Wind energy will be a pillar of a decarbonized electricity sector by 2035 and a net-zero economy by 2050. However, these national goals require solutions to two overarching challenges derived from a generation mix that will become predominantly reliant upon inverter-based and variable renewable energy resources. First, reliable operations of generation and transmission networks require an understanding of energy, capacity, operating reserve, voltage support, and black start requirements. PNNL is a leader in composing and deploying methods at system scale to assess requirements for capacity and grid support services. Secondly, variable renewable energy resource generation challenges the adequacy of generation and transmission due to intermittency of generation and an increasing dependance on multi-state and interregional transmission footprints. PNNL considers a range of meteorological conditions, equipment de-rates, and operational dynamics due to resilience threats to inform new planning and operational models. PNNL uses these capabilities to inform the technoeconomic valuation of wind energy and guide reliable decarbonization.  

PNNL is partnering with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory on a study of transmission options to support offshore wind development on the U.S. East Coast through 2050. The study is evaluating multiple pathways to offshore wind goals through coordinated transmission solutions along the Atlantic in the near-term (2030) and long-term (2050), under various combinations of electricity supply and demand, while supporting grid reliability and resilience and ocean co-use. PNNL is leading the assessment of reliability of East Coast transmission under significant offshore wind penetrations and the resilience of grid operations during cascading events due to extreme weather. 

In the first study of the grid impacts of offshore wind energy in Oregon, PNNL paired offshore wind resource potential from the Oregon coastline with other variable renewable energy sources, including land-based wind and solar energy. The study helped inform how offshore wind could serve electricity demand within Oregon’s transmission network and across the Pacific Northwest. A PNNL-developed valuation framework was used for assessing the value of offshore wind. The framework was made up of a combination of historical wind attributes, a compatibility comparison of other variable renewable resources in the region, and electricity production cost models to create simulations for dispatching electricity generation resources across the region.  

Another study, funded by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, is focusing on understanding the clean energy, capacity, and resilience value of offshore wind in southern Oregon and northern California, as well as assessing operational impacts to system reliability and resilience. 

Finally, PNNL led the West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Literature Review and Gaps Analysis, which was designed to review existing literature focusing on the technical evaluation of offshore wind energy transmission through potential points of interconnection located along the coastlines of California, Oregon, and Washington. The study took into consideration existing and emerging state policies and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management wind site lease activities. It is also being informed by current analysis by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory of Southern Oregon and Northern California offshore wind power transmission, which has unearthed current perspectives of transmission system operators and their requirements to meet reliability standards and mitigate threats to system resilience.

As a follow on to the West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Literature Review and Gaps Analysis, PNNL is co-leading the West Coast Offshore Wind Transmission Study with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. This is a 20-month study to investigate transmission options that will support offshore wind development along the nation’s West Coast through 2050 and will evaluate ways to achieve offshore wind energy goals that support grid reliability and resilience as well as ocean co-use.