Electric utilities are facing a future of increased competition, disruptive technologies, and changing customer demands.

Independent estimates indicate that the U.S. needs to expand electricity transmission systems by 60% by 2030 and may need to triple current capacity by 2050 to accommodate the country’s rapidly increasing supply of cheaper, cleaner energy and meet increasing power demand for electric vehicles and electric home heating and reduce power outages from severe weather.

Ultimately the quality of our lives depends – in large part – on the critical infrastructure we rely on every day.

A key focus of 40107 is around the digitalization of utilities and encouraging investment in new technologies, like smart grid capabilities and utility analytics, that can lead to faster, more intelligent, and automated decision-making and promote resiliency.

The so-called “four D’s” of energy disruption have served as a helpful way to describe the energy transition taking place, namely, decarbonization, democratization, decentralization, and digitalization.

All this progress, however, could be derailed without a massive overhaul of America’s antiquated electric infrastructure – a task some industry experts say requires more than $2 trillion.

Along with other systems, power utility infrastructure is getting smarter with built-in sensing and processing capabilities.

A requirement to function through a 10-day period of low/no wind and solar and to recharge storage over the succeeding 10-day period, with a 20% capacity reserve margin, would require renewable generating capacity approximately 2.4 times peak demand on the grid.

This unique project counts among the most advanced and complex HVDC (high-voltage direct current) projects of its kind worldwide and stands as the first inter-continent HVDC project in the world.

“Low carbon renewable energy sources are climate friendly but are not always readily controllable or able to meet energy demand due to the intermittent nature of solar and wind, and the absence of massive energy storage capacities. This means the power grid often requires supplementary energy sources,”