In the United States, the growing share of renewable resources over the last decade has contributed to operational challenges in several regions, including the Pacific Northwest, Texas, and H
This article is adapted from the following, with the author’s permission: Nelson (2014), Roadmap to a Low Carbon Electricity System in the U.S. and Europe.
Superstorm Sandy was arguably one of the most significant storms in the history of the U.S. power sector. It was not a worst-case scenario. It was not the most expensive.
The past 75 years of U.S. infrastructure development has pushed toward large, centralized utilities through policy treating electricity, sewage, and water as public goods.
The smart grid is advancing at a rapid rate. A nascent market at the beginning of the 21st century, as of the end of 2013 over 310 million smart meters have been installed globally.
“We’re a superpower, but we have a third world grid,” said Bill Richardson, Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Energy in the wake of the Northeast Blackout of 2003.
The integration of large quantities of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, requires changes in how the electric transmission system operates.
