John Nieman

The development of renewable energy projects has outpaced the infrastructure needed to support it. Aging and insufficient transmission lines prevent renewable energy from being transported to areas with high electricity demand, forcing grid operators to curtail or discard the excess power. As a result, the U.S. is facing a bottleneck that wastes the wind and solar power needed to reduce carbon emissions.

As electric vehicles mature, need repair, or reach end-of-life, countless damaged vehicles will be stored in tow lots and repair garages. These vehicles could be vulnerable to thermal runaway, leading to fires that can spread among vehicles. The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) is developing a physical enclosure for damaged EVs that can contain fires and prevent a dangerous vehicle-to-vehicle domino effect in facilities where damaged vehicles are stored.

The U.S. power grid comprises more than half a million miles of transmission lines and serves approximately 160 million users. Electricity demand will skyrocket in the coming years as electric vehicles and data centers continue to grow. These needs will strain the grid’s aging components. Automated utility inspections can increase efficiency and ensure the grid is more closely monitored and quickly updated when needed. Watch the Anymal robotic dog in action.