The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), has announced the allocation of $48 million to a new programme aimed at creating power grid technologies that enhance the domestic power grid’s control and security.
To ensure that clean energy and transportation options can reach communities across the nation, it is essential to modernize the grid infrastructure of the country with improved efficiency and resilience against extreme weather events.
By addressing these issues and streamlining how supply and demand are coordinated, the grid can operate more cost-effectively and avoid unplanned outages, which are thought to cost the American economy $150 billion annually.
With this new initiative, the DOE will provide funding for initiatives that will help utilities better manage grid power flow to prevent disruptions, as well as quickly identify and avoid them.
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Modernizing the grid will help President Biden achieve his objectives of accelerating the use of renewable energy, increasing the country’s energy independence, and achieving 100% clean electricity by 2035.
“A reliable and resilient grid is the key to protecting our power supply from outside threats and expanding America’s clean energy and transportation options,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Federal investments in tools and analysis to modernize our grid will put the nation on a path to meet President Biden’s climate goals and extend the benefits of a decarbonized energy and transportation sector to all corners of the country.”
Managed by DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), the “Unlocking Lasting Transformative Resiliency Advances by Faster Actuation of power Semiconductor Technologies” (ULTRAFAST)” program will support the development of faster, more capable power electronics for enhanced resiliency, reliability, and control of power flow at all grid interfaces.
ARPA-E first held a workshop on this topic last year. Workshop participants provided expert inputs on the technical aspects of ultra-fast-triggered semiconductors, and how such devices can aid national goals to develop future high-performance resilient power systems.
Story adapted from Energy.com
