Challenges to the Integration of Renewable Resources at High System Penetration

The successful integration of renewable resources in the electric grid at high penetration levels – that is, sufficient to meet a 33% renewables portfolio standard for California – entails diverse technical and organizational challenges. These challenges are described here in terms of a coordination problem in time and space, balancing electric power on a range of scales from microseconds to decades, and from individual homes on distribution feeders to hundreds of miles. This talk will explain some of the technical details of coordination on the various scales, and highlight crucial research needs toward assuring that "smart grid" development can effectively support the optimal use of renewable resources.

Speaker: Alexandra Von Meier, Associate Professor, Environmental Studies and Planning, Sonoma State University

Live broadcast at mms://media.citris.berkeley.edu/webcast; Questions can be sent via Yahoo IM to username: citrisevents