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Electric Grid Research |
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Overview The CIEE Electric Grid Research (EGR) Program focuses on technology development that has the potential to enhance electric grid capabilities for meeting the needs of electric customers and state energy policy goals, especially those for renewable energy deployment and greenhouse gas reductions in California. 
For most of us, the electric grid simply consists of wires and steel towers stretching across fields and the horizon, appearing static, technically simple, and at best, boring. For most of the 20th Century that assessment was more right than wrong. A transmission line had the relatively simple role of moving electricity from a central power plant to the consumers. Its behavior was predictable and under the close control of an operator. Today, however, transmission and distribution owners, operators, planners and regulators face increasingly complex situations. Today’s transmission systems, which are the largest machines in the world, have become very dynamic, high technology systems that must be planned, built, and operated in evolving regulatory environments and unpredictable power markets. The distribution systems face an array of new customer services, and appliances and equipment, such as roof-top solar systems and electric vehicles. Most recently, transmission has become a critical player in meeting California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) goals for significantly increasing the percentage of California’s electricity supplied by renewable energy power plants. Since most renewable resources are in remote areas, significant transmission capacity expansions will be needed to connect these plants to the grid. This presents major challenges to the transmission system. Delay in siting and building new transmission is often cited as a major barrier to meeting renewable generation policy goals. The intermittent nature of solar and wind power imposes significant additional hurdles to overcome to maintain a stable and reliable grid. Finally, as more power is transmitted over longer distances, the carrying capacity of significant portions of the grid must be increased. In response to these challenges, the electric grid must be modernized to continue to keep the lights on, electricity affordable, and the environment safe. In many situations, approaches that have previously been used to address these challenges are no longer economically or environmentally viable. Transmission owners, planners, operators and regulators need new tools and new technologies that must come from research and development. Funding for the EGR Program comes primarily from the California Energy Commission’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program. Additional support is provided by the California Public Utilities Commission and the Department of Energy. |
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Overview