MIT researchers have developed a new framework that could help energy planners decide where to build renewable energy projects as climate change puts growing pressure on power grids.

The study combines fine-scale meteorology with detailed simulations of energy infrastructure. Researchers found that where new energy projects are built could significantly affect whether future power systems can meet demand reliably.

The team applied the framework to decarbonized energy systems in New England and Texas. Their analysis found that systems designed around historic climate conditions could experience up to a fivefold increase in energy shortfalls by 2050.

By incorporating future climate conditions into energy planning, however, the researchers found that both regions could improve grid resilience at little or no additional cost.

“As we mitigate climate change with renewables, we can also adapt to climate change by using future weather projections in our power system planning, and the extra costs of that adaptation are, at least in this study, not much,” said senior author Michael Howland, an MIT professor.

Climate change adds new risks to power grids

Electricity systems are already changing rapidly as demand rises from trends such as artificial intelligence and transportation electrification, while falling costs drive greater adoption of wind and solar power.

But renewable generation and electricity demand are both affected by weather, creating new challenges as climate conditions change.

“This study explores the joint, simultaneous impacts on multiple components of the energy system, similar to compound events studied in climate science,” Howland explained.

“An extreme weather event can impact wind and solar generation and electricity demand all at the same time. Our hypothesis is that’s likely to be the biggest impact we’ll see from climate change on energy systems,” he added.

The study found that climate change could increase energy failures by as much as 500% by 2050 if future climate conditions are not considered when siting and designing energy infrastructure.

Where wind and solar are built matters

The researchers found that locations best suited for renewable projects under future climate conditions can differ meaningfully from those identified using historic weather data.

“We are telling people where you put your wind and solar matters a lot for your ability to deliver energy when you need it,” Qiu explained.

“We need to think more about the when and where of adding renewables rather than only focusing on adding overall capacity,” he added.

In New England, climate-related disruptions increased the need for solar capacity and transmission lines close to major demand centers.

In Texas, risks were primarily driven by transmission constraints. Climate-informed designs prioritized wind farms in West Texas to better align renewable generation with future demand patterns.

Researchers seek faster planning tools

The current framework relies on expensive, high-resolution models, making it impractical for grid operators to use routinely today.

The researchers hope to develop faster models that could make climate-informed planning easier to apply.

“This study shows the opportunity and the need,” Howland says. “There are risks to not adapting our system, but if we do adapt our system, there could be big opportunities that are not costly.”

The study was published in Natural Energy.

The United States is facing nine major supply chain challenges that could delay the rehabilitation of its hydropower infrastructure, according to a new report from the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR).

The report has examined the difficulties hydropower operators encounter when upgrading or replacing large power transformers (LPTs).

These custom-built devices raise the voltage of electricity generated by hydropower turbines, allowing it to travel efficiently across long-distance transmission networks.

Their importance extends beyond hydropower, as more than 90% of the electricity consumed in the United States passes through high-voltage transformers at some stage.

Transformer deliveries can take five years

One of the most serious challenges identified in the report is the time required to procure new transformers.

A typical LPT rated at 100 megavolt-amperes takes approximately 2.5 to three years to acquire. Lead times for extra-high-voltage units can extend to five years because only a limited number of facilities worldwide can manufacture them.

Transformer prices sharply increased by approximately 80% in 2025 compared with 2021 levels, according to the report. A single unit can now cost as much as $10 million.

These pressures come as demand rises across the power sector. Although domestic manufacturing and assembly capacity has expanded in recent years, the report found that it has not grown quickly enough to meet current requirements.

US manufacturers also depend heavily on international suppliers. Approximately 80% of the raw materials used in domestic LPT production, including grain-oriented electrical steel and refined copper, are imported.

Changing trade conditions could further increase the baseline costs of copper and steel, adding uncertainty to transformer procurement.

Remote dams create transportation problems

Delivering an LPT to a hydropower facility presents another layer of difficulty. Many dams are located in isolated regions surrounded by rugged terrain, making them considerably harder to reach than conventional power facilities.

Transformers require specialized vehicles and heavy-duty trailers capable of carrying oversized loads. However, the United States has a limited domestic fleet of such equipment. Transportation routes must also be planned carefully and require special permits.

Permitting and regulatory procedures can produce additional delays, particularly when an operator must remove an existing transformer before installing its replacement.

Federal contracting rules and domestic-content requirements could also create near-term bottlenecks while US production capacity remains limited.

Report could guide domestic investment

The NLR study builds on the US Department of Energy’s broader Hydropower Supply Chain Gap Analysis, which previously identified five gaps affecting the domestic industry.

DOE’s Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office funded the follow-on study to provide a closer examination of the LPT supply chain. Researchers used feedback from hydropower industry participants to define the nine challenges.

The findings could help shape federal policies, incentives, lending programs, workforce initiatives and investments intended to expand US transformer production.

Strengthening the domestic supply chain will be important for new construction as well as upgrades, refurbishments and relicensing work at existing facilities.

Hydropower currently provides more than 6% of total US electricity generation, making the availability of critical transformers essential to its continued contribution to the grid.

The report is titled as Large Power Transformer Supply Chain Gap Analysis and Domestic Content Strategies for Hydropower Rehabilitation.

Rune Technologies has unveiled TyrSense, a new line of ruggedized sensors designed to help military units track personnel, casualties, and supplies in contested environments where conventional communications may be unavailable.

The hardware marks the company’s first expansion beyond software, extending its TyrOS logistics platform directly to personnel operating at the tactical edge.

The initial TyrSense products use small, durable NFC tags that can be attached to personnel or cargo. When scanned during a handoff, the system records the location and status of the individual or pallet in TyrOS.

Unlike conventional tracking systems, the location is determined by the node where the scan takes place rather than through GPS.

The tags can also operate without an active cloud connection or satellite signal, allowing units to continue recording movements in denied, degraded, intermittent, or low-bandwidth environments.

Once connectivity returns, the collected information can synchronize with TyrOS.

Aim to replace manual military tracking

Military units continue to rely heavily on manual processes to account for personnel and supplies, according to Rune.

Information about available resources is often maintained through whiteboards, paper manifests, and manually compiled reports. These systems can become difficult to maintain when units relocate or lose network connectivity.

TyrSense is initially designed around three military workflows that commonly depend on manual reporting: personnel accountability, medical operations, and cargo tracking.

For personnel, scanning a tag allows units to update an individual’s duty status, reducing the need for the daily manual process of compiling accountability information.

In medical operations, the system can record each transfer of a casualty as the individual moves from the point of injury through successive levels of care.

For logistics, tags attached to pallets can register shipments as they move through different nodes across a military supply network.

Built to operate when battlefield networks fail

Rune has designed the sensors around conditions where military personnel may have limited or no communications access.

Because individual scans can be registered locally at the tactical edge, units can continue collecting information even during network disruptions.

“A tag has to work in a vehicle and with no signal, because that’s where these counts happen,” said Peter Goldsborough, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Rune Technologies.

“We built TyrSense so the scan registers at the edge and reaches TyrOS the moment a connection is there. The hardware is deliberately simple. The value is what TyrOS does with the data,” he added.

The approach allows TyrOS to receive updated information once connectivity becomes available rather than requiring personnel to maintain continuous access to remote infrastructure.

Rune plans sensors for fuel and water

TyrSense builds on the company’s deployment of TyrOS with operational military units over the past year.

During Balikatan 26 in the Philippines, the software provided tactical commanders with information on food, water, fuel, and personnel supporting thousands of troops across a Joint Task Force, according to the company.

Rune is also the sole logistics provider for the US Marine Corps’ Project Dynamis and is the only application selected by both prime contractor teams participating in the US Army’s Next Generation Command and Control program.

The company now plans to expand the TyrSense hardware portfolio beyond NFC-based tracking.