With funding from ARPA-E, PNNL and partners at Bonneville Power Administration, PowerWorld, and Quanta Technology used high performance computing techniques to develop a “real-time path rating” software tool that allows operators to maximize the use of today’s transmission assets and tap into unused capacity. Using multiple computer processors to run many analyses at the same time, this parallel processing technique allows operators to perform path rating studies using real-time conditions under massive contingency scenarios, continuously in 10-minute intervals, compared with hours and weeks in today’s industry practice. The significantly enhanced speed of this new software tool reduces conservativeness and allows the power grid to operate more efficiently and closer to its true limits.
