How can weather cause disruption to such powerful technology?įor instance, a lightning strike can hit the electrical infrastructure, or strike a tree which may fall onto the power lines.
Severe weather is by far the most common cause of an outage, with costs to the United States economy adding up to $33 billion annually. Reason for US Power Grid FailureĪ wide variety of events can cause disruption of the electrical grid. The operation and maintenance of power infrastructure is an extremely capital-heavy industry and just like any other capital-heavy industry, its consolidation would unlock a number of efficiencies – including a $47.2 billion a year savings on utility bills. While all the systems run at an average frequency of 60Hz, they are not in sync with one another and therefore cannot be directly connected. Electric Reliability Council of Texas ( (ERCOT) GridĮRCOT covers most of the territory of Texas. The Western Interconnection or Grid comprises the area west of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains to the Pacific coast. The Eastern Interconnection or Grid comprises the largest area of the country, from the Great Plains territory (excluding most of Texas) eastward to the Atlantic coast. The Eastern grid and the Western grid mimick the division along the Rocky Mountains (‘The Rockies’) while the state of Texas has its own electric grid. They operate independently of each other and exchange very little energy. There are three separate energy networks in the country’s power grid system, split into three regions. The United States does not actually have a national energy grid. If a fault occurs on the network and the power goes out, you should contact your local utility company to come to fix it as soon as possible. This process is run by the state utility providers, who own and operate the country’s electricity system. Finally, electricity arrives at the poles that reduce it to a safe smaller amount that can be delivered to your home. Once it reaches the residential neighborhood, another transformer reduces the voltage to move the energy through smaller, lower voltage lines. PNNL plays a leading role in developing a power grid that enables real-time predictive operation to improve reliability and efficiency incorporates advanced controls that engage new devices and enable new services at scale while ensuring resilience and uses new approaches and technologies, such as energy storage, microgrids, and transactive energy, to provide flexibility in support of an array of energy futures.When electricity is generated by one of the 30,000 energy power plants around the country, the connected transformers crank up the voltage so the electricity can travel long distances through the high-voltage transmission network. We are a national leader, with deep scientific knowledge and technical resources, defining the modern grid for the 21st century. Achieving this resilience is essential, even as we attain higher standards of performance in reliability, cost of service, efficiency, environmental impact, and safety.Īt PNNL, we are taking on the toughest challenges presented by grid modernization. We also must address load volatility and power quality issues caused by the intermittency of renewable energy resources such as solar and wind. We must protect the nation’s power delivery system from cyber and physical attacks and from extreme weather events and natural disasters. Our grid must also be made more resilient. But in its current state, the grid is not ready to meet the growing electricity needs of our digital economy, nor is it ready to meet the complex challenges brought on by widespread adoption of distributed energy resources, the electrification of transportation, and increased customer choice. It is often described as one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. The electric grid powers our daily lives and our nation’s economy. Interdiction Technology and Integration Laboratory.Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory.Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center.Atmospheric Radiation Measurement User Facility.Linus Pauling Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship.Distinguished Graduate Research Programs.Marine Energy Resource Characterization.Environmental Monitoring for Marine Energy.Hydropower Cybersecurity and Digitalization.Environmental Performance of Hydropower.
Mass Spectrometry-Based Measurement Technologies.