2026/04/20 by Emily Grubert · 1 voice
Energy · Engineering · #Energy (signal processing) #Energy storage #Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems #Integrated Energy Systems Optimization #Optimal Power Flow Distribution #Reliability (semiconductor)
paper · doi:10.1016/j.isci.2026.115810
published in iScience 29(5), 115810 (Cell Press)
openalex publication_date 2026/04/20 · openalex created_date 2026/04/21 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Transitioning energy systems for decarbonization requires transformative change: systems that use no fossil fuels are fundamentally different from today's fossil fuel-dominated energy systems. Governance, performance metrics, and other institutional infrastructure require transformation, alongside technology and physical transformation, particularly in service of correcting grave distributional harms. This Perspective argues that the success of a primarily electrified energy system should be judged by the reliability of service provision rather than electricity supply. In the US, residential heating presents the most salient conflict between investments in supply versus alternative service provisioning strategies because it is likely to drive marginal supply needs. Using heating as a frame, this perspective's provocation is to ask whether well-designed electrified systems that do not meet current expectations for supply-side reliability could more effectively deliver crucial energy services than those that do, resulting in a system that is counterintuitively less "reliable" while better serving people's needs.