Looking ahead, there are both great opportunities and great challenges in modernizing the electric power delivery system. I have compiled what I believe to be the top seven issues facing grid modernization.
The smart grid generates a LOT of data. For example, monthly meter reads are being replaced by hourly or more frequent reads, increasing the amount of data by about 1000 times. Used effectively, this data provides some great opportunities. For example:
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Analysts predicted at the end of 2018 that utility solicitations of storage as well as state legislative targets would drive the resource’s growth in 2019.
As the economics of storage and renewables improve, more utilities are including those pairings in their integrated resource plans and more state legislatures are looking at how to best incentivize battery storage.
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AutoGrid builds enterprise data software to help utilities, electric retailers, renewable energy project developers, and energy service providers deliver on the promise of a smart, renewable, clean, and affordable energy grid.
Ganti took the company’s mission to heart as he set about turning his new house in East Bay, California, into a real-life test bed for just such a smart, renewable and affordable grid — one that uses rooftop solar and residential storage (Tesla Powerwalls) to make Ganti’s home essentially “energy neutral” — he uses only as much or less than he takes from the grid.
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The nerve center for electric power transmission in California says that cyber attacks now pose the most serious threat to the grid. According to a June 14 report in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the California Independent System Operator (ISO) is fighting off several millions of attempted intrusions every month.
Hubert Hafner, the California ISO’s head of cyber security, said his network is “in the cross-hairs of terrorists and nation-states that want to harm the electric grid.”
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The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on critical R&D initiatives to modernize the power grid.
The cooperation of the organizations will facilitate the drive toward developing a roadmap for the power system looking out to 2040. It will involve working on EPRI’s vision of an Integrated Energy Network and the European Power System 2040.
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General Electric (GE) has rolled out a new portfolio of predictive analytics that could allow utilities to use data from transmission and distribution networks to achieve better operational efficiency as more distributed assets are introduced to the grid.
The company on June 11 unveiled three new grid analytics—for storm readiness, network connectivity, and effective inertia—that it said will “combine domain expertise with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to tackle pressing challenges in electric grid operations.”
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Be Prepared. Think Safety.