Rapidly Attainable Increases in Transmission Capacity Using Power-Electronics – the Entitlement

The electric power industry is pivotally important to decarbonization of the economy via electrification of loads, i.e., the transfer of energy demand currently served by carbon-emitting fuels to electric supply by clean, renewable energy sources. The ample competition on both the demand and the supply side of electrification drives technological innovation and cost reductions, resulting in the ever-accelerating adoption and the corresponding economic growth. Yet, this growth is at risk of being stunted if the transmission system, as it accommodates bulk power transfers from new generation sources to newly electrified loads, becomes a limiting factor. Recognizing the scale of the opportunity and the weight of the risk, the DOE’s Office of Electricity is seeking disruptive innovations to enhance power transmission and delivery over long distances to provide additional system flexibility, security, and resilience. The proposed project will develop a software product to quantify attainable increases in transfer capacities of the US transmission system by widespread deployment of transmission control technologies. The focus is on power-electronic-based flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) controllers. FACTS controllers can be built on existing rights-of-way and are able to route power flows through transmission lines hundreds of miles long, at a capital cost comparable to building just three to five miles of new lines. Remarkably, the key barrier to their adoption is not the maturity of converter technology; it is the complexity of analytical processes needed to evaluate their impact to increasing transmission flows and the corresponding benefits.