All Things DER: A Conversation on Climate Change and Its Impact on the Grid
by Dr. Elizabeth Cook, General Manager of Advanced Grid Solutions, Duquesne Light Company
Welcome to the All Things DER podcast! In this podcast, we’ll be digging in, defining, and discussing where the new energy economy is heading with electric industry leaders, and explore all the ways that distributed energy resources can modernize and improve our ever-evolving power grid.
In today’s episode, we’re talking with Arron Lewis, West Region Leader and Vice President at Black & Veatch. We have a thoughtful discussion on an issue all utilities are dealing with: climate change and its impact on the grid. From incorporating new sources of power to using distributed energy resources (DERs), we dig into a variety of ways to create a more resilient grid that can withstand even the most severe weather.
Here’s what you’ll discover:
- Which natural disasters utilities are most concerned with, from West Coast wildfires to East Coast hurricanes
- How utilities are proactively building a more resilient grid to prepare for future extreme weather events
- How Black & Veatch is using distributed energy resources (DERs) to advance the grid, even in the face of aging infrastructure
- Why climate change has made data analysis and systems planning more complicated for utilities
- Why creating synergy among various stakeholders, from regulators to distributors, is critical to advancing our power grid