More and more of the economy is being powered by the grid and that trend will continue over the next few decades. At the same time countries are looking to reduce their reliance on coal and gas and use more renewables like solar and wind. Managing the transition to a green grid will require extensive planning and investment to ensure grids can remain reliable.

A renewables powered grid will still need baseload power sources that can provide large amounts of power reliably. But many renewable sources are intermittent, when the sun doesn’t shine you can’t get solar power. 

To manage this transition countries will need to identify baseload power options dependent on their geography, and investment must continue into storage options, both for long term and short term and grid upgrades.  For countries to reach 2035 net zero goals, requires action now and countries need a clear plan of what the makeup of the electrical grid will look like in 20 years time.

Guests

Alasatir Perry, vice president of renewables, SNC Lavalin

Sarah Long, market director for net zero, Atkins

The post #217 Managing the Energy Transition first appeared on Engineering Matters.