Intel says its technology can offer an alternative to shutting off energy lines in times of crisis, according to Mike Bates, the firm’s worldwide general manager for energy.

When the Texas power crisis hit in February, Bates and his family were among the millions of people stuck in a deadly blackout in freezing temperatures because of a massive electricity generation failure. Certain areas of the grid, such as hospitals, remained illuminated to support critical infrastructure, but this also meant nearby empty skyscrapers kept power that otherwise could have been redirected to residents in their homes and others who needed it.

These problems aren’t limited to Texas. Devastating wildfires along the USA’s west coast are threatening the power supply of millions more and forcing the energy system to adapt fast.

“We’re seeing more frequent severe weather events due to the impacts of climate change,” said Bates.

When crises strike, one of the most important elements for recovery is reliable power. However, outdated energy grids lack the ability to direct energy where it is needed most during these crises. Instead, current ways to mitigate the outdated grid include turning off energy lines and implementing rolling blackouts to avoid further devastation. But this, said Bates, is unsustainable, archaic and of little comfort for those reduced to boiling water over an open fire.

The current US energy grid structure is vulnerable and difficult for providers to navigate. It was built to support a one-way flow of mostly carbon-based power from centralised sources. It doesn’t have the ability to pivot quickly in times of need or to support the 100% renewable energy critical to meet global climate goals such as the US government’s proposal to create a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.

“We must move to renewable energy sources and build a smarter grid,” said Bates. “For this, Intel has created technology to drastically simplify the grid, making it more dependable, adaptable and efficient.”

To mitigate climate-change impacts, he said a grid was needed that could better support renewable energy. Not only will these sources create a clean energy future, but they can be distributed at the edge of the grid and across multiple areas. The result is a more resilient grid that is no longer dependent on power sources in a central location that can create potentially devastating bottlenecks in times of emergency.

“We also need a smarter grid,” he said. “It must support omni-directional flow both from and to the source of generation, which renewable energy sources require, and balance for intermittent energy like solar and wind in real time. This gives the energy provider the flexibility to distribute energy where and when it is needed most, while giving customers the information needed to make environmentally conscious and cost-effective energy choices.”

The transformation to a smart grid may seem daunting, but he said Intel technology could drastically simplify it. Ambitious climate action has already turned the electric delivery model upside down and the industry is going through a rapid and massive evolution.

His team at Intel has been working on technology that can be easily deployed into the existing infrastructure to create a smarter grid and readily adapt to changing energy consumption needs. This adds artificial intelligence (AI) and IoT technologies into the existing system, thereby flattening the grid and allowing the market to determine the highest and best energy source, regardless of its physical location on the grid.

A flat grid can let 100% adoption of clean, renewable and intermittent energy be integrated into real-time energy markets.

Currently, utility operations have layers of applications that have been added over time and do not always work cohesively.

“Our software-defined technology consolidates these applications into a single platform while also supporting new energy workloads, like enabling clean sources distributed at the edge of the grid,” said Bates.

This platform includes AI-enabled decision-making to sense and learn optimal load balancing across a distributed set of intermittent, clean energy resources. A containerised approach ensures the applications remain isolated and secure. This platform can reduce capital costs by avoiding waste and distributing energy more efficiently. It also reduces operating costs by offering insight into each substation and supporting predictive maintenance.

Intel has been working with governments, businesses and utilities around the globe to implement these smart grid technologies. In Europe, it is working with eight electric utilities to develop a flexible, manageable smart grid called the Edge for Smart Secondary Substation (E4S) Alliance. In the USA, it is working with Southern California Edison to transform electrical substation relays into virtualised applications, decreasing deployment and maintenance costs while providing cyber-security services for a more flexible, safe and modern grid. And in Malaysia, it is collaborating with Tenaga Nasional Berhad on the digitalisation of its electric grid, with a focus on virtualised computing infrastructure and applications for the substation and grid system.

“Increasing renewable energy consumption and enabling clean energy options is a key part of the sustainability pillar in Intel’s Rise strategy, but reinventing the grid is a challenge that is too big to tackle alone,” said Bates. “By leveraging our comprehensive technology and unique ability to convene an ecosystem of utilities, governments and technology, we can transform energy grids across the globe and bring reliable, renewable power to all.”