• Northwest Region-Wide Effort for the Next Generation Electrical Grid

    Smart grids offer an important defense against climate change: smart devices improve energy efficiency and data and automation help keep grids stable, even if the share of renewable energy increases. They thus address the problem of short-term disruptions to solar and wind power, such as when clouds obscure the sun or winds die down.

  • Making the Power Grid More Reliable and Resilient

    The U.S. power grid comprises nearly 12,000 power plants, 200,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines, 60,000 substations and 3 million miles of power lines. It may well be the most massive and complex machine ever assembled. Argonne National Labs’ researchers help keep this machine working in the face of daunting challenges.

  • AI Can Predict Electricity Grid Loads from Road and Rail Usage Data

    To satisfy demand and manage consumption peaks, electricity suppliers have to be able to predict grid loads. Researchers havedeveloped an artificial intelligence system capable of accurately anticipating grid loads from road and rail traffic data.

  • Two Men Sentenced in Plot to Attack Power Grids in the United States

    Two men were sentenced in federal court Friday, 21 April, for crimes related to a scheme to attack power grids in the United States in furtherance of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism. DHS and the FBI have warned that domestic terrorists were increasingly focused on disrupting the U.S. power grid.

  • SUPER Technology Manages Intelligent Building Blocks for a More Reliable Electric Grid

    As the United States transitions to cleaner energy and more U.S. consumers adopt electric vehicles, the grid is facing new power flow demands. Researchers are tackling this challenge by creating a new architecture to modernize the grid from the bottom up, starting with consumers and expanding to the entire power distribution system.

  • New Sodium, Aluminum Battery Aims to Integrate Renewables for Grid Resiliency

    A new battery design could help ease integration of renewable energy into the nation’s electrical grid at lower cost, using Earth-abundant metals.

  • Powering the Nation: How to Fix the Transformer Shortage

    America’s electric grid relies on transformers — electrical components that convert voltage, enabling power distribution to homes and businesses. Disruptions to transformer operations, such as natural disasters, extreme weather, or cyber/physical attacks, cause substantial economic damage. Securing the transformer supply chain is critical to ensure resilience, expand renewable power, and strengthen grid safety. To mitigate potential disruptions, Congress should spur the supply of transformers by investing in domestic transformer manufacturing and workforce development.

  • Extremist Couple Charged in Plot to Destroy Baltimore’s Power Grid

    Two extremists have been charged Monday with conspiracy to attack and destroy energy facilities around Baltimore in a plot to “completely destroy” the city. The man, the founder of the neo-Nazi group Atomwaffen, and his accomplice appear to be part of trend among domestic violent extremists to target the U.S. electrical grid. In recent years, DHS and the FBI have discovered several such conspiracies to take down the power system, with the most recent attacks taking place in North Carolina and Washington State.

  • Restoring Power to the Grid

    Computer scientists have been working on an innovative computer model to help grid operators quickly restore power to the electric grid after a complete disruption, a process called a black start.

  • Science and Supercomputers Help Utilities Adapt to Climate Change

    Northern Illinois traditionally enjoys four predictable seasons. But climate is changing, with big repercussions for the people who live in the region and the power grid that supports them.

  • Two Charged with Attacks on Four Washington State Power Substations

    Two men were arrested earlier this week following attacks on four power substations in Washington state. DHS and the FBI have repeatedly warned in recent months of a rise in threats to critical infrastructure by anti-government groups and domestic extremists.

  • Towers in the Storm

    The problem with the U.S. electrical grid is that many transmission towers have exceeded their design life by about 50 years, which means the aging grid today faces bigger chances of failure. One threat to the grid is from damaging winds of extreme storms such as hurricanes.

  • Concerns About Extremists Targeting U.S. Power Stations

    Attacks on four power stations in Washington State over the weekend added to concerns of a possible nationwide campaign by far-right extremists to stir fears and spark civil conflict. Violent extremists “have developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure since at least 2020, identifying the electric grid as a particularly attractive target given its interdependency with other infrastructure sectors,” the DHS said in a January.

  • Smart Inverters’ Vulnerability to Cyberattacks Needs to Be Identified and Countered

    A survey of threats to microgrids from small power sources can help security experts develop solutions.

  • Using Blockchain to Increase Electric Grid Resiliency

    Blockchain is best known for securing digital currency payments, but researchers are using it to track a different kind of exchange: It’s the first time blockchain has ever been used to validate communication among devices on the electric grid.