Extreme weather events are becoming increasingly frequent, and hurricanes, forest fires, tornadoes, and ice storms have a huge impact on human life, not only by causing injury or death but also by disrupting electrical and transport systems.
Rising demand and increased reliance on electricity in modern life means that robust infrastructure needs to be deployed that’s capable of withstanding these shocks, not only in high-risk areas but also in areas that would previously have been considered low-risk (such as prepping for ice storms in Texas).
In this blog, we’ll look at the importance of building resilient power systems, how to achieve greater resiliency, and the technologies that can be leveraged to maintain functional power systems in extreme conditions.
The Increasing Threat of Extreme Weather to Power Systems
Over the past decade, the effects of extreme weather events on energy infrastructure have been undeniable. In the US, 80% of all major U.S. power outages (i.e., those affecting more than 50,000 people or disrupting more than 300 megawatts) between 2000 and 2023 were caused by weather-related events.
Hurricane Sandy in 2012, for example, left over 8 million people across 21 states without power for days, with economic losses exceeding $70 billion. In California, droughts and intense weather have led to five times more wildfires between 1996 and 2021 than the previous 25 years, causing widespread disruption to grids and significant compensation payments for grid failure and power line contribution to those fires.
Due to the nature of power generation and distribution systems, with power sources generally needing to constantly deliver power to users who can’t store up weeks of power before an extreme weather event, even temporary disruptions of a couple of days have major impacts on human health. Considering the increases in such events, enhancing power system resilience is no longer optional but essential to deliver a consistent power supply to all users, especially those dealing with major disruptions. Non-weather events, such as earthquakes and war, also create major disruptions to power generation and supply networks.
Building More Resilient Power Systems
Grid Modernization and Infrastructure Hardening
Traditional power grids were not designed to withstand the severity of modern extreme weather events and non-weather emergencies. Several modern technologies can be incorporated to increase reliability and load capacity to build greater resilience in transmission and distribution (T&D) lines. These include:
Advanced conductors – Leveraging existing rights of way to upgrade conductors made with aluminum surrounding a carbon composite core. These materials make the conductor lighter, more durable, and more conductive than current aluminum-conductor steel-reinforced (ACSR) cables, increasing load capacity by up to 3x over ACSR.
Optical fiber sensing – Monitoring weather elements such as wind patterns or heat fluctuations allows utilities to better identify stressor points for either hardening or proactive maintenance.
Upgrading low- and mid-voltage switchgear, transformers, and transmission infrastructure – Traditional investment rates of 2%-3% are grossly inadequate for the significant expansion of electricity usage in the past few decades.
Hardening infrastructure – Physical upgrades can be deployed, such as burying power lines underground, reinforcing substations against flooding and high winds, and hardening poles. To withstand frequent hurricanes in the area, Florida Power & Light has embarked on an undergrounding process and has undergrounded 50% of its main power lines so far.
Microgrids
Traditional centralized grids are vulnerable to cascading failures, where a single node being knocked out can cause knock-on outages throughout the network. Microgrids, as an example of decentralized power, offer localized energy generation, often utilizing renewable power sources such as solar or wind or remote power units (RPUs) to power localized areas.
One of the main benefits of these systems is their capacity to disconnect from the central grid during an emergency and operate in “island mode,” thus maintaining power to critical sites such as hospitals, military bases, community centers, and local neighborhoods where present.
Frequent storms knocking out energy delivery in Puerto Rico, for example, are leading community groups to build microgrids to boost energy resiliency during hurricane season and the rest of the year.
Source Decentralization
One of the most promising approaches to resilient power system design is decentralization. Along with on-site production through renewables, such as solar and wind, capacity and efficiency have grown in fossil fuel-powered electricity generators. Gas-powered microturbines can deliver up to 250kw of electricity, often found in cogeneration contexts with wastewater treatment plants, co-digestion plants, farms, and landfills.
Pre-packaged systems, built on power generation from gensets or a number of combined power sources, are designed to be delivered to critical sites in times of need or in preparation for emergencies. These systems integrate modern monitoring and control systems to make the most effective use of available energy sources.
Energy Storage Systems
The cornerstone of modern, resilient power systems is energy storage, particularly battery energy storage systems (BESS). Storage systems can supply energy during disruptions and balance fluctuations caused by outages or intermittent supply.
In response to California’s extremely deadly and disruptive wildfires, utilities have built utility-scale storage systems. Up to 2024, California has installed 8.6 gigawatts of storage capacity, which accounts for half of the total energy storage in the US. This investment means that millions of people can still be supplied with electricity even during extreme weather conditions affecting distribution.
Smart Grids and Predictive Analytics
Smart grids integrate advanced communication technologies, including IoT sensors, with traditional energy systems, enabling real-time monitoring, automated responses, and better grid management. Utilities can anticipate potential system failures and respond proactively by leveraging predictive analytics.
Detroit-based energy group DTE, for example, has seen smart grid technologies they’ve deployed leading to reductions in outages by 30%. Importantly, smart grid technologies can also help to prevent cyber attacks by military adversaries by hardening defenses over monitoring and control systems.
Conclusion
With extreme weather events increasing in both frequency and severity and the demand for electricity growing exponentially, the need for resilient power systems has become extremely critical. Through modernizing the grid, deploying microgrids, decentralizing energy production, creating more energy storage systems, and integrating smart modern technologies, power systems can be effectively hardened against extreme weather events and other emergencies.
At Enercon, we have extensive experience in a wide range of power system resilience projects, including upgrading equipment, designing microgrids, and building remote power units. To find out more about how we can help with your next project, you can contact us here.
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