2015 AMS Annual Meeting

There is a tight correlation between weather and energy consumption but the relationship between meteorology and the electricity grid runs much deeper.  The industry has undergone many changes and our Nation’s grid is increasingly more complex.  From the integration of large scale wind generation and the complexities introduced from their intermittent behavior, to the disruptive forces of distributed solar generation and it’s ever increasing footprint, to maintaining overall grid resiliency in the wake of Super-Storm Sandy and other large scale severe weather outbreaks.  These challenges with their increasing levels of complexity are being met head on by increased computational resources, big weather data in the form of increased observations and model output, and other big data being collected by the utilities. 

The topics this Town Meeting will address broadly are:

1. Distributed Solar and its impact in Southern California.  What is the “duck curve” and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the grid? 
2. Outage modeling is now real, and in place within several utilities.  How are outage models performing, and how are the utilities using big weather data to push the envelope further?
3. Resiliency isn’t just a difficult word to spell.  All aspects of our Nation’s Energy Complex are dealing with climate adaptation.  What role can the meteorological community play in this planning work?  

This Town Hall Meeting is held in conjunction with the AMS Energy Committee and the AMS Renewable Energy Committees’ Sixth Conference on Weather, Climate and the New Energy Economy.  Immediately following this Town Hall Meeting, joins us for an "Energizing" Happy Hour reception.  Kick off the night's activities with light appetizers and drinks. Full details on the reception will be provided at the town hall meeting.

For additional information, please contact John Bosse ([email protected]), Brian D'Agostino ([email protected]), or Heidi Centola ([email protected]).