Robust resiliency for the nation's power grid may be just around the corner

October 31, 2014

It's no news that the nation's power grid is in near jeopardy. Reuters reported in early October that intense energy demands caused by last winter's polar vortex pushed the country's power infrastructure closer to the brink than it had been in several years. Over 35,000 megawatts worth of generators were lost due to fuel and equipment failures last winter. Resiliency issues continue to be rampant and routine. Data Center Knowledge noted that the U.S. is impacted by 500,000 power outages a day. The ramping up of more renewables is advancing resiliency issues due to their intermittent nature. Thankfully governments and businesses are turning to microgrids and energy storage solutions.

California leading the hunt for a smarter grid
California is one of the most energy-progressive states in the Union, ranking first in geothermal energy production, second in net renewable energy generation and fourth in collecting energy from hydroelectric sources. The state has also been historically adept at minimizing energy use, ranking 49th in energy consumption per capita in 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Many cutting-edge energy companies utilize California as a base of operation and a testing ground for the technology that could shape the future of the nation's power grid.

Advanced Microgrid Solutions, for example, assists commercial buildings and university campuses in implementing microgrids and energy storage solutions that naturally grow in scale with school or corporate campuses. This approach offers far greater flexibility than construction of new power plants when it comes to expanding the power grid to meet increasing energy demands, says Greentech Media. Advanced Microgrid Solutions CEO and former California Public Utilities Commercial Commissioner Susan Kennedy is also leading the state's utility companies in coaxing the state's lawmakers to pass energy storage-friendly regulations.

Government driving microgrid development
Federal agencies are enthusiastic about energy solutions that utilize distributed energy storage to supplement microgrid applications. Sandler Research reports that the worldwide market for energy storage intended to support microgrids will grow by 19 percent between 2013 and 2018, notes PR Web. Much of this growth is expected to be driven by government loans and grants directed toward improving grid security and developing additional energy storage strategies. Installations of microgrids across the country are also expected to increase as power management and energy storage innovation pave the way to enhance the power grid.

Energy storage key to improving resilience
New advances in distributed energy storage may also be critical to finding a long-term solution for the grid's resiliency problems. In fact, an article published by the Environmental Defense Fund analyzing the future of renewable energy in New Jersey pointed toward the use of energy storage as essential to improving the resiliency of the state's power grid. The advantages of implementing energy storage were evident following Hurricane Sandy. The state's Action Plan noted that systems that ran on a mix of energy storage and renewables remained resilient through the superstorm while grid-dependent sectors suffered massive infrastructure failures. These results echoed a report released by the Obama administration from a year prior to the hurricane that predicted improving energy systems with additional storage and renewable applications would help make the grid more resilient in the face of the powerful weather phenomenon.

Part of the reason that energy storage is so effective at enhancing grid stability is because the technology can help maintain the grid's frequency regulation without the need to burn additional fossil fuels, according to Planet Save. The power plants that are currently used to fill in the gaps are unable to activate quickly and, as reflected by hundreds of thousands of daily outages, often cannot keep up with peak demand. Greater implementation of energy storage technology would help make power grids more responsive to changes in demand.