New PNNL research to help modernize power grid

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland will play a key role in up to $220 million worth of new federal research projects to modernize the electric grid.

“We have had a very good performing grid for 80 years,” said Carl Imhoff, PNNL Electricity Infrastructure Sector manager. “But it has not changed much in 80 years.”

The aging grid now must adapt to changes on a scale and pace that are unprecedented, he said.

Research awards announced by the Department of Energy this week are a comprehensive effort to deliver the new concepts and technologies that will help the grid adapt.

Projects were proposed by DOE’s Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium, co-led by PNNL with Imhoff as co-lead of the consortium. The 14 national laboratories in the consortium will work with 95 partners, including utilities, vendors and state regulators.

The new projects will help “provide a whole new set of tools and data and new grid concepts that states and industries can pick from to be more effective in grid modernization,” Imhoff said.

The grid must adapt to clean energy sources, like wind and solar, that provide electricity only intermittently to a grid designed for a steady baseload. It also must adapt to new consumer devices, such as “smart” water heaters or clothes dryers, designed to consume electricity when it is plentiful and the price may be less.

The grid also needs to become more resilient as it faces cybersecurity threats and physical threats, including increased weather extremes, Imhoff said. After Superstorm Sandy in 2012, more than 8 million utility customers were left without power, some of them for weeks.

The global smart grid market, which ranges from new utility substations that can better reroute power in a storm to smart sensors for home appliances, is expected to surpass $400 billion worldwide within the next five years, said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., a ranking member of the senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

“There are huge economic opportunities for this U.S. technology,” she said in a statement.

Investments in the power grid will help meet the demands of the 21st century economy, lowering power prices and bringing clean renewable energy to more homes and businesses, said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

PNNL will receive about $38 million for research over three years. It will be involved in 40 research projects.

The lab will be working on a “grid architecture,” a sort of overview of the grid and related infrastructure that can show how each change to any part of them might affect another. For instance, shutting down old coal plants and turning to attractively priced natural gas will increase dependency on gas pipelines, which may be vulnerable to freezing.

Developing a big picture of the grid with industry leaders will help inform decisions about proposed changes to the grid to help avoid unintended consequences, according to PNNL.

In another project, PNNL will develop the mathematical underpinnings needed to ensure grid reliability as independent power generation, such as solar projects for homes and businesses, increase and batteries are used to store power until electricity is needed.

The national lab in Richland will develop protocols to test how consumer smart energy devices, such as appliances that can adjust to the flow of electricity, can help balance supply and demand to maintain the frequency and voltage needed to keep the grid stable.

To help industry and policy makers better measure improvements in grid modernization, PNNL will develop a dashboard of performance metrics for technical progress in resiliency, security, flexibility and affordability.

“These energy research and development awards are a great opportunity for PNNL to extend its legacy of demonstrating the important role of science in grid solutions and modernization,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., in a statement. PNNL recently completed the nation’s largest smart grid demonstration, working with 11 utilities in the Northwest.

As part of the grid modernization, DOE funded 10 regional partnerships with states, utilities and others. PNNL will be working with the state of Washington, which has contributed $2.25 million, to test theories and technology on buildings and equipment on the campuses of PNNL, the University of Washington and Washington State University.

PNNL also is on four other teams for projects in Idaho, New York, Alaska and the Midwest.

It will allow the leadership shown in smart grid initiatives in the Northwest in the past decade to expand to more of the nation, Imhoff said.

This story was originally published January 15, 2016 at 10:09 PM with the headline "New PNNL research to help modernize power grid."