Risk-limiting dispatch of smart grid

President Obama called for doubling the share of renewable energy in the nation's supply in three years. California has a renewable energy target of 33% percent by 2030. These bold commitments need transformational strategies to achieve them. Government policies to achieve the ultimate goal of carbon reduction in electric energy systems are to (i) increase renewable penetration, and to (ii) introduce smart grid elements to facilitate (i). However, simply building hardware for both, but still using the same operating paradigm of the grid will result in limited achievements of the ultimate goal. We propose a “risk-limiting dispatch” methodology that aims at realizing the full potential of carbon reduction in a smart grid.