New lab models renewable energy’s effect on the power grid

MIT Technology Review : The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has just opened the $135 million Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) in Golden, Colorado. Equipped with a supercomputer and a megawatt-scale miniature power grid, the facility will model the growing number of renewable energy sources and other new technologies being added to local and national power grids. Because solar and wind sources are intermittent, however, maintaining energy levels and reliability may become a significant issue. Benjamin Kroposki of NREL says that when renewables provide 20% of the total power needed—as they already do in Germany and Denmark—current US systems may not be sufficient for maintaining grid reliability.