Reimagining Grid Resilience: A Framework For Addressing Catastrophic Threats to the US Electricity Grid in an Era of Transformational Change

Since its origins at the beginning of the last century, the electricity system has been a critical driver of US economic growth. Reliable and resilient delivery of electricity to homes and businesses is a foundation of national prosperity, and grid outages have grave consequences.

The current grid is characterized by a one-way flow of services and value that convert primary energy to value-added services. This system, with its linear dependencies and easily disrupted individual components, is inherently fragile. Disruptions within any component of the grid can cause outages for customers.

This report describes the changing nature of resilience within the …

Advanced Dynamic Programming for Optimal Microgrid Energy Management Under RER Intermittency

This article explores energy planning and management in microgrids using Advanced Dynamic Programming (ADP) to address uncertainties in solar and wind power generation. Probability Distribution Functions (PDFs) are employed to accurately estimate the fluctuations of renewable resources, ensuring a stable and efficient energy management strategy. The proposed approach focuses on optimizing the logistical management of batteries and distributed generation, enhancing microgrid efficiency in power integration while maintaining economic feasibility. MATLAB-based simulations validate the effectiveness of this method, demonstrating key benefits such as reduced curtailment of renewable generation and improved system reliability. A major advantage of ADP is its rapid implementation, …

Optimal Energy Management in Multi Energy Microgrid with Combined Heat and Power System and Demand Side Response Integration

Renewable energy sources are gaining prominence due to their sustainability, low environmental footprint, and potential to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. However, their intermittent and unpredictable nature presents significant challenges for reliable energy supply. A promising solution lies in integrating multiple energy carriers, such as electricity and gas, to enhance system resilience, efficiency, and sustainability. This study presents a Multi-Energy Microgrid (MEMG) architecture featuring a DC electricity bus and a heat bus. The DC bus integrates photovoltaic (PV) panels, batteries, and a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit, while the heat bus connects to the gas supply network through boilers, …

Energy Allies Communities and Utilities Building Resilience Together

In recent decades, utilities and communities have witnessed how the combination of aging electric grid infrastructure and increasingly extreme weather leads to more frequent and longer power outages. The costs have been steep—up to $150 billion annually for U.S. homes and businesses. Beyond the economic impacts, communities suffer health and safety threats when residents lose heating or cooling, and emergency services become strained.

It is increasingly clear that communities and utilities must strengthen their energy systems to ensure these impacts are minimized or avoided. So, what defines strengthening an energy system? There are a variety of terms used to describe …

Supporting a Reliable Grid: The Opportunity for Virtual Power Plants in Michigan

Michigan has an aging distribution grid with high incidents of blackouts. It also suffers from narrowing capacity availability for resources to meet peak demand. Virtual power plants (VPPs) — aggregations of distributed energy resources (DERs) that can provide utility-scale and utility-grade grid services — can help address those challenges while supporting the state in reaching its ambitious clean energy standard of 80% by 2035 and 100% by 2040.

According to the Department of Energy, VPPs can be configured to provide a range of benefits, including reliability and resilience, affordability, greenhouse gas emissions reductions, resource adequacy, and more.

This brief outlines …

Microgrids for Energy Access in Remote and Islanded Communities Under Natural Disasters – Context of Lombok Island Indonesia

Natural disasters (NDs) including earthquakes, floods, tsunamis, and other high-impact natural phenomena cause significant power outages that interrupt human activity and industrial output. Natural disaster mitigation in the energy sector requires sophisticated control strategies, operations, and vulnerabilities. In literature, different Microgrids (MGs) configurations are adapted in such scenarios which can endure low-probability and high-impact (LPHI) occurrences because of their compact size, manageable loads, and constrained bounds. Ad hoc MGs that are low-power, transportable, and containerized can be used in emergencies by supplying electricity for critical loads. This paper includes an overview of the history of power system resilience, resilience-enhancing techniques, …

Case Study: Hurricane Helene – Hot Springs Microgrid

During Hurricane Helene, heavy rains and flooding forced the shutdown of Duke Energy’s Marshall Substation, resulting in a prolonged power outage that could have left Hot Springs without electricity for over 262 hours. However, Duke Energy activated the Hot Springs Microgrid on October 2, 2024, maintaining and supplying power to the town center for 143.5 hours.

This case study examines the microgrid’s success in leveraging solar PV and battery storage to provide emergency power to the Western North Carolina community of Hot Springs during Hurricane Helene. The case study also highlighted the microgrid’s broader benefits. It includes how Duke Energy …

Optimizing Energy Resilience to Support Medically Vulnerable Residents in Multifamily Affordable Housing

Power outages can quickly turn into a health crisis for the millions of Americans that rely on electricity for home medical devices, including life-support equipment (such as dialysis machines and ventilators) and technologies for independent living (such as electric wheelchairs, refrigeration for medicine, and internet for telehealth appointments). Many electricity-dependent residents live in multifamily affordable housing communities, yet affordable housing providers have limited access to programs that advance the development and affordability of backup power resources.

This report outlines opportunities for solar paired with battery storage to maintain electricity to essential services, both in-unit and in communal spaces, at multifamily …

Building Community Resilience: How Local Leaders are Advancing Resilience Hubs & Bolstering Critical Infrastructure

The latest report from the Alliance for a Sustainable Future – a joint effort of C2ES and The U.S. Conference of Mayors to help cities and businesses collaborate on sustainable development— highlights city-oriented case studies that advance climate resilience. One of the goals of the Alliance is to inform mayors, local officials, and business leaders of innovative new strategies that could present an opportunity for their own communities to reach their climate goals.

The following case studies showcase the variety of resilience spaces and hubs that are emerging in communities around the country and the role of local governments. They …

Risk Assessment of Transmission Lines Against Grid-Ignited Wildfires

Wildfires ignited by the power lines have become increasingly common over the past decade. Enhancing the operational and financial resilience of power grids against wildfires involves a multifaceted approach. Key proactive measures include meticulous vegetation management, strategic grid hardening such as infrastructure undergrounding, preemptive de-energization, and disaster risk financing, among others. Each measure should be tailored to prioritize efforts in mitigating the consequences of wildfires. This paper proposes a transmission line risk assessment method for grid-ignited wildfires, identifying the transmission lines that could potentially lead to damage to the natural and built environment and to other transmission lines if igniting …