Grid Resilience: Key to a Renewable & Clean Energy Future

A thought leadership piece for Technology Magazine by Adrian Guggisberg, President of Electrical Distribution Solutions at ABB.

In recent years, efforts to meet international climate commitments have amped up, with renewable energy generation at the heart of the energy transition.

However, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has warned that global renewable energy capacity needs to triple by 2030 to keep climate goals within reach.

This target is already reshaping the way that we produce, distribute and consume electricity.

Solar power led the charge in 2024, driving much of the expansion in renewable capacity, while wind energy also continued to grow.

According to the IEA’s Renewables 2024 report, solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity alone is expected to more than triple between 2024 and 2030, accounting for nearly 80% of all new renewable capacity additions worldwide, driven largely by utility-scale installations.

But the transition to clean energy doesn’t stop at generation.

Behind the scenes, a less visible – but equally critical – transformation is underway: the evolution of grid infrastructure that delivers electricity to homes, businesses and entire industries.

Today’s grids were not designed for a decentralised, digital and decarbonised world.

Traditional grids were built for a different era – one of centralised, predictable power generation. Electricity flowed one way, from a handful of large power plants to millions of passive consumers. That model no longer works.

Today’s grids must handle electricity moving in multiple directions – from solar panels on rooftops and offshore wind farms to industrial microgrids feeding power back into the system.

These sources are often variable and weather-dependent, which makes power flow much harder to predict and control.

At the same time, the electrical energy demand is rising as we convert energy consumers that have been traditionally powered by fossil fuels to electrical energy in order to decarbonise industries and private energy consumption.

So how do we build a grid that can handle all this complexity – and do it fast enough to support the energy transition?

Before we address the solution, it’s important to acknowledge that the time to act is now.

Investment in renewables has significantly outpaced grid investment in recent years, leaving many power networks under severe strain.

According to the IEA, to meet climate and energy security goals, the world will need to add or refurbish more than 80 million kilometres of grid infrastructure by 2040 – a scale equal to nearly 100% of today’s entire global electricity grid.

In other words, almost the equivalent of the entire grid in use today will need to be renewed or expanded by 2040 to support growing renewable capacity and ensure reliable delivery of clean energy.

Without that level of upgrade and expansion, the clean energy generated simply can’t reach the people and places that need it.

In Europe alone, hundreds of gigawatts of renewable projects are awaiting connection – delayed by permitting bottlenecks, limited transmission and distribution capacity and outdated infrastructure.

The result: a growing gap between our ability to generate clean power and the grid’s ability to deliver it reliably.

Strengthening the grid

There are three priorities that stand out most prominently when we consider what must be done to strengthen the grid. Here are three key priorities as we see it.

First and foremost, you can’t build tomorrow’s grid with yesterday’s tools.

Of course, we still need robust components – switchgear, transformers, breakers, cables.

Yet those components alone won’t make the grid resilient. We need a grid that sees what’s coming, reacts in real time, and recovers faster. That’s where digitalisation plays a critical role. 

Modern electrical equipment is already equipped with sensors measuring everything from temperature and load to vibration and humidity. But raw data alone isn’t enough.

With AI, machine learning and advanced software, we can translate data into early warnings, predictive maintenance and automated interventions that keep small issues from becoming big failures.

Second, we need tools that allow the control of the power flow to secure stability and integrity of the grid – such as battery energy storage systems (BESS) and synchronous condensers.

These technologies respond instantaneously to fluctuations, helping maintain grid balance without carbon-intensive generation and compensate for renewable energy’s lack of inertia.

When paired with smart digital controls, their impact is even greater, automatically correcting imbalances and keeping power flowing smoothly.

This isn’t just about adding technology – it’s about building an adaptive, responsive and future-ready energy system.

Finally, we must accept that the scale and speed of the energy transition are too vast for any single company, utility or government to tackle alone.

Success requires deep collaboration across sectors and across borders. This collaboration must begin early, with utilities, technology providers and policymakers working together from the planning and design phase – not just during implementation. It also depends on data transparency, open standards and flexible system architectures that can evolve with the grid. 

At ABB, we co-create resilient infrastructure with our partners – combining domain expertise with decades of field-proven technology.

From digital substations and grid automation to condition monitoring, our objective is to boost system readiness, reliability and resilience.

Philosophies, ideas and approaches move in various directions across the globe, at times even across smaller regions. Ranging from well-planned grids to fully decentralised approaches.

While we experience faster learning and innovation cycles, adaptation at scale is moving slowly. Taking more calculated risks in deploying new technologies faster beyond the pilot stage and creating harmonisation to secure continuity across entire life cycles are two barriers we can overcome with deeper collaboration.

The shift to renewables involves reimagining the entire power system. Grid resilience is a growing concern. It is the foundation of decarbonisation, electrification and long-term energy security.

As electricity demand rises – fuelled by electric vehicles, data centres and the electrification of industry – the cost of inaction becomes clear.

A resilient grid that enables the use of clean energy and meets the fast-growing demand is no longer optional. It’s a strategic imperative.

Those who invest early in digital infrastructure, automation and intelligent control systems will be the ones to lead the charge on flexibility, efficiency and innovation.