The electric grid powers our daily lives and our nation’s economy. It is often described as one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. But in its current state, the grid is not ready to meet the growing electricity needs of our digital economy, nor is it ready to meet the complex challenges brought on by widespread adoption of distributed energy resources, the electrification of transportation, and increased customer choice.   

Our grid must also be made more resilient. We must protect the nation’s power delivery system from cyber and physical attacks and from extreme weather events and natural disasters. We also must address load volatility and power quality issues caused by the intermittency of renewable energy resources such as solar and wind. Achieving this resilience is essential, even as we attain higher standards of performance in reliability, cost of service, efficiency, environmental impact, and safety.

At PNNL, we are taking on the toughest challenges presented by grid modernization. We are a national leader, with deep scientific knowledge and technical resources, defining the modern grid for the 21st century. PNNL plays a leading role in developing a power grid that enables real-time predictive operation to improve reliability and efficiency; incorporates advanced controls that engage new devices and enable new services at scale while ensuring resilience; and uses new approaches and technologies, such as energy storage, microgrids, and transactive energy, to provide flexibility in support of an array of energy futures.