The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has committed $30 million to ease the interconnection backlog and deliver more energy supply to America’s power grid. This is part of larger plans from the Biden administration to improve the country’s energy grid in preparation for an influx of renewable energy connections countrywide.
$30 Million DoE Investment
In November, the DoE announced an investment of $30 million, with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), to accelerate the interconnection process for new energy generation through the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques.
The Artificial Intelligence for Interconnection (AI4IX) program will help foster partnerships between software developers, grid operators, and energy project developers to modernize the interconnection application process and significantly reduce the time required to review, approve, and commission new generation interconnections across the country.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm stated, “Artificial intelligence is an energy solution capable of helping clear an interconnection backlog that will free up new energy sources to ensure consumers have power when and where they need it.”
As more renewable energy projects come online, many of which are in non-traditional energy production regions of the U.S., utilities have not been able to keep pace in connecting them to the grid. New generation interconnection can take up to seven years, which could lead to an unnecessarily prolonged reliance on fossil fuels, even when the green alternatives are in place and ready to provide clean energy. The Queued Up Report showed that active but unconnected capacity stands are around twice the capacity of the current connected generation.
Part of the reason for the delays is the ongoing reliance on manual interconnection applications. Through the new funding, the DoE aims to deploy AI techniques to reduce the reliance on humans and speed up the connectivity process. AI algorithms can accelerate the pace of new connections and identify deficient applications to quickly notify applicants to fix the problem.
The DoE is supporting a range of AI transmission projects to add more green power to the grid at a faster pace than was previously possible. The Department’s Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership (GRIP) Program supports GridUnity’s multi-state project to deploy AI-enabled software to improve the efficiency of the interconnection process to enhance energy reliability, security, and lower costs.
Meanwhile, the DoE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is leading the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X) Transmission initiative, which fosters partnerships between diverse groups involved in interconnection activities to share best practices and drive innovation.
AI to Support Grid Efficiency and Modernization
The California ISO, which manages the flow of electricity across high-voltage, long-distance power lines, recently outlined some of the main ways in which AI can help boost grid efficiency:
- Grid Planning
- Analyzing historical data to predict future demand and develop load and variable energy resource profiles for optimal future grid expansion plans.
- Optimizing the placement of new infrastructure.
- Grid Operations
- Improving demand and variable supply forecasting, real-time monitoring of grid conditions, and automated responses to dynamic changes in grid conditions.
- Reliability and Resilience
- Helping with predictive maintenance of equipment, fault detection, diagnosis, and anomaly detection.
- Assisting in stress testing by simulating extreme conditions, developing adaptive responses, and modeling recovery scenarios to help build a resilient grid that can withstand and recover from disruptions.
Criticism of the Aging U.S. Grid
In recent years, many energy experts have criticized the U.S. grid for being highly fragmented and outdated. Much of the aging infrastructure is vulnerable to severe weather events and is unprepared for the influx of new renewable energy generation heading its way.
The U.S. electric grid comprises the Eastern, Western, and Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) interconnections — three separate power grids isolated from each other. And the high-voltage, long-distance electric transmission lines delivering energy are more isolated still. The mainland has 12 different transmission planning regions, which all fall under federal jurisdiction, except the ERCOT. But these systems also fall under different regional management, making them highly uncoordinated.
In August, the Biden administration announced plans to invest $2.2. billion to overhaul the national power grid, protecting it against extreme weather events and preparing it for the increase in demand from tech companies powering giant data centers. The upgrades to the grid will add almost 13 GW of capacity and support eight projects across 18 states.
Jennifer Granholm stated, “The first half of 2024 has already broken records for the hottest days in Earth’s history, and as extreme weather continues to hit every part of the country, we must act with urgency to strengthen our aging grid.”
This is one of several projects announced by the Biden administration to improve the U.S. grid system since the launch of the 2021 BIL and the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The recent funding announcement from the DoE is expected to spur greater modernization in the sector and encourage utilities across the country to adopt new technologies, such as AI, to support operations.
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