Blackouts are a devastating reality of our climate-changed world. An unprecedented winter storm in 2021 knocked out power for millions of Texans for days, killing hundreds, and this summer Californians managed to barely save their state’s power grid from the brink of collapse during a record-breaking heat wave.
Some blackouts are caused by storms destroying infrastructure like transmission lines and substations — just look at what’s happened in Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Maria and, more recently, Fiona.
But many blackouts can also be blamed on how the electric system works. Namely: The goal of the power grid is to deliver electricity to your home as soon as it’s been generated at a power plant. There isn’t a great pool of electricity waiting in reserve for when demand spikes. Experts say that needs to change.
“Electricity systems are real-time systems,” said Eric…
The power grid of the future needs clean energy — and big, weird batteries.
