“The future of electric power in the U.S.” is the focus of a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Nov. 1 workshop in Washington. The meeting is part of a two-year NAS project.
In the 2018 Department of Energy appropriations bill, Congress told the academies to “conduct an evaluation of the expected medium- and long-term evolution of the grid. This evaluation shall focus on developments that include the emergence of new technologies, planning and operating techniques, grid architecture, and business models.”
The Nov. 1 workshop will focus on the roles computing, communications, and information technology will play in the future electric power system. A bevy of speakers will discuss topics cybersecurity, resilience, and the relationships among differing computing and information technologies.
The workshop will be followed on Nov. 2 by a meeting of the committee the NAS formed to coordinate the project, marking the fourth meeting of the group. Earlier committee meetings occurred in March, May, and August.
The charge to the electric future committee is too examine and recommend findings in three broad areas:
* Trends in generation resources, their operational characteristics, and what capabilities will be required in energy infrastructure to provide reliable and resilient service;
* Trends in end use, including technologies for intelligent load control, and their implications for grid modernization investments:
* Interdependencies with other infrastructure systems such as natural gas, telecommunications, and transportation systems.
The chair of the committee is Granger Morgan of Carnegie Mellon University, a well-known expert on electric systems and also noted for his studies of how the public accepts electric generating technologies, particularly nuclear power.
Other notable members of the 17-member NAS committee include former PJM Interconnection CEO Terry Boston; Electric Power Research Institute CEO Michael Howard; Karen Palmer, director of the Future of Power Initiative at Resources for the Future; and energy economist Susan Tierney of the Analysis Group consultancy.
The NAS project information web site says, “The committee will be informed by a broad suite of alternative scenarios for the medium- and long-term evolution of the grid, and will identify potential ‘no-regret’ strategic federal investments and approaches that will help create a platform for a reliable, resilient, and secure power system, including cyber security.”
— Kennedy Maize