CMU Spin Off Develops Software for Clean Energy
Grid congestion isn’t just a problem for existing wind and solar farms, of course. It’s also become a major barrier to interconnecting new wind and solar projects to the grid. Beyond the years-long wait times for developers trying to secure an interconnection to transmission grids, one of the biggest problems facing new wind and solar projects is the expensive grid upgrades they’re being ordered to pay for to support the electricity they expect to add to the grid.
But what if grid operators could speed the process of studying what grid upgrades might be needed to allow wind and solar projects to interconnect to the grid or find solutions that cost less? Over the past year or so, Pittsburgh-based startup Pearl Street Technologies has found a niche for its Suite of Unified Grid Analyses with Renewables, or Sugar, software platform in doing just this for grid operators and clean energy developers.