Posted on Nov 21, 2023
Pilot program will install batteries in 2,000 Mass. homes to reduce energy demand on the grid
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Picture this: It’s a cold January morning in 2050. People across New England are waking up and cranking their electric heat pumps. They’re also turning on lights, brewing coffee and taking hot showers, all while the millions of electric vehicles in the region are finishing up their overnight charge.
By mid-century, as more people electrify their home heating systems and vehicles, the region’s peak demand could be as high as 50 gigawatts on cold winter mornings. That’s about double today’s peak use, which currently occurs on hot summer days when New Englanders blast their air conditioning units.
By mid-century, as more people electrify their home heating systems and vehicles, the region’s peak demand could be as high as 50 gigawatts on cold winter mornings. That’s about double today’s peak use, which currently occurs on hot summer days when New Englanders blast their air conditioning units.
Pilot program will install batteries in 2,000 Mass. homes to reduce energy demand on the grid
Posted from wbur.orgPosted in these groups: State of Massachusetts
Energy
Energy
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."By mid-century, as more people electrify their home heating systems and vehicles, the region’s peak demand could be as high as 50 gigawatts on cold winter mornings. That’s about double today’s peak use, which currently occurs on hot summer days when New Englanders blast their air conditioning units.
WBUR is a nonprofit news organization. Our coverage relies on your financial support. If you value articles like the one you're reading right now, give today.
Meeting that higher demand in the coming decades will require building a lot of new infrastructure. The region will need many more solar panels and wind turbines to supply the power, as well as electrical substations, transformers and power lines to get it peoples’ homes — all costly, and sometimes difficult-to-permit, things.
But experts say that if we can shift when some appliances draw power from the grid, the region might be able to get away with building slightly less infrastructure.
Now, thanks to a new $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a pilot program in Massachusetts will test whether installing small batteries and heat pumps in about 2,000 homes could be a cost-effective way to help do just that. It’s the first time in the country such a project is being tested at this scale and the results, if successful, could have implications for other regions that are also looking to electrify."...
..."By mid-century, as more people electrify their home heating systems and vehicles, the region’s peak demand could be as high as 50 gigawatts on cold winter mornings. That’s about double today’s peak use, which currently occurs on hot summer days when New Englanders blast their air conditioning units.
WBUR is a nonprofit news organization. Our coverage relies on your financial support. If you value articles like the one you're reading right now, give today.
Meeting that higher demand in the coming decades will require building a lot of new infrastructure. The region will need many more solar panels and wind turbines to supply the power, as well as electrical substations, transformers and power lines to get it peoples’ homes — all costly, and sometimes difficult-to-permit, things.
But experts say that if we can shift when some appliances draw power from the grid, the region might be able to get away with building slightly less infrastructure.
Now, thanks to a new $50 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, a pilot program in Massachusetts will test whether installing small batteries and heat pumps in about 2,000 homes could be a cost-effective way to help do just that. It’s the first time in the country such a project is being tested at this scale and the results, if successful, could have implications for other regions that are also looking to electrify."...
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