EERE Success Story: Unique Software Offers Tool for Securing Transmission Grid at Maximum Efficiency

Nov. 20, 2017

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE’s) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) reports that the nation’s electrical grid, which until recently had the luxury of operating under a relatively static set of principles, is in the middle of a dramatic transformation. An innovative new grid operations and system planning tool, developed by Idaho National Laboratory over several years with support from DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), capitalizes on the fact that transmission lines are cooled by wind blowing on them and are capable of handling more electricity in windy conditions. Learn more about the WETO’s current and past grid systems integration work.

In related news, DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory entered into an agreement with National Grid, a leading U.S. transmission company, to work together on research in the areas of transmission grid modernization and energy storage technologies.