Outdated power grid may limit alternative energy

The long-heralded future of wind energy looks as though it may finally be here, as Rhode Island and other states give the green light to proposals for utility-scale offshore and onshore wind farms. But there is one major obstacle standing in the way – the nation’s overtaxed and outdated electrical grid.
The century-old U.S. power grid, which is made up of 9,200 power plants connected to more than 300,000 miles of transmission lines, is the backbone of America’s high-powered economy and society. The National Academy of Engineering has hailed it as “the most significant engineering achievement of the 20th century.”
Today, however, the Department of Energy describes the grid as “aging, inefficient and congested.” Nor has upgrading it been a priority in recent years. Electricity demand increased by 25 percent from 1990 to 2003, but investment in new transmission facilities actually decreased by 30 percent over the same period, the report said. Another study found that only 668 miles of new interstate transmission lines have been built since 2000.
Wind and other types of alternative energy present their own challenge for the grid, because it was not designed to deal with the variability that is inherent in renewable power sources. Experts say investing in new infrastructure that can handle alternative energy sources, which is expected to cost billions of dollars, is a critical piece of bringing them on line.
“I would say it’s one of the biggest challenges facing wind energy at this time,” said Matt Kaplan, a wind-energy analyst at Cambridge, Mass.-based Emerging Energy Research. Wind- energy projects take a few years to permit and construct, but the interstate transmission lines necessary to carry them could take a decade or more to get up and running, he said.
Kaplan and other analysts say policymakers can and must play a key role in bringing together various stakeholders, including utilities, generators, private transmission companies and ratepayers. In Texas, Kaplan said, regulators have taken a proactive approach, which is part of why that state has become a leader in wind energy.
ISO New England Inc., which operates this region’s bulk electrical transmission system and wholesale electricity market, has made John R. Norden the group’s point person on integrating renewable resources. There are currently nearly 4,000 megawatts worth of wind power projects in the pipeline for New England, although not all of those will be built.
At a renewable energy conference last week organized by the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, Norden expressed optimism about the future of alternative energy in the power supply, saying “all these problems are not insurmountable.”
One of the key questions about upgrading the grid is who is responsible for making those investments, Norden said. The region’s states will likely need to work together more closely over the next few years to find an answer. He also said streamlining the permitting process for new transmission lines would help speed up the process.
The U.S. Department of Energy believes the big-picture response to these challenges is the development of a “Smart Grid” – a dynamic system to manage the nation’s electricity generation and usage at every level, from the power plant to the consumer.
The department commissioned East Providence-based Litos Strategic Communication to prepare a report on the multitude of changes that could lead to a more efficient electric grid. The study, which was published last month, envisions a future electrical grid that is interconnected and dynamic in a way similar to the Internet.
Much of the technology that is needed to upgrade the grid already exists, having been developed by other industries, said Mark Litos, the group’s president. &#8226