Jake Gentle and the team at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) developed a software technology called General Line Ampacity State Solver (GLASS) over the last decade to enable greater utilization across existing power transmission infrastructure. In the United States, an estimated 5% of electricity generated annually is lost in transmission and distribution. Ratepayers then accumulate billions of dollars a year in unnecessary generation costs when transmission lines are saturated near their maximum capacity. GLASS takes in live weather data to calculate more accurate transmission line limits, so utilities can enable additional capacity while also reducing operating costs, creating a more efficient grid.

In 2016, funded by DOE’s Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO), Jake Gentle and Donna Rennemo participated in the Office of Technology Transitions’ Energy I-Corps program. Through Energy I-Corps, the team realized the power of combining GLASS with existing software technology from Donna’s then-employer, WindSim Americas Inc, daughter company of WindSim AS. To make this a reality, the team leveraged their 2017 Technology Commercialization Fund award from DOE’s WETO to integrate the two software solutions. A new company called WindSim Power Inc was formed to lead this effort. Today, WindSim Power is focused on de-risking the path to commercialization of the WindSim Power Line Solution.