hydrogen,” or hydrogen gas that is produced using electricity from renewable sources.
  • According to Jack Brouwer, director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center, hydrogen is more effective for longer storage than batteries because it doesn’t lose energy over time and can be stored underground easily and cheaply.
  • Hydrogen advocates say that California ultimately needs a mix of hydrogen and batteries to reduce carbon emissions.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Investing in green hydrogen will be important as California looks to decarbonize its energy system. The state can turn this into a win-win by harnessing the excess power generated by existing wind and solar farms to produce hydrogen. The hydrogen can be stored and turned back into electricity using flexible thermal assets. Policies that enable rapid reductions in fossil fuel use and rapid increases in renewable generation in the electricity sector are a valuable piece to accelerating the decarbonization process. Legislation should steer electricity-sector decisions about investments, infrastructure and technology toward decisions that quickly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pave the way for a 100% renewable energy future

 

 

Photo by Mike Fox on Unsplash