Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have proposed creating a "super grid" so that Caribbean islands aren't left in the dark during hurricanes.
As SciTechDaily detailed, while countries in the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have ramped up solar and wind generation — a huge win for both human health and the planet — renewable electricity generation significantly drops when these islands get slammed by hurricanes.
The increase in clouds blocks sunlight from reaching solar panels, making them much less efficient at producing energy.
However, the researchers' modeling method for super grids could give the island residents peace of mind if they know they can still access reliable power during storms.
But to make that possible, the research team had to understand how tropical systems would impact existing solar installations in the storm's path and which connections would enhance grid resiliency the most, as the outlet explained.
To do this, lead researcher Rodney Itiki and his colleagues investigated several approaches to creating a super grid across continents via undersea cables, analyzing how each would impact electricity generation. The researchers used the model to study how a large hurricane with ten possible trajectories would affect solar power across the Caribbean.
"This is one of the major contributions of the research, because when we design the power system, we need to do it considering all possible cases — most of all, the worst-case scenario," Itiki, a postdoctoral research associate with ORNL, said in a news release.
After modeling several grid configurations, they determined a U.S.-Caribbean super grid was the clear winner in helping to keep the lights on during a storm.
They found that connecting the islands' electric grids alone was the least reliable since they're often in the crosshairs of hurricanes. However, linking the U.S. and Carribean grids with South American power supplies could provide backup electricity if the U.S.-Carribean grid gets disconnected, SciTechDaily said.
Since the model showed some of the solar plants within the hurricane's path losing nearly 90% of their output during the storm, it's crucial to bolster energy security ahead of time.
For instance, Itiki suggested that connecting U.S. power supplies with the Caribbean grid could boost energy reliability for the mainland in case of a storm or power outage, per SciTechDaily.
But the implications go beyond securing reliable power during hurricane season. Connecting the electrical grids of both regions would benefit the U.S. and Caribbean islands throughout the year by making more energy available and also reducing the need for battery backup power.
While battery energy storage is undoubtedly helpful during storms, a fully charged 10-kilowatt-hour battery is only enough to power critical needs in a typical home for 24 hours — without running the AC — as Solar.com detailed. To power an AC during an extended outage, you'd need at least 30-40 kilowatt-hours of battery capacity, and that can be quite expensive to install.
To that end, shoring up the electric grid with more connections would have a greater impact, especially since hurricanes are becoming more intense as the world heats up.
While further research is needed to study the full impacts of high-voltage cables, the model can be useful for utilities and cities to predict gaps in solar power and have alternative energy sources like large batteries ready during storms.
Plus, as the world transitions to clean energy, super grids would help us move to a sustainable, pollution-free future much faster.
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