Future shock: Big-data capability predicts electrical grid needs
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is using data and supercomputing power to determine how the power grid will react to climate pressures and a growing population.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory said new techniques allow them to pinpoint, down to the neighborhood substation level, where the nation's electrical grid will show the most strain from coming population and climate changes.
In a July 29 statement, lab officials said they developed an integrated approach that makes such precise predictions possible by using the Titan supercomputer, new algorithms, and detailed datasets on infrastructure and population.
They added that Oak Ridge is the only Energy Department national laboratory that has a computational research group focused on advancing the theory and applications of geospatial science and technology. And the new capability could help cities and utility providers hone adjustments or upgrades to local electrical infrastructure.
"These results can affect how future services are defined and where new substation capacity within the national grid may need to be located," Oak Ridge researcher Melissa Allen said.
Allen co-authored a paper that details the research, titled "Impacts of Climate Change on Sub-regional Electricity Demand and Distribution in the Southern United States." The paper was published July 25 in the journal Nature Energy.