Costs quickly rise when things go wrong with roads, roofs and power lines. Many of those risks are also avoidable.
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Articles on Electric grid
Displaying 1 - 20 of 24 articles
As climate change increasingly threatens our daily lives, we must redesign our homes to better protect us and be part of the solution.
Solar power generation varies greatly depending on the weather. A new study suggests in some parts of Australia, solar has a bright future.
Some power plants don’t have massive smokestacks or cooling towers – or even a central site.
Superconductors make highly efficient electronics, but the ultralow temperatures and ultrahigh pressures make them costly and difficult to use. Room-temperature superconductors promise to change that.
Texas wasn’t prepared to keep the lights on during Winter Storm Uri, and it won’t be ready for future cold weather unless it starts thinking about energy demand as well as supply.
How does flowing water make electricity? An engineer explains hydroelectric generation.
A study of real-world disasters shows home solar and storage could keep the lights on and the air conditioner running during many outages, but not all.
Sometimes wind and solar power produce more electricity than the local grid can handle. Better energy storage and transmission could move extra energy to where it’s needed instead of shutting it off.
Russia probably has the means to attack US electrical grids and otherwise create havoc but probably won’t go that far. Instead, watch for disinformation aimed at undermining the US and NATO.
Renewable energy is expanding at a record pace, but still not fast enough. Here are the key areas to watch for progress in bringing more wind and solar into the power grid in 2022.
What will the US$1.2 trillion infrastructure bill pay for? Here are some of the things it will help build, fix or remove.
President Biden’s proposed solar power expansion would cost $350 billion in federal support over the coming decade. An energy expert explains where that money would come from and who it would help.
Hurricane Ida left the entire city of New Orleans in the dark and renewed discussion of burying power lines. But there’s no way to completely protect the grid, above ground or below.
The infrastructure bill being debated in Congress looks like a small but genuine down payment on a more climate-friendly transportation sector and electric power grid. What comes next is crucial.
The US electricity grid is actually five regional grids, and it’s hard to share power between them. A macrogrid could bridge the gaps, making electricity cheaper and more reliable.
The Texas electric power market is designed to give energy companies incentive to sell electricity at the lowest possible cost. That focus helps explain why it collapsed during a historic cold wave.
Heat waves, droughts and deep freezes can all strain the electric grid, leading utilities to impose rolling blackouts. Climate change is likely to make these events more common.
Replacing fluorescent lights with efficient LED alternatives is the single best way to cut schools’ electricity costs.
There are 15 different kinds of electrical outlets around the world. One standard would be more convenient, but no one wants to change theirs.
Top contributors
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Director of Energy Studies, University of Florida
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William J. Perry Fellow in International Security, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University
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Josey Centennial Professor of Energy Resources, The University of Texas at Austin
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Professor of Electrical Engineering, Iowa State University
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Associate Professor of Industrial Ecology / Life Cycle Assessment, McGill University
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Deputy Director of the Afrobarometer & Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and MSU’s African Studies Center, Michigan State University
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Affiliate, Electricity Markets & Policy Group, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
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Professor in Engineering, Chair in the Internet of Things, Stellenbosch University
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Research Scientist, The University of Texas at Austin
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Senior Director: Social Impact & Transformation, Stellenbosch University
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Senior Research Fellow, Battery Storage & Grid Integration Program, Australian National University
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Professor of Dynamics, University of Nottingham
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Professor of Law, Texas A&M University
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Professor, Vienna University of Economics and Business
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John Rennie Short is a Friend of The Conversation.
Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
