The recent heat wave shows that the U.S. grid is not ready for climate change

In Portland, Oregon, the official temperature recorded this week Reaches 115 degrees Fahrenheit, Strength The cable of a city tram melts, The sagging overhead wires force Light rail closed, And more than 6000 people out of power.

But this is far from the first time extreme weather has caused serious problems on the power grid in recent months. During the winter storm that hit Texas in February, Nearly 5 million People lost power. June, California Suggest Residents charge electric cars during off-peak hours to save energy.For the first time in history, during this week’s heat wave, after a few blocks of power outages, New York City officials sent residents to Emergency mobile alert Urge them to save energy.

Obviously, the U.S. power grid is not yet ready to deal with the effects of climate change, including Extreme weather event that Bring itAfter all, climate change does not just increase the need for energy to keep people cool or warm during heat waves and winter storms. It can also damage the power grid itself.The country is now in a race against time, shifting its energy supply to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. It also needs more and more electricity to do everything, from powering more air-conditioning to increasing Number of electric cars on the road.

“I might give our grid a C minus sign,” Kerry BakerAn engineering professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder told Recode. “It’s like a perfect storm of extreme temperatures, more power consumption and aging infrastructure.”

Having a reliable power grid can be a matter of life and death. According to statistics, an estimated 700 people died during the worst power outage during the Texas winter storm in February this year. News. Hundreds died During the past week’s heat waves in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.At the same time, the impact of the heat wave Disproportionately For historically marginalized brown, black, and indigenous communities, the situation is even worse.Older people, young people, people who suffer from certain drug illnesses or who work outdoors Also more likely Feel the effects of extreme heat.

Climate change means more and more extreme weather events Strong and common, It’s not just because the power grid is aging. Sadly, the grid is unprepared for the unsettling future that is coming.

How the U.S. Grid Works

last year, Approximately 40% of the national power generation From natural gas.Although the grid still relies on a large Coal power, More and more electricity comes from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind energy, which is expected to make the grid more sustainable. However, although some of these sources have a much more serious impact on the environment than others, they all provide electricity to the grid. This is a huge engineering system composed of high and low voltage wires, sensors, poles, and transformers. your home.

Electricity passes through the grid and is transferred from high-voltage lines that transmit power over long distances to low-voltage lines. This process is called “Step down. “Low-voltage lines distribute electricity to buildings, and then personal electrical and electronic products. But there are obstacles. At present, the country still faces Transmission line congestion They have maximized the amount of power they can carry.In Vermont, solar and wind power have stagnated because The grid is too limited.

Sam Gomberg, senior energy analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, explained: “So, it’s not that you can put a wire between point A and point B and everything will be fine.” “You need to set up during this process. A few small steps to direct the electricity in the direction you want so that it finally reaches your home.”

The U.S. grid is actually composed of several regional grids or interconnections that are connected together and run at a synchronous frequency of 60 Hz. Although these systems are very large, the supervision of the power grid is somewhat patchy.Generate more than 10,000 power plants nationwideBut the power grid itself, including the transmission and distribution system, is jointly operated by state-owned and private entities, including some public-private partnerships. Then, local utility companies such as Con Edison in New York City and PG&E in San Francisco eventually deliver electricity to people’s homes.

“Compared to any other type of infrastructure, the power system is unique in that it is almost instantaneous,” Baker of the University of California at Boulder told Recode. “So if I turn on the lights at home, there will be an instant mismatch between supply and demand. The power plant actually responds to the increase in demand almost in real time.”

At the same time, this means that not connecting to a wider system can cause problems.For example, Texas has selected Run your own grid, It is largely independent of other regional power systems. Although this gives the state more autonomy, some people believe that if the state’s grid could obtain electricity from other sources, then Texas could have avoided such a devastating blackout last winter. It is worth noting that nearby Oklahoma was able to switch to other states during the same storm to maintain electricity.

Why high temperatures can make things worse

The summer heat can disrupt the electricity supply in the United States in many ways.

Hot weather will push up energy demand, usually to power air conditioners, which can overload the grid and cause power outages—partial outages reduce the overall available power.At the same time, the high temperature Can reduce the efficiency of power plants, Limiting the amount of energy that the power line can carry, and making the transformer more prone to failure, which helps to control the voltage of the entire grid.

This is why during the summer months, you may receive alerts reminding you to reduce your power usage, such as postponing vacuuming until night. If the problem becomes serious enough, the utility may even use rolling blackouts—when the utility company temporarily shuts down power in different areas to avoid overloading the entire system—to protect the grid. Of course, although officials may think these steps are necessary, for residents who need electricity to keep cool during the heat wave, rotating power outages may be inconvenient and even risky. Last week, the New York power company Con Edison Distributed dry ice Some residents of Green Point in Brooklyn did not have air conditioning during the power outage.

Heat may cause excess capacity to the power grid. If the weather becomes hot enough, the wires begin to sag-this is the result of the expansion of the metal in it-and it may hit a tree and cause a fire. At the same time, power plants are highly dependent on water, and they need water to cool the system. This means that as the hot and dry weather promotes the demand for air conditioning, the increase in energy demand also promotes the demand for water from the grid, which is often in short supply during dry periods.cooling system Also need electricity, Increasing the demand for more energy.

“We are trying to predict the weather in two or five years, and climate change is making it more difficult,” Anjan Bose, Professor of Electrical Engineering At Washington State University, tell Recode. “If you can’t predict the weather, you can’t predict the load demand.”

Eventually, individual energy users will be aware of these problems.This summer, the grid operator in California Warn people Be prepared for temporary power outages. Last week, Portland had to shut down the tram service.In areas where the risk of wildfires is high, utility companies May order rolling blackouts In order to reduce the risk of additional fire caused by grid overload.

What does Biden want to do to solve this problem

The power grid cannot be accomplished overnight. On the contrary, the grid needs to be updated by transitioning to cleaner energy sources such as wind and solar energy, adjusting the grid and energy storage infrastructure to adapt to these new types of electricity, and changing our overall approach to energy consumption.

The system also needs to predict and respond to changes in energy demand.Part of the solution is smart grid technology, which Use networked sensors Collect more detailed data about the work of these parts in each part of the grid. Real-time data can also help utility companies quickly resolve potential problems before they become widespread.Biden Administration Support deployment This technology may be the key to making the grid more resilient.

In April, the White House also $8 billion released In order to improve the ability of the grid to support renewable energy, and work to make it easier to obtain approval for new transmission lines focusing on renewable energy.Joe Biden is now pushing the modernization of the grid, as His huge infrastructure plan. Through this plan, the President hopes that the government Will be able to spend at least $73 billion on improvements, Including the construction of thousands of miles of new transmission lines to expand renewable energy. This will be the key to making renewable energy more viable. As Vox’s Umair Irfan and Rebecca Leber explained:

Transmission lines can connect areas that need energy with areas where wind and solar energy are cheap, and these areas can be separated by thousands of miles. This will help drive the business case for wind and solar energy. The proposal calls for the establishment of a new grid management agency to promote clean energy transmission, and the establishment of an infrastructure financing agency to help raise funds.

But change must go beyond the federal government.Equipment needs to be updated At the regional and local level, and also. It remains to be seen whether Biden can successfully deal with the complex challenges of updating the grid.If the government does not take action, private companies may undertake the work of repairing the grid, and there is no guarantee that they will protect the U.S. electricity supply in the long term Before their profit.