Quantum Computing for the Future Power Grid

(TDWorld) As data becomes core to modern utility decision-making, the electric utility industry needs to make progress and draw from emerging analytics and computing technologies. Quantum computing is a ground-breaking information processing technology that can support efforts to address power system challenges and enable the grid of the future. Given the promising applications to the power grid, this is an area of research that has really caught my attention lately. While quantum computing applications to the power grid have remained mostly unexamined, forward-looking utilities are exploring the next step to enhance these analytics by understanding how emerging quantum computing technologies can be leveraged to provide higher service levels.
Building the future grid will require an overall view of the quantum computing technology applications in power systems, such as the dynamic interaction of the transmission and distribution systems.
This is because the electric power grid is undergoing unprecedented change. This change is due to decarbonization efforts, increased reliance on renewable and variable generation resources, the integration of distributed energy resources, and transportation electrification. In turn, these changes have required electric utilities to expand their monitoring and measurement efforts through metering infrastructure and distribution automation initiatives. All these efforts have resulted in the collection of mountains of data from the electric grid.
The University of Denver, in collaboration with various utilities, has established a consortium related to envisioning the quantum upgraded electric system of tomorrow. “QUEST” is the clever acronym that has been adopted for this university-industry consortium. The consortium aims to enhance university-industry collaborations to solve emerging challenges in building the future grid by utilizing quantum information and quantum computation.