EMERGING TECHNOLOGY 

Emerging Technology Innovations
& Evaluations for the Future of Energy

These technologies span nearly all power system sectors and applications and include the advanced analytic techniques needed to make the best use of ever-expanding data sets. To bridge the divide between today and future systems, these technologies will need to be identified, studied, piloted, funded, and deployed at scale for the energy we use to truly be carbon-free.

The U.S. electric power system must undergo a massive transformation in order for our country to realize a carbon-free energy future. Decarbonizing the system will require the accelerated development and adoption of emerging energy technologies across a wide range of applications.

Industry stakeholders are increasingly focused on emerging technologies as they prepare for a decarbonized power system. SEPA members have taken leading roles in adopting green hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and other emerging clean, firm generation resources that provide year-round capacity at scale.

Transformation requires the integration of clean energy resources in ways that balance principles of grid security, flexibility, reliability, and resilience. SEPA and its members have recently investigated grid technologies including advanced distribution management (ADMS), distributed energy resources management systems (DERMS), and virtual power plants (VPPs).

SEPA is not new to emerging technologies but we now recognize the need to establish a separate focus area for providing research, technical analysis, strategic guidance, general best practices, and stakeholder-specific recommendations.