The Idaho National Laboratory's electric grid testing area underwent recent upgrades to its infrastructure, allowing researchers to conduct full-scale experiments with new technology aimed at modernizing power systems.
The Post Register reports the U.S. Department of Energy site, in the desert west of Idaho Falls, incorporated a wireless smart grid infrastructure to its 61 miles of transmission lines and seven substations.
Researchers say the smart grid infrastructure aims to increase the resiliency of power systems. The facility upgrades provide researchers with an environment to test combinations of new devices -- and they are also able to replicate the grid environments found in areas across the country.
Researchers say the upgrades give them the opportunity to work out potential bugs in the devices that might be integrated into power systems.
(by Associated Press)
