Engineers are preparing the U.S. power system for a 2024 boom in clean energy integration, driven by Biden administration goals and funding. As the penetrations of variable wind and solar generation rise, demand spikes and technical fluctuations pose a threat to reliability. New ways of managing bulk system clean energy with control room and communications technologies that integrate customer-owned resources can help balance supply and demand. Some utilities are exploring new technologies and strategies to integrate system-wide operations and dispatch. Despite ongoing supply chain disruptions, clean energy investment in the US reached a record $64 billion in Q3 2023, up 42% over Q3 2022. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s report suggests that achieving the Biden administration goal of a zero-carbon power sector by 2035 could require a quadrupling of the projected annual growth rates of solar and wind. New technologies and practices are not yet widely deployed, but are being verified by Department of Energy research simulations and power provider pilots.
Solar Dominates US Energy Capacity Growth
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has published data showing that solar accounted for over 75% of US electrical generating
