Navigating Reliability and Growth
Mike Caravaggio is Vice President, Fleet Reliability at EPRI. Jeffery Preece is Vice President, Fleet Development and Fuels at EPRI.
For many countries around the world, electricity use has remained nearly flat over the last decade, driven by energy efficiency advancements. However, the need for electricity to support investments in expanded industrial capabilities, new electrification, and the anticipation of rapid data center expansion is growing by the day. This shift is a key part of a complex energy puzzle EPRI is working on: Where will all this new energy come from?
Renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, will play an increasing role in meeting future demand. More deployment can add valuable generation to the grid, which requires additional support to match intermittency. To ensure grid reliability and prevent disruptions, these renewable power sources must be paired with dispatchable resources.
Today, these resources are principally thermal (coal and gas) and hydro generation, along with short-duration battery storage. In the future, this may include long-duration energy storage, geothermal, advanced nuclear technologies, and decarbonized thermal, be it through carbon capture and storage (CCS) or the use of lower-carbon fuels.