diver12345 t1_j7w48h5 wrote
How well does the current status of the US power grid support distributed power generation?
What kind of infrastructure changes need to be made to support moving to more renewable resources?
Sammy_Roth t1_j7w4yg0 wrote
Really good question! This is a topic I really need to learn more about, but the short answer is not super well, at least not in a lot of places. I got into the grid challenges just a bit, and cited some valuable recent research, in this piece: https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2021-11-04/future-of-rooftop-solar-up-for-grabs-in-california-boiling-point.
Big picture, building all the renewable generating capacity we'll need -- from big solar farms to lots more rooftop panels -- and also electrifying transportation and heating will require huge investments in the electric grid to make it bigger, more resilient, more flexible and more able to accommodate flows in both directions. That means from big power plants to consumers, but also from consumers back to the grid -- from rooftop solar panels, dedicated energy storage systems and also electric vehicle batteries.
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