A Renewed Push from the White House on Grid Modernization

At a White House event today, the administration released a new report that frames the modernization of the US power grid and launches a number of public and private initiatives including new outreach efforts, partnerships and loan programs. As today’s speakers made clear, we will modernize our aging grid infrastructure; the only question is whether we'll make the most effective investments that foster innovation, facilitate renewables integration and drive the deployment of energy efficiency.

Both the report and the White House panel discussion that took place today cover a lot of ground. Secretary Chu and others described in some detail how demand response, electrical energy storage and thermal energy storage could help us get a large fraction of our electricity from renewable sources. The panel also discussed how siting large, high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines rather than a “spaghetti bowl” of smaller lines could, in some cases, help minimize the land impacts of transmission development and improve the efficiency of the grid by reducing line losses.  Other topics included DOE’s role as convener to facilitate investment in these innovative technologies, the flexibility needed at the state level to implement reforms and the importance of security and data privacy.

Both panels repeatedly came back to three central points. First, grid modernization is about the integration of distribution, generation and transmission. It is more than advanced metering infrastructure, information technology and smart grid; we need to take a holistic approach to addressing the challenges that lie ahead. Second, while the costs of grid upgrades are well known, their benefits are often diffuse. We need to deploy new technologies with targeted end goals in mind rather than taking a “blank check” approach.  Finally, the key to putting these pieces together, getting the greatest benefit out of them, and building support for these technologies is keeping an “eyes-wide-open” approach to understanding costs and benefits. This means looking across regions, realizing the benefits of demand-side resources and planning ahead to anticipate future grid needs.

The administration’s A Policy Framework for the 21st Century Grid outlines a path forward built around four pillars: enabling cost-effective investment, unlocking innovation, empowering consumers and securing the grid. The document also describes the DOE’s work on grid innovation and highlights many of the Smart Grid projects funded thus far through the recovery act. A key focus is the need for cooperation among federal government entities, state regulators, the private sector and consumers. In closing, the facilitator framed today as a “revival event” rather than a “victory lap,” underscoring the long road ahead.

Missing from the conversation however, was a discussion of the need to strike the right balance between this broad-based cooperation and the extraordinary urgency required to address climate change. We need the long-term regional plans to help guide our path forward on energy. The more we can work together to define best practices and establish a common vision for future investment with broad stakeholder support, the better. Nevertheless, if we are to meet the carbon abatement goals that the science tells us are necessary we cannot afford to move forward at a snail's pace. This important groundwork must be undertaken while keeping mind the enormous scale of what will be required to get our planet back on a sustainable path.