MIT framework uses climate forecasts to site energy projects, cutting blackout risk

MIT researchers have developed a planning framework that combines fine-scale meteorology with detailed energy infrastructure simulations to guide where new renewable generation, storage, and transmission should be built. The framework, described in Nature Energy, shows that the location of new energy projects will play a significant role in meeting future demand under a changing climate. The team applied the framework to decarbonized energy systems in New England and Texas. Energy systems designed for historic climate conditions could face up to a fivefold increase in energy shortfalls by 2050, potentially leading to blackouts. Taking climate change into account during system design improved resilience in both regions at little or no additional cost. "As we mitigate climate change with renewables, we can also adapt to climate change by using future weather projections in our power system planning, and the extra costs of that adaptation are, at least in this study, not much," said senior author Michael Howland, the Jeffrey Cheah Career Development Professor at MIT. The approach differs from other climate adaptation measures, such as building seawalls, which are typically expensive.