CES-21 board meets at Lawrence Livermore

The California Energy System for the 21st Century (CES-21) Board of Directors convened their latest public meeting at Livermore Valley Open Campus (LVOC) last Thursday. Following welcoming remarks by Computation Associate Director Dona Crawford and comments by CES-21 Executive Director Steve Larson, the board began the process of reviewing different aspects of the pending collaboration project that seeks to find and implement improvements to California's massive electric grid as well as systems in other Westerns states that feed California's energy needs.   

California and other Western states need to expand their energy infrastructure and improve the way it is managed to meet growing energy needs, while also reducing such environmental impacts as carbon emissions. The power grid also needs to be modernized to better integrate and manage energy from alternative sources as well as accommodate expected growth.

CES-21 will create a set of collaborative technology development initiatives that will accelerate the deployment of advanced systems and technologies from renewable generation to smart grid technology. CES-21 will develop proposals for needs in four key areas:

• Electric resource planning
• Smart grid operational tools
• Cyber security
• Gas system planning and operational tools

Project collaborators include San Diego Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas and Electric, the California Public Utilities Commission and LLNL. The investor owned utilities will provide expertise in such areas as power generation, transmission and cyber security. LLNL brings expertise in computer modeling, simulation and analysis of complex systems, from global security to global climate, as well as the development of specialized HPC applications that address national challenges in security, energy and environment.

At Thursday's meeting, the CES-21 Board of Directors approved the 11 proposed projects, the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the Lab and California utilities, and the $30 million budget for the first phase. The board will now send an Advice Filing to the California Public Utilities Commission for their approval, and the CRADA will be sent to NNSA for their approval.