Electric Power Research Institute

About: Electric Power Research Institute is a nonprofit organization based out in Palo Alto, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Electric power system & Wind power. The organization has 31991 authors who have published 27077 publications receiving 269567 citations.

Electrical Energy Storage for the Grid: A Battery of Choices

Abstract: The increasing interest in energy storage for the grid can be attributed to multiple factors, including the capital costs of managing peak demands, the investments needed for grid reliability, and the integration of renewable energy sources. Although existing energy storage is dominated by pumped hydroelectric, there is the recognition that battery systems can offer a number of high-value opportunities, provided that lower costs can be obtained. The battery systems reviewed here include sodium-sulfur batteries that are commercially available for grid applications, redox-flow batteries that offer low cost, and lithium-ion batteries whose development for commercial electronics and electric vehicles is being applied to grid storage.

The representative concentration pathways: an overview

Abstract: This paper summarizes the development process and main characteristics of the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), a set of four new pathways developed for the climate modeling community as a basis for long-term and near-term modeling experiments. The four RCPs together span the range of year 2100 radiative forcing values found in the open literature, i.e. from 2.6 to 8.5 W/m 2 . The RCPs are the product of an innovative collaboration between integrated assessment modelers, climate modelers, terrestrial ecosystem modelers and emission inventory experts. The resulting product forms a comprehensive data set with high spatial and sectoral resolutions for the period extending to 2100. Land use and emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases are reported mostly at a 0.5×0.5 degree spatial resolution, with air pollutants also provided per sector (for well-mixed gases, a coarser resolution is used). The underlying integrated assessment model outputs for land use, atmospheric emissions and concentration data were harmonized across models and scenarios to ensure consistency with historical observations while preserving individual scenario trends. For most variables, the RCPs cover a wide range of the existing literature. The RCPs are supplemented with extensions (Extended Concentration Pathways, ECPs), which allow

The next generation of scenarios for climate change research and assessment

Abstract: Advances in the science and observation of climate change are providing a clearer understanding of the inherent variability of Earth's climate system and its likely response to human and natural influences. The implications of climate change for the environment and society will depend not only on the response of the Earth system to changes in radiative forcings, but also on how humankind responds through changes in technology, economies, lifestyle and policy. Extensive uncertainties exist in future forcings of and responses to climate change, necessitating the use of scenarios of the future to explore the potential consequences of different response options. To date, such scenarios have not adequately examined crucial possibilities, such as climate change mitigation and adaptation, and have relied on research processes that slowed the exchange of information among physical, biological and social scientists. Here we describe a new process for creating plausible scenarios to investigate some of the most challenging and important questions about climate change confronting the global community.

The unified power flow controller: a new approach to power transmission control

Abstract: This paper shows that the unified power flow controller (UPFC) is able to control both the transmitted real power and, independently, the reactive power flows at the sending- and the receiving-end of the transmission line. The unique capabilities of the UPFC in multiple line compensation are integrated into a generalized power flow controller that is able to maintain prescribed, and independently controllable, real power and reactive power flow in the line. The paper describes the basic concepts of the proposed generalized P and Q controller and compares it to the more conventional, but related power flow controllers, such as the thyristor-controlled series capacitor and thyristor-controlled phase angle regulator. The paper also presents results of computer simulations showing the performance of the UPFC under different system conditions. >

Economic and environmental choices in the stabilization of atmospheric CO2concentrations

Abstract: THE ultimate goal of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is to achieve "stabilization of greenhouse-gas concentrations at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system". With the concentration targets yet to be determined, Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change developed a set of illustrative pathways for stabilizing the atmospheric CO2 concentration at 350, 450, 550, 650 and 750 p.p.m.v. over the next few hundred years1,2. But no attempt was made to determine whether the implied emissions might constitute a realistic transition away from the current heavy dependence on fossil fuels. Here we devise new stabilization profiles that explicitly (albeit qualitatively) incorporate considerations of the global economic system, estimate the corresponding anthropogenic emissions requirements, and assess the significance of the profiles in terms of global-mean temperature and sea level changes. Our findings raise a number of important issues for those engaged in climate-change policy making, particularly with regard to the optimal timing of mitigation measures.