Here’s what the the US needs to do right now to upgrade the grid
Electrek spoke with former FERC commissioner and PG&E chair Nora Mead Brownell about how the US can quickly and efficiently upgrade its grid in order to get rapidly incoming wind and solar projects online faster. Here’s what she said.
Electrek: The grid is having its moment in the spotlight, but not for the right reasons. Why can’t power utilities handle the renewable energy transition?
Nora Mead Brownell: They can. But it will take some innovation. Most of the world’s transmission infrastructure was built between 40 and as much as 80 years ago, and much of it is operating well past age and design limits. Utilities currently don’t monitor their power lines for conditions that affect carrying capacity; like how much a line is sagging or swaying or ambient temperatures. In fact, 99% of power lines aren’t monitored at all, and that’s a problem.
Without that monitoring capability, utilities are making a “best-guess” as to how much power a transmission line can handle. By using assumptions that are typically “worst-case,” such as assuming extreme temperatures in July without respect to the cooling effect that wind has on a power line, utilities are only using a fraction of the true capacity of a given power line. That’s, in part, causing curtailment of renewable energy projects – and a long, often never-ending wait for renewable energy projects trying to interconnect to the grid.
Electrek: How does that delay get fixed? You mentioned innovation.
Nora Mead Brownell: In 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruled unanimously to pass Order 881, which requires transmission providers to use a more accurate transmission line rating methodology called Ambient Adjusted Ratings (AAR). When fully implemented, AAR should help increase the capacity of those aging power lines and minimize the curtailment of wind and solar generation. But while Order 881 is a welcome start to modernizing the grid and increasing its carrying capacity, it’s really an incremental step, and one that’s almost three years away. It’s not enough.
Electrek: So what needs to happen?
Nora Mead Brownell: Well, we need to build more power lines. According to the US Department of Energy, we need to build about 47,000 miles of lines to meet the demand of the energy transition. But we’re dreaming if we think that’s going to happen in time to meet climate goals. Transmission lines are expensive, face considerable local opposition, and are next to impossible to permit.
If we’re to have any chance of decarbonizing the power grid before 2030, FERC needs to act again and require utilities to implement Dynamic Line Ratings. DLRs empower utilities with real-time data from advanced sensors that provide real-time field conditions that affect transmission capacity. Armed with this information, grid operators can safely go beyond – sometimes well beyond – the limits of traditional “guesstimates” to maximize grid capacity and get those wind and solar projects back online, and, hopefully, unlock some of what is now a 2-terawatt interconnection queue.
Electrek: Are utilities using DLRs now?
Nora Mead Brownell: Yes. In fact, National Grid just installed the largest DLR project in the US in upstate New York. And some of the largest utilities in the world are using it, like Xcel Energy, Dominion Energy, Avangrid, the Tennessee Valley Authority, and countless others. But given just how much wind and solar capacity the Inflation Reduction Act is poised to build, integration of the technology needs to happen much, much faster.
Electrek: So why isn’t it happening faster? What can people do to move the needle?
Nora Mead Brownell: The current economic model favors building new power lines – which, again, we need to do. But we need to better incentivize utilities to innovate with grid-enhancing technologies like DLR.
There’s currently a proposed FERC rule that would dramatically accelerate the use of the technology, and a variety of government agencies, like NYSERDA in New York, are incentivizing utilities to use DLR. In fact, New York State is arguably the leader in the expansion of its grid for renewables and the integration of the technology. National Grid, New York Power Authority, New York State Electric and Gas, and Rochester Gas & Electric are all installing DLRs provided by Boston-based LineVision’s non-contact LiDAR sensors.
People need to contact their local elected officials and demand action on this important issue.
Read more: Wind and solar are now beating coal in the US
Photo: Shutterstock
Nora M. Brownell is the cofounder of ESPY Energy Solutions and is on the advisory board for LineVision. She was nominated by President George W. Bush to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) where she served from 2001-2006, when her term expired. Brownell also served as a member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and as the chair of the board of Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E).
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Executives from TravelCenters America (TA) and BP were joined by local elected officials at a ribbon cutting for the two companies’ first DC fast charging hub on I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida – the first of several such EV charging stations to come online.
Frequent road-trippers are no doubt familiar with TA’s red, white, and blue logo and probably think of the sites as safe, convenient stops in otherwise unfamiliar surroundings. The company hopes those positive associations will carry over as its customers continue to switch from gas to electric at a record pace in 2025 and beyond.
“Today marks a significant milestone in our journey to bring new forms of energy to our customers as we support their changing mobility needs, while leveraging the best of bp and TA,” explains Debi Boffa, CEO of TravelCenters of America. Boffa, however, was quick to – but TA is quick to point out that TA isn’ no’t leaving its ICE customers behind. “While this is significant, to our loyal customers and guests, rest assured TA will continue to provide the same safe and reliable fueling options it has offered for over 50 years, regardless of the type of fuel.”
The charging hub along the I-95 offers 12 DC fast charging ports offering up to 400kW of power for lickety-quick charging. While they’re at the TA, EV drivers can visit restrooms, shop at TA’s convenience store, or eat at fast food chains like Popeyes and Subway. Other TA centers offer wifi and pet-friendly amenities as well – making them ideal partners for BP as the two companies builds out their charging networks.
“As we expand our EV charging network in the US, I am thrilled to unveil our first of many hubs at TA locations,” offers Sujay Sharma, CEO of BP Pulse Americas. “These sites are strategically located across key highway corridors that provide our customers with en route charging when and where they need it most, while offering convenient amenities, like restaurants and restrooms.”
Electrek’s Take
As I type this, BP has more than 37,000 EV charging ports operational globally, and plans to have more than 100,000 in service by 2030. The company made headlines in 2022 when it announced that its EV chargers were “on the cusp” of being more profitable than its gas pumps. Three years on, it seems like that’s a done deal.
As ever, money talks.
SOURCE | IMAGES: BP.
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The new e2500-THL and TS electric Ultra Buggies from Toro offer construction and demo crews a carrying capacity of 2500 lbs. (on the TS model), six-and-a-half foot dump height (on the THL), nearly 13 cubic ft. of capacity, and hours of quiet, fume-free operation.
Despite the second Trump administration’s loosening grip on emissions regulations, the fact remains that a growing number of municipalities in both red and blue regions of the US are continuing to clamp down on noise regulations, which means that construction crews with quiet running electric equipment will be able to get jobs that crews stubbornly holding on to diesel and gas won’t. Toro absolutely gets it, which is why its e2500-THL and TS Ultra Buggy line will be welcomed by smart crews with open arms.
For their open-mindedness, those crews will be rewarded with machines powered by 7 kWh’s worth of Toro HyperCell lithium-ion battery. That’s good enough for up to eight hours of continuous operation, according to Toro – enough for two typical working shifts.
And, thanks to the Toro Ultra Buggies’ narrow, 31.5″ width, they can easily navigate man doors on inside jobs, as well, making them ideal for indoor demolition and construction jobs. A zero-turn radius and auto-return dump mechanism that ensures the tub automatically returns to the proper resting position make things easy for the operator, too.
Toro says that each of its small (for Toro) e2500 Ultra Buggy units can replace as many as five wheelbarrows on a given job site. Pricing is expected to start at about $32,000.
Electrek’s Take
Electric equipment makes job sites cleaner, quieter, and safer than they are under diesel or gas power – and as more municipal and private sector RFPs begin to enforce ZEV requirements and quiet hours, more and more viable electric alternatives to ICE power will start to show up on more and more job sites (regardless of who is in the White House).
SOURCE | IMAGES: Toro, via Construction Equipment.
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