The United States’ power grid is something that is incredibly important in the modern world. The network of three major grids (East Coast, West Coast, and Texas) consists of over 55,000 substations supervised by 3,000+ companies, and is one of the largest and most impressive feats of engineering in the world, reaching from one edge of the country to the other. These facts should prove that the grid is heavily robust and prepared to deal with any potential interference, but quite the opposite is true. In fact, from 2000 and to 2020, the number of major yearly disruptions and outages increased 7.5 times, from less than two dozen to over 180, according to Wall Street Journal. Climate change, physical violence, and an overall increase in electrical demand are key players in the stresses being applied to the grid.
However, while these statements may make the future of power grids seem bleak, there is a solution. In fact, this solution is already commercially available and may soon be deployed in your very office.
Battery arrays, coupled with a renewable energy source, are the solution. By installing battery banks and, for instance, solar panel arrays at charging stations, large industrial sites, power stations, and even your home, the load on the grid is reduced and decentralized, exponentially increasing its robustness and capacity.
These systems of battery and renewable combinations (also called microgrids) are where I come in. My time at Indium Corporation will be spent developing and potentially integrating solutions into Indium's facilities as a means of assuring that we are prepared to face the challenges of the coming years. I hope to contribute to Indium's green future and bring us to the top of the industry as a leader in using renewable solutions to develop a sustainable business model.
Check in soon for my upcoming blog posts, where I will be discussing further the challenges our grid is facing and what is being done to become prepared for this changing world.
Stay energized,
Eric