The United States’ power grid is in trouble. Much of the country’s energy comes from non-renewable sources that contribute to climate change. And as the resulting climate crisis brings more frequent heat waves, wildfires and freezes, the demand on the grid gets bigger and more erratic. The tension is heavy, but Patricia Hidalgo-Gonzalez has ideas to take the burden off the grid.
Hidalgo-Gonzalez heads the Renewable Energy and Advanced Mathematics (REAM) lab at UC San Diego. Her work focuses on finding new ways to feed more sustainable power into the grid, the kind of research that could provide solutions to the blackouts that hit places like California and Texas during extreme temperature swings. “Unfortunately, we expect this almost every summer now,” Hidalgo-Gonzalez told attendees at the RE:WIRED Green conference on Wednesday.
To counter this, Hidalgo-Gonzalez has created models to study the electrical grid in western North America amid the uncertainty of climate change. At REAM, her team uses advanced control theory and machine learning to understand grid conditions that maximize renewable energy sources. In a study published by the lab in 2020, she was able to model the optimal way to add more renewable energy generators to the grid in the West by 2045. The model revealed when and where to install new generators, what kind of renewable technology would be best, and the total cost.
These kinds of models will be vital for the grids of the future, but Hidalgo-Gonzalez notes that we are already seeing progress towards a more resilient grid. California has announced plans to prohibit the sale of gas-powered cars in 2035, and this year’s climate bill should mean: more electric trucks and vans. It is also possible to use all batteries in those electric vehicles could save the US power grid. Rooftop solar use has increased significantly, meaning more Americans can sell electricity back to the system. Individuals move from consumer to producer, she said.
Meanwhile, the public can take action to secure the net. Since renewables peak with sunshine in the afternoon, Hidalgo-Gonzalez recommends shifting energy usage to about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. whenever possible, such as doing laundry or charging your EV on a new schedule.
Getting people to change their energy use is difficult, but not impossible. As evidence, Hidalgo-Gonzalez points to a heat wave that hit California just two weeks ago. As temperatures rose in the afternoon, demand for air conditioning put pressure on the grid. “Many of us got text messages or emails from the system administrator or our utilities,” she said. The messages asked people to reduce their electricity demand between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. That concerted action helped prevent blackouts. “This really worked,” she said.