AWS for Industries Tackles Grid Capacity Challenges with Grid-Enhancing Technologies
Significant investments in renewable energy are fueling substantial growth in low-cost, carbon-free electricity across the United States. This surge benefits Amazon and the nation in striving to meet sustainability targets. However, the existing power grid faces limitations, lacking the capacity to swiftly incorporate all this new renewable energy production. This bottleneck currently hinders progress in the clean energy transition.
While new transmission infrastructure construction and energy system modernization are critical long-term solutions, grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) present an immediate opportunity to boost the efficiency and capacity of the present power grid at a reduced cost for consumers.
What are Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs)?
GETs are essentially hardware and software solutions that can be integrated into the existing grid to enhance its intelligence, capacity, flexibility, and resilience. Common examples include:
- Dynamic line ratings (DLRs)
- Advanced power flow controls
- Topology optimization
These technologies, working in concert, offer real-time data on grid performance, facilitate power rerouting to underutilized circuits, and enable grid topology adjustments. This provides grid operators and planners with a comprehensive toolkit to effectively manage the grid.
During the transition toward new transmission infrastructure, GETs offer a cost-effective and timely means to enhance the efficiency of the current grid.
GETs: A Key to Unlocking Renewable Energy
GETs play a crucial role in interconnecting the substantial 1,480 gigawatts (GW) of zero-carbon resources that the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) estimates are seeking grid connection.
Amazon collaborated with RMI on a report exploring the potential impact of GETs on the PJM electric transmission system. The RMI report, titled “GETing Interconnected in PJM,” showed that GETs could enable the interconnection of 6.6 GW of new solar, wind, and storage generation across five states within the PJM region (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia) by 2027.
The study assessed the grid’s current capacity and the costs associated with various solutions to connect more renewable energy to the PJM grid. It analyzed power flows and production costs to pinpoint optimal locations for GET installation, thereby freeing up space on the grid for renewable energy sources waiting to connect.
Economic and Environmental Benefits of GETs
The deployment of GETs benefits electricity customers, with the analysis demonstrating that they are significantly more economical than traditional transmission infrastructure upgrades. The study projects a production cost savings of $1 billion due to lower-cost generation integration and reduced system congestion.
Considering the rapid and cost-effective deployment of GETs compared to traditional infrastructure upgrades, these technologies can swiftly unlock substantial renewable energy generation currently held up in the PJM interconnection queue. This quick action is critical for customers and states striving to meet clean energy targets.
Addressing climate change’s urgency demands a comprehensive approach, embracing both immediate and long-term solutions. Amazon is calling on US regulators to require grid planners to consider GETs in interconnection and transmission planning. This approach will help to enhance capacity and develop a more flexible and modern power grid. This action will further support the energy transition.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has already taken a significant step in this direction with its recent interconnection queue reform rule. Key components of this reform include implementing a first-ready, first-served cluster study process, quickening interconnection queue processing, and incorporating technological advancements into the interconnection process. FERC is in the finalizing stages of a regulation mandating the consideration of grid-enhancing technologies during transmission planning. Moreover, state policymakers can further promote GETs deployment within their jurisdictions.
Amazon is on track to meet its goal of powering all its global electricity use with 100% renewable energy by 2025, a full five years ahead of the original 2030 target. As the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy since 2020, Amazon is committed to identifying innovative ways to accelerate the integration of new projects, modernize the power grid for capacity constraints, and collaborate with policymakers to alleviate climate change impacts.
Amazon is eager to partner with regulators and grid operators to broaden GETs deployment, boosting capacity and access to carbon-free energy.
