GRID RESILIENCEResilient Power Systems in the Context of Climate Change
As extreme weather events increase in frequency and society’s dependence on electricity grows, scientists are focusing on issues at the nexus of water and energy, recognizing that water and energy systems are strongly coupled and already stressed.
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other institutions joined industry stakeholders in exploring solutions for power grid climate resilience at the Climate READi Southeast workshop co-hosted by EPRI and ORNL’s Water Power Program on April 10-11.
As extreme weather events increase in frequency and society’s dependence on electricity grows, EPRI launched Climate READi, or the REsilience and ADaptation Initiative, to deliver a comprehensive, consistent and collaborative approach to mitigate physical climate risk, ensure resilient energy and enable robust planning.
DOE national laboratory scientists have long worked on issues at the nexus of water and energy, recognizing that water and energy systems are strongly coupled and already stressed. “Climate change is now exacerbating that stress,” said ORNL Deputy for Science and Technology Susan Hubbard at the Knoxville, Tennessee, workshop. “We now recognize that it is important to consider energy resiliency and decarbonization in the context of climate change and across key regions.”
The gathering and similar outreach efforts are a good opportunity to bring together many voices to find solutions to fortify grid operations against extreme weather such as hurricanes and unusual winter storms that have impacted southeastern power in the last several years, she said.
Morgan Scott, director of EPRI’s Climate READi effort, said the gathering provides the opportunity to concentrate on regionally specific hazards with a science-first focus. The workshop addressed two challenging climate hazards in the Southeast, extreme cold and hurricanes, that can significantly impact both coastal and inland communities and how to inform power system planning in the region with these hazards in mind. With a wide variety of attendees in the room, including power companies and Climate READi Affinity Group members, Scott said “we’re here to facilitate bridging the gap between the scientific community and power practitioners.”
DOE’s national labs are uniquely suited to address the issue with their multi-disciplinary focus, Hubbard emphasized. Science and technology expertise and resources at ORNL such as Earth-scale system models and grid simulations running on the world’s fastest supercomputer can help planners better understand how the environment and energy systems are changing. Detailed data on power outages, watersheds and energy infrastructure, combined with real-time grid situational awareness tools can help utility planners, regulatory authorities, first responders and other decision-makers better predict and prepare the grid system for extreme events.
