By: Otto Gunderson
Mar 31, 2023
As the U.S. continues to see the highest levels of renewable
energy investment in its history, the investment required to expand and improve
the energy transmission grid will need to keep pace. This is happening through
a combination of private investment and support by the Biden administration.
Private companies such as National Grid are investing heavily in grid
innovation, while the Biden administration announced $13 billion in new funding
opportunities for the modernization and expansion of the electric grid. This
funding will be split between the Grid Resilience Innovative Partnership (GRIP)
and the Transmission Facilitation Program.
The GRIP grid resilience utility and industry grants will be
focused on grid transmission and distribution technology with the intention of
mitigating potential disruptions to the power system — such as floods,
hurricanes, and wildfires. Smart grid grants are intended to improve
reliability, efficiency, and flexibility in the electric power system. These
grant recipients will include projects focused on integrating renewable energy,
increasing capacity, and preparing for the growth of electric vehicles in the
market. Lastly, the grid innovation program funds states, tribes, local
governments, and public utility commissions as they seek to collaborate with
grid owners and operators to improve transmission, storage, and distribution.
Projects which improve grid storage will be of particular importance. Pradeep
Tagare, Vice President and Head of Corporate Venture Fund at National Grid
Partners, the CVC arm of National Grid, observed how the storing of excess
energy will be a particular challenge, as only so much will be taken from the
grid at a specific time. However, he provided optimism by adding that there are
many companies currently innovating in the grid storage sector, including
LineVision, a sensor technology that can unlock up to 40% more capacity on
power lines, and TS Conductor, a new and innovative power line technology that
increases capacity by 2x.
Additionally, the Transmission Facilitation Program funds
the creation of large-scale new transmission lines, upgrades for existing
transmission lines, and the establishment of microgrids in certain areas. This
program will provide up to $2.5 billion to create new high-capacity
transmission lines or increase the capacity of existing transmission lines. The
Department of Energy is authorized to purchase up to 50% of the maximum
capacity of the transmission line, which will increase investor confidence and
reduce project risk. This will be particularly important as electric vehicles
enter the market, as energy demand will become more distributed as EVs have the
ability to charge from anywhere.
The need to build the power grid to incorporate new
renewable energy projects has become evident, as the majority of the US power
grid was built between the 1960s and 1970s. Research done through the Princeton
Net Zero America Study found that “nearly 3 trillion in capital must be
mobilized for energy-supply infrastructure in the 2020s (to achieve net-zero
pathways.)” This report released a list of priority actions that must occur
from 2020–2030 that will make the net-zero by 2050 goal feasible. These include
expanding high-voltage transmission capacity by 60% to improve the delivery of
renewable energy and the planning and permitting of additional energy
transmission to allow for further solar and wind expansion.
One of the biggest ways in which this can be accomplished is
by focusing on inter-regional transmission which would significantly reduce the
cost. The decentralization of the grid to better incorporate renewable energy
will also play a critical role in reaching the goal of net zero emissions.
Tagare described how this commitment to decentralization is a field in which
companies are constantly innovating. This decentralization will include
transmission and grid upgrades. Tagare describes how, “interconnection times
right now are long and are not well matched with where renewable energy
occurs.” Decentralization, along with digitization and decarbonization, are the
basis for the National Grid investment strategy, which has a $400 million fund
and has already invested in 40 companies.
Grid investment, whether through the Biden administration or
through private enterprise, is essential to the development of the renewable
energy industry. This is especially true as electric vehicles (EVs) continue to
enter the market. As Tagare remarked, “there is growing recognition that the
grid needs to be upgraded. As penetration of EVs increases, the demands on the
grid are going to increase.” The transition to a carbon-neutral country relies
on a far reaching and efficient power grid, one that needs to be a priority for
US public and private investment going forward.
Source: https://bit.ly/3nG43G7
( https://cleantechnica.com/ )
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