The need for grid modernisation has grown more urgent as US utilities prepare to accommodate more renewable energy capacity, according to a report by Black & Veatch.
As energy stewards, utilities continually strive to balance grid expansion needs with competing interests, including operating and managing aging infrastructure, interconnection requirements, and the ever-present challenge of delivering safe, reliable energy to their customers.
Black & Veatch’s 2024 Electric Report outlines the “immense opportunity” in renewables and sustainable infrastructure while highlighting the challenges of addressing grid modernization and cybersecurity threats.
Nearly 700 survey respondents cite renewable integration, aging infrastructure and environmental regulations as top challenges.
Renewable energy penetration emerged as the most significant current catalyst for grid modernisation at 57%, followed by low probability/high impact events (e.g., weather) at 43%.
Renewable reliability at a large scale is also a leading issue for utilities, given the intermittency of solar and wind.
“The 2024 Electric Report encapsulates a state of the industry that allows utilities to better understand how their peers approach modern challenges,” said Jim Doull, Executive Vice President, now leading Power Providers sector at Black & Veatch.
“While regulations and funding move forward, each electric utility may find itself following different paths when it comes to accessibility or prioritization, and this report offers the necessary insight to understand what comes next in advancing the future of US energy.”
He added: “By assessing where the electric industry is on an annual basis, we are able to better track emerging trends, as well as where the industry has seen pain points throughout the years.
“With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), we see increasing demand for data centres – challenging the grid to keep up with load growth – which also brings a need for IT and OT cybersecurity, making today’s challenges look different than they did nearly 20 years ago, when we first published this report.”