Infrastructure protectionProtecting the electric grid, communication systems from solar storms
Considered the strongest solar storm on record, the 1859 Carrington Event disrupted telegraph operators and crippled communications systems. Today, even mild scale eruptions could disrupt communications technology and power grids, as bursts known as coronal mass ejections cause vibrations in the Earth’s magnetic field. According to NASA, those vibrations cause electric currents that can overwhelm circuitry and lead to prolong shutdowns. Solar researchers are working to develop monitors that can predict which solar storms can disrupt electric grids and global communications systems.
Considered the strongest solar storm on record, the 1859 Carrington Event disrupted telegraph operators and crippled communications systems. Today, even mild scale eruptions could disrupt communications technology and power grids, as bursts known as coronal mass ejections cause vibrations in the Earth’s magnetic field. According to NASA, those vibrations cause electric currents that can overwhelm circuitry and lead to prolong shutdowns.
Solar researchers are working to develop monitors that can predict which solar storms can disrupt electric grids and global communications systems. As more communities rely on overworked interconnected power grids, a power disruption in one city could shut down electricity to entire regions for days or weeks. “We’re vulnerable to this thing because our electrical system works at capacity. It really doesn’t take much to overload,” said Carles Badenes, an astrophysicist at the University of Pittsburgh; adding that “it has happened before. It will happen again. It’s just a matter of how long we have to wait for this.”
A March 1989 coronal mass ejection caused a 9-hour blackout in Quebec. A July 2012 solar storm was large enough to worry grid operators but it missed Earth. Since then, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. has assigned a task force to develop mandatory standards to gauge the resilience of power grids against solar bursts.
According to Trib Total Media, solar storms occur more often at the peak of the sun’s eleven-year activity cycles, one of which is approaching. Rob Rutledge, head of the Space Weather Forecast Office said researchers predict a 6 to 12 percent chance that a Carrington-level solar storm would touch Earth in the next ten years. “These are high-impact, low-probability events,” NASA program scientist Lika Guhathakurta said of the most dangerous flares.
Frank Koza, the infrastructure planning director for regional power transmission group, PJM Interconnection, said a Carrington-sized event could lead to blackouts in Pennsylvania, but power should be up in less than nine to twelve hours. PJM relies on detectors to monitor natural electrical currents that could destabilize the power grid serving thirteen states. The monitoring system was put in place after the Quebec blackout. PJM also relies on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to issue notices of potentially hazardous solar storms. “Don’t get me wrong. Blackouts are a big deal in the power business. It’s obviously something that would cause a lot of disruption,” said Koza. “But it’s something we can come back from.” PJM can reduce the flow or boost voltage between power grids to offset disruptions caused by solar flares, Koza said.
