PNNL Playing Key Role in Modernizing the Electric Grid

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Both the region and the nation's power grid will benefit from over 80 new research and development projects announced today by Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. The awards go to the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and thirteen other national laboratories to deliver new grid concepts, tools and technologies in a concerted manner.

Today's awards, up to $220 million, launch an integrated multi-year research effort that will guide the transformation of the nation's electricity grid to meet new demands and priorities. The projects were proposed by DOE's Grid Modernization Laboratory Consortium, which is co-led by PNNL. The consortium of 14 national laboratories developed an integrated approach for identifying, planning and executing on the top priorities for grid modernization. The proposals included 95 external partners representing large and small utilities, vendors, state regulators and other key grid stakeholders from across the country.

"The consortium is tackling the profound and unprecedented scope, scale and pace of change facing our power grid in light of increasing use of clean energy sources, the need for new business and market structures, the opportunities presented by new sensors and high performance computing, and the increasingly active participation of consumers and devices at the fringe of the grid like distributed storage and generation," said Carl Imhoff, PNNL's Electricity Infrastructure Sector manager and co-lead for the GMLC.

PNNL is involved in 40 research projects including:

• Grid Architecture — Create a new grid architecture or "big picture" of the grid and how each minute part affects the others. Developing this architecture with industry leaders will help inform decisions about proposed changes to the grid in this modernization effort to ensure no unintended consequences result.
• Control Theory — Develop the mathematical underpinnings needed to provide effective and stable control mechanisms that will enable millions of distributed storage and generation resources, like batteries and solar power, to ensure grid reliability.
• Standards for Grid Services — Develop protocols to test how these distributed smart devices can help balance supply and demand to maintain proper frequency and voltage required for grid stability.
• Foundational Analysis — Develop a "dash-board" of performance metrics for industry and policy makers to better measure the technical progress of grid modernization in improving resiliency, security, flexibility, sustainability, and affordability.

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