Renewable Energy and Grid Reliability

1 Introduction

As the world transitions toward cleaner energy sources, the integration of renewable energy into the power grid has become a key focus in efforts to reduce carbon emissions and combat climate change. Inspired by personal and professional experiences—Molly’s exposure to unsustainable practices in fashion retail and Margot’s work in the renewable energy sector—this project seeks to address the complexities of building a reliable, clean, and affordable energy future. Our interest in this project lies in understanding how increasing the share of variable renewable energy sources, specifically wind and solar, impacts the stability and resilience of the electrical grid. Grid reliability is a critical component of the energy transition, as the variability of renewables can lead to fluctuations in power supply, potentially causing disruptions if not properly managed. By examining the relationship between renewable integration and grid reliability metrics like blackout frequency and outage duration, this project aims to provide insights into the causes of these events. We explore how increasing the share of variable renewable energy sources, particularly wind and solar, impacts the stability and resilience of the electrical grid through the following themes:

1. Change Over Time: We assess the growing integration of wind and solar energy on the U.S. grid as well as the frequency and length of outages over the last decade, and we explore if there is a correlation between these changes.

2. Regional Variability: We investigate geographic trends in outage data, and try to understand what is driving these grid reliability issues.

3. Extreme Weather: We analyze the relationship between outages and extreme weather events and climate disasters.