MIT researchers have developed a new framework that could help energy planners decide where to build renewable energy projects as climate change puts growing pressure on power grids.<\/p>\n
The study combines fine-scale meteorology with detailed simulations of energy infrastructure. Researchers found that where new energy projects are built could significantly affect whether future power systems can meet demand reliably.<\/p>\n
The team applied the framework to decarbonized energy systems in New England and Texas. Their analysis found that systems designed around historic climate conditions could experience up to a fivefold increase in energy<\/a> shortfalls by 2050.<\/p>\n By incorporating future climate conditions into energy planning, however, the researchers found that both regions could improve grid resilience at little or no additional cost.<\/p>\n \u201cAs we mitigate climate change with renewables, we can also adapt to climate change by using future weather projections in our power system planning, and the extra costs of that adaptation are, at least in this study, not much,\u201d said senior author Michael Howland, an MIT professor.<\/p>\n Climate change adds new risks to power grids<\/p>\n Electricity systems are already changing rapidly as demand rises from trends such as artificial intelligence and transportation electrification, while falling costs drive greater adoption of wind and solar power.<\/p>\n But renewable generation and electricity demand are both affected by weather, creating new challenges as climate conditions change.<\/p>\n \u201cThis study explores the joint, simultaneous impacts on multiple components of the energy system, similar to compound events studied in climate science,\u201d Howland explained. <\/p>\n \u201cAn extreme weather event can impact wind and solar generation and electricity<\/a> demand all at the same time. Our hypothesis is that\u2019s likely to be the biggest impact we\u2019ll see from climate change on energy systems<\/a>,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The study found that climate change could increase energy failures by as much as 500% by 2050 if future climate conditions are not considered when siting and designing energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n Where wind and solar are built matters<\/p>\n The researchers found that locations best suited for renewable projects under future climate conditions can differ meaningfully from those identified using historic weather data.<\/p>\n