Ryan Wiser’s Post

A robust transmission system is critical to economic, energy, and national security objectives. Additional actions to support the efficient buildout of transmission are possible, and a new DOE paper includes an analysis of the potential impacts of various generic federal actions. Under an enhanced transmission scenario that addresses a subset of key bottlenecks to both regional and interregional transmission buildout, the report finds: 👉By enabling access to low-cost generation and sharing reliability resources over broader regions, electricity consumers could save $320 billion through 2050 relative to a future with restricted transmission growth (enhanced transmission 2, in figure below). 👉 Added transmission would be beneficial during periods of grid-system stress when the reliability of electricity supply is at risk. 👉 If cost savings from enhanced transmission lines are reinvested in reliability improvements, 5.5 million fewer households are estimated to lose power for an hour each year. 👉 Peaking power plant capacity could be reduced by 68 GW by 2041 relative to a restricted transmission future, reducing pollution that disproportionately impacts disadvantaged communities. 👉 Clean electricity will grow more rapidly, reducing cumulative power sector carbon dioxide emissions by 3,420 million metric tons through 2050. Cumulative emissions are 18% lower in an enhanced transmission scenario than they are in a restricted transmission scenario. 👉 Climate and human health benefits through 2050, when monetized, sum to $730 billion and $50 billion, respectively, relative to a restricted transmission future. Policies that primarily address permitting and coordination challenges to regional transmission also have economic and societal benefits, though those benefits are smaller than those estimated above when constraints to interregional transmission are relieved. New study here: https://lnkd.in/gpbc2ZNW

Ryan: such an important need -- electric transmission -- but seemingly destined to lag far behind what's needed for the economy, reliability and decarbonization. Despite the urgent need, new power lines are a slow, extremely difficult undertaking. A couple of questions: # is there any expectation about whether the explosion of BESS around the USA may create constituencies that will become an additional force delaying big transmission fixes that reduce LMP basis differentials (and could reduce revenues for BESS) ? # Is DOE looking into integrated planning for electric grid and hydrogen pipeline and storage infrastructure? In certain markets (like Texas), hydrogen pipelines can reliably be built in just a few years and deliver 10X or more energy for 1/10th the Capex/unit of energy transferred relative to power lines. And compared to BESS, a hydrogen salt cavern stores about 100X the energy at a Capex of about 1/1,000th the Capex investment/unit of energy. Once Multi-GW electrolyzers become the largest demand management tool in many RTOs, there will be tremendous synergy for hydrogen & electric grid infrastructure to leverage off each other. Looking forward to DOE's future work on Delivery Infrastructure!

New Report Launch: Dr. Nicholas Harrington's latest research outlines a strategy to reduce consumer electricity prices in the UK. Using both hard and soft systems thinking, the report addresses technical challenges and the human factors driving costs. High electricity prices are a long-term issue. Reducing costs will accelerate heat pump adoption and help decarbonise domestic heating—crucial for the UK's electrification strategy and Net Zero goals. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/eAjrxR3u #Decarbonisation #EnergyTransition

Based on the same data sets for DWD station 433 (Berlin-Tempelhof), I created another diagram that shows the distribution of all hours in a year based on the assigned outside temperatures. Here you can see both the natural fluctuation in the values and the increasing shift of the set of curves towards higher temperatures. If you remember, the year 2018 was particularly warm. We will see what 2025 brings, but the emerging trends should be taken into account when designing energy infrastructures (also in connection with the economic viability of producer topologies)!

The Wall Street Journal recently released a thought-provoking video titled "The U.S. Power Grid Is Failing. Here Are Three Essential Solutions," published on August 14, 2024. In this impactful video, they proposed three crucial strategies to address the critical issues facing the U.S. power grid: Did you know that currently, ninety thousand dams in the U.S. are not being utilized to generate electricity? By harnessing this untapped potential, we can significantly increase the number of stable power sources throughout the country. While initial costs are associated with constructing turbines, the long-term benefits are undeniable. Interconnecting various sources of energy is essential for our future. Dr. Michael E. Webber, an esteemed electrical engineer, emphasized that every region in the U.S. has its preferred energy sources, each with its advantages and disadvantages. By linking the east-west Texas grid, we can generate and distribute electricity nationwide efficiently. Furthermore, it is crucial to prioritize cybersecurity at critical junctions such as the east-west Texas grid by implementing advanced security measures to safeguard our energy infrastructure. Imagine a future where electric vehicles are charged seamlessly at midnight, reducing pressure on the grid during peak hours. Dr. Webber emphasizes that electric cars can transform and improve our energy infrastructure or break the grid. Source: https://loom.ly/wJPBK_M

The power grid is critical to our daily lives and economic stability. This blog explores the urgent need for investment in grid modernization to ensure reliability, sustainability and resilience. #GridModernization #CriticalInfrastructure Dive into the details📰https://ow.ly/NQnz50TwGe9

The Wall Street Journal recently released a thought-provoking video titled "The U.S. Power Grid Is Failing. Here Are Three Essential Solutions," published on August 14, 2024. In this impactful video, they proposed three crucial strategies to address the critical issues facing the U.S. power grid: Did you know that currently, ninety thousand dams in the U.S. are not being utilized to generate electricity? By harnessing this untapped potential, we can significantly increase the number of stable power sources throughout the country. While initial costs are associated with constructing turbines, the long-term benefits are undeniable. Interconnecting various sources of energy is essential for our future. Dr. Michael E. Webber, an esteemed electrical engineer, emphasized that every region in the U.S. has its preferred energy sources, each with its advantages and disadvantages. By linking the east-west Texas grid, we can generate and distribute electricity nationwide efficiently. Furthermore, it is crucial to prioritize cybersecurity at critical junctions such as the east-west Texas grid by implementing advanced security measures to safeguard our energy infrastructure. Imagine a future where electric vehicles are charged seamlessly at midnight, reducing pressure on the grid during peak hours. Dr. Webber emphasizes that electric cars can transform and improve our energy infrastructure or break the grid. Source: https://loom.ly/wJPBK_M

The Wall Street Journal recently released a thought-provoking video titled "The U.S. Power Grid Is Failing. Here Are Three Essential Solutions," published on August 14, 2024. In this impactful video, they proposed three crucial strategies to address the critical issues facing the U.S. power grid: Did you know that currently, ninety thousand dams in the U.S. are not being utilized to generate electricity? By harnessing this untapped potential, we can significantly increase the number of stable power sources throughout the country. While initial costs are associated with constructing turbines, the long-term benefits are undeniable. Interconnecting various sources of energy is essential for our future. Dr. Michael E. Webber, an esteemed electrical engineer, emphasized that every region in the U.S. has its preferred energy sources, each with its advantages and disadvantages. By linking the east-west Texas grid, we can generate and distribute electricity nationwide efficiently. Furthermore, it is crucial to prioritize cybersecurity at critical junctions such as the east-west Texas grid by implementing advanced security measures to safeguard our energy infrastructure. Imagine a future where electric vehicles are charged seamlessly at midnight, reducing pressure on the grid during peak hours. Dr. Webber emphasizes that electric cars can transform and improve our energy infrastructure or break the grid. Source: https://loom.ly/wJPBK_M

𝐎𝐅𝐅𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐑𝐄, 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑, 𝐍𝐔𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑 ... In today's fast-evolving energy landscape, utilities must prioritize minimizing waste in their workstreams. Strategic advancements are outpacing the ability to adapt, making it challenging—even for the most agile utilities. Just this week, FERC is rolling out new regulations to boost the efficiency and reliability of our electric grid. Key initiatives include: 1. 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐑𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 (𝐃𝐋𝐑𝐬): Utilizing real-time weather data to optimize transmission line ratings and reduce congestion. 2. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Establishing requirements for interregional transfer capability to ensure efficient electricity transfer across regions. https://lnkd.in/e9kyNjA2 Cost savings in areas like outage response and construction project management need re-examination. Losses due to strategy shifts will only accelerate in the current political climate. #askmehow

Predicting the Future ------------------------ Sometimes I think, that as a country we are going to build e.g. 9 Bn Sft of New buildings by 2030, big amount of energy is required to run those buildings. Will there be, go as you like? Same as today or step change? Impact to the grid? How much extra grid is required to power those extra square feet? In between comes Net Zero. I mean on site, others talk grid interactive, an English word that allows you to buy any amount of power from the grid and also burn some fossil fuel to calculate a Net Zero. I have made on a Predictive tool called – EnerDeMAT, which stands for Energy Decision Making Tool. Algorithms ready, I am on my final journey to make the User Interface. A little work left. This tool will allow us to understand the energy requirement along with refrigerant analysis and emission from operations. It will protect our country from spending the billions on energy guzzler buildings. It will guide the regulatory to stop something that does not fit into the scheme of things. It will save the Govt from spending tax payer’s money on useless performance buildings. It will prevent the grid to become a coal magnified behemoth. Currently 73% production is from Coal. It will decarbonize the space conditioning. It will help because it can ask questions mathematically. It will save the next generation. It will separate the milk and water.