The Biden-Harris Administration, through the US Department of Energy (DOE), announced $26 million to fund up to ten projects that will demonstrate that America’s electricity grid can run reliably on renewables.
The $26 million is funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Solar and Wind Grid Services and Reliability Demonstration Program, and it intends to show not just that a mix of solar, wind, energy storage, and other clean distributed energy resources can provide enough energy, but that grid services, which maintain voltage and frequency stability, can ensure grid reliability. Demonstrating that a grid fully powered by inverter-based resources can reliably provide these services is a necessary step in the clean energy transition.
Projects funded under this program will support the development of controls and methods for inverter-based clean energy resources to provide the same grid services as traditional generation. The intended goal is to increase the reliability of energy systems, which will help meet the Biden administration’s goals for 100% clean electricity by 2030.
“Americans do not have to choose between a clean grid and a reliable one as we move forward towards our goals of a net-zero economy by 2050,” said US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Thanks to funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, DOE is proving that transitioning to solar, wind, and other renewable energy sources can keep the lights on without service interruptions, while creating good paying jobs.”
Today’s mix of clean energy technologies presents a new challenge to grid operators, and while new tools have been developed that enable grid operators to manage this complex network, DOE is supporting the demonstration of these tools at a broader scale to increase their adoption and build trust among grid operators. Today the potential for grid disruptions is real, including threats such as cyberattack, extreme weather events and wildfires. The demonstration program should prove that clean energy sources are able to support the grid during normal as well as emergency situations.
DOE is encouraging academic institutions, private companies, nonprofits, state and local governments, and tribal nations to apply and form diverse teams that include representation from entities such as historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions, and community-based organizations. Projects will also demonstrate how a clean energy grid prevents blackouts by quickly identifying and responding to faults. The testing will take place at plants of at least 10 MW in size from a mix of solar, wind, or other generation or storage technology,
To support grid enhancement and modernization, DOE is deploying more than $20 billion in federal financing tools, including through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s new $2.5 billion Transmission Facilitation Program, $3 billion expansion of the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, and more than $10 billion in grants for States, Tribes, and utilities to enhance grid resilience and prevent power outages, and through existing tools, including the more than $3 billion Western Area Power Administration Transmission Infrastructure Program, and a number of loan guarantee programs through the Loan Programs Office.
An informational webinar will be held on August 17 at 1 p.m. ET. Mandatory concept papers are due by September 1 at 5 p.m. ET.
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Today there is a Global Grid handling 7TW of Electricity, and has been handling Power Plant Trips/Start-ups, Load Line Shedding/Pickup, Grid Stability, constant variation of Loads and Generations on an Instantaneous, Hourly, Daily and/or Seasonal Basis…. using different types of Energy Sources…. Coal, Oil, Gas, Nuclear, Hydro and lately Renewable Sources… PV Panels, Wind, Solar Thermal, etc.. etc… YOU NAME IT….
NOTHING NEW HERE…. it has been going on for 100 years….
Therefore, what is SO NEW about running a Grid with JUST Renewable Energy Sources ONLY.
The ONLY TECHNICAL DIFFERENCE between the Grid of the Past and one solely using RE, in the future, is the absence of the Interia of the Rotating Turbine-Generators (that are ALL LINKED to one another aka Synchronized.) that provide the “initial stored energy” to respond to the constantly changing Grid Generation and Load Conditions, followed by Voltage Regulators, Governors/Fuel & Energy Supply and Eventually by Manual intervention.
However, most RE Facilities use Inverters that DONOT have this “inherent” Inertia provided by massive rotating Turbine-Generators and assist in ensuring “Grid Stability” ( a ittle Technical, Complex related to Power Angles etc..).
However, the Inverters can respond much much faster than (earlier) Electro-Mechanical Devices, and now, are replaced by mostly Static/Solid State/Digital Devices. Unfortunately, the very inertia assisting Stability, Load/Line Pickup/Shedding “slows down” their effectiveness too ….
While it maybe appropriate to “be prepared” for the future of Operating a Grid powered ONLY by Inverter Connected Facilities; this may all be mute if EAO’s (Elected, Appointed Officials) in the USA and around the Globe decide to fight Climate Change ONLY; as they PURPOSELY Doom Millions to Premature Death and Billions to Suffering caused by Polluting Power Plants.
Climate Change, apparently, needs are based on LIMITING POLLUTION GROWTH & NOT ELIMINATING IT… and hence, has open support of the Polluters… TODAY… so they can continue to Murder and Assault Human Lives…. that causes $36.5 Trillion/YEAR of Societal Costs. [ 9Million Deaths/yr @ $1Million/Victim; 275 Million DALY of Suffering @ $100,000 / DALY of Suffering ….. from Year-Long Medical Expenses, Hospitalization, Time Off from Work, Family Expenses, Suffering & Agony…).
In the above case…. there will ALWAYS be those Rotating Turbine Generators providing the necessary Inertia…. like TODAY… !!!
If, however, THE PEOPLE FORCE THE EAO’S HAND & DEMAND AN END TO THE ABOVE MASS MURDERS & ASSAULTS ON HUMAN LIFE…. A ZERO POLLUTION USA/EARTH CAN MATERIALIZE…. BUT WILL STILL TAKE DECADES… ENOUGH TIME FUND SUCH PROJECTS… IF NEEDED AT ALL….!!!
WHY WASTE PUBLIC MONEY NOW… !!!
Always Remember…. Mankind has repeatedly been surprised by “newer” Operating Conditions “thrown” at the Grid…. like the NE BlackOut in the 1960’s; Geomagnetic Storm in 1998 in Quebec… What or Where will be next…???