The US Department of Energy (DOE) has announced funding of $25m for grid management systems and risk assessment systems.
The agency has granted funding for ten projects as part of the PERFORM ( Performance-based Energy Resource Feedback, Optimisation, and Risk Management) programme.
The projects aim to develop cutting-edge management systems that indicate the relative delivery risk of each asset, such as power plants and wind farms, and balance the combined risk of all assets across the grid.
DOE Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes said: “Ensuring the reliability of our Nation’s critical energy infrastructure and electric grid is of the utmost importance to America’s energy security and national security.
“Investing in new technologies and systems that minimise risk and bolster the reliability of U.S. energy will allow us to utilise all of our abundant energy resources in a more integrated and secure manner.”
PERFORM teams will design risk scores that communicate the delivery risk of an asset’s offer
According to US DOE, PERFORM teams will create risk scores that will help communicate the delivery risk of an asset’s offer including the reliability of electric power from a solar plant because of climatic conditions on a given day.
The teams will also create grid management systems which internally record uncertainty and assess the system risk to surpass or meet a set baseline.
This risk-driven paradigm will help grid operators to efficiently maintain a demand-supply balance and system reliability, even in adverse conditions like the intermittency in renewable energy.
The operators can in turn efficiently manage the system and evaluate the true value of crucial reliability services in real-time.
Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) director Lane Genatowski said: “Our grid is a crucial asset in supplying reliable power to millions of Americans across the nation.
“These PERFORM teams will develop the tools to further optimize renewable resources into the grid, improving reliability, reducing energy imports, and further strengthening a pathway to sustainable energy independence.”
In February, the US DOE announced $74m for 63 selected projects to research, develop, and test energy-efficient and flexible building technologies, systems, and construction practices to improve the energy performance of buildings and electric grid in the country.
