b'SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 11, 2020project cargo bi-annual13(GRIDcontinued from page 4) tributed,ratherthanthetraditionaltally necessary, its now the cheapestblow all day long. With renewables, partner at ApricumThe Cleantechmodel, which is a centralized systemsourceofpowerinmanyareasandtheres much more fluctuation, said Advisory. ofgeneration,storageanddistribu- will become more and more economi- Mayr, who adds that energy storage Oldpowersources,whichpro- tion. Andrew Meyer, a Southern Cali- cal as time goes on. (California, forenables flexibility in the grid.duce C02, exacerbate climate change.fornia clean energy advocate, talks ofexample, already depends on renew- 7.Smallerpowerplants,andmany The current power gridwith cen- six advantages: Efficiency, reliability,ables for one-third of its energy con- more of them. The days of the mam-tralized power generation and distri- modularity,flexibility,economyandsumptionandpledgestobe100%moth 1GW power plant lording over a butionmakes the severity of theenvironmental responsibility.carbon-free by 2045.) city are over. The size of one plant isnt problem that much worse. Utilities areCustomers have a greater role in notAcleanenergyportfolioiskey, overall production is. The size dependent on electricity coming fromonlyconsuming,butingeneratingcheaper to build today than certainlyof power plants recently has shrunk, limited sources, often over long dis- andtradingelectricity. Therelation- coal and in a lot of cases, new naturaland technology has also allowed them tances, with equipment that is eitherships between consumption, produc- gasplants,said Wanless,whopre- to do that, said Rhodes.inadequate or unreliable in a crisis.tion,andstoragebecomeredefined,dicts this kind of cost advantage willThis,however,meansagreater Theres going to be an increasedaccording to the equipment manufac- onlygrowintime.Thishasbeenemphasismustbeplacedonmore desire to build out a more distributedturer Siemens. like a relatively huge paradigm shiftefficientpowertransmission,both gridparticularlyintermsofpower4. Behind the meter. These are cus- in the power sector. locally and over long distances.generation, because if lines go downtomer-generatedenergyresources,6.Batteries.Theywillbeakey8. Microgrids. Shrink power genera-or if theres something happening onratherthanutilities.Itincludesthecomponentformuchofthechange,tion, transmission and usage down to the transmission and distribution side,obvious, such as rooftop solar panelsespeciallyasthepriceoflithium- a neighborhood or a single complex of adistributedgridismoreresilientand batteries, and the not-so-obvious,ionbatteriesisfallingdramatically,buildings, such as a university. Thats because you dont have to get powerincluding electric vehicles and smartalthough other battery technology isthe concept behind a microgrid, which from A to B, the power is everywhere,thermometers. beingdevelopedaswell.Somebat- is usually connected to the main grid, said Eric Wanless, director of technol- 5. Renewable energy. Solar, wind andteries will allow residences and busi- but can disconnect and function inde-ogy and innovation at the Rockefellerhydrowillaccountforalargerandnessesaswellasvehiclestopendentlythroughanautonomous Foundation, where he focuses on thelarger percentage of total power andstore power. Others, called grid-scalepower source. This is called island-power industry.some analysts such as Rhodes believebatteries,provideonsitestorageforing.PortsofLongBeach,LAand In August, consumers discoveredrenewableenergywillaccountforpower production. The issue for theSanDiegohavemicrogridprojects justhowtenuousthesituationcan40% to 50% of total in another 15 togridisenergyvariability.Thesununderway while the Port of Baltimore be.CaliforniautilitiesPacificGas20 years. Not only is it environmen- doesnt shine at night. Wind doesnt(GRIDLOCKcontinued on page 14)&ElectricandSouthernCalifornia Edisonwereforcedtoinitiateroll-ingblackoutsforfourdaysbecause extremeheatspikeddemand,while supplywasunexpectedlycurtailed. Theutilitiesassumedtheycould import power from Nevada and Ari-zona.However,thosestatesneeded the power for themselves as they were experiencing record heat as well.For PG&E, the states largest utility, the linkages between cuts to the supply of power and fires are becoming all-too-common. In 2017, a downed transmis-sion line triggered the worst wildfire in Californiashistory,killingmorethan 80 and destroying the town of Paradise. Last year, the utility cut the electricity to millions of customers without warning, fearing strong winds could blow down trees, which in turn could down power lines or other equipment.Gettingthegridtobemore weather-responsiveisonesideof the equation. Reducing carbon diox-ide levels in power production is the other.Boostingrenewableenergy sources is on the rise, although not as quickly as planners believe necessary. Firstonourpriorityisde-car-bonizing the electric grid, said Rick Rys, who specializes in energy man-agement as a senior consultant with ARC AdvisoryGroup.Wehavent moved particularly fast compared to how fast we need to go.(GRIDLOCKcontinued from page 6)more efficient. Data can be just as valuable as the energy thats flowing across the lines, said Rhodes.2.Atwo-waygrid.Customerswill produce energy as well as consume it. (They are known in industry jargon as prosumers.) Homes, vehicles, offices, schools,shopsandfactorieswillall becomesourcesofpower,withboth electricityanddataflowingbackand forth. Mayr calls this the democratiza-tion of generation. There will be two-way flows of information, two-way flows of power. Itwillbeamuchmoreintegrated systems approach to the power grid, which is a fundamental shift from the power grid of today, which really is the same grid of 100, 120 years ago, said Wanless.3. A distributed grid. Power will be increasinglydecentralizedordis-'