Smart Grids: Where are we now?

Have you heard about smart grids? If you’ve been paying attention to the energy policy initiatives from President Obama, you might have noticed that these policies favor technology solutions like this one. The term smart grid generally means an electricity grid that’s been enhanced with digital technology to provide manageable, reliable service, supplied by a mix of traditional and clean renewable sources. Features of a smart grid solution (as per the U.S. Department of Energy) are that it should:

1. Be able to heal itself
2. Motivate consumers to actively participate in operations of the grid
3. Resist attack
4. Provide higher quality power that will save money wasted from outages
5. Accommodate all generation and storage options
6. Enable electricity markets to flourish
7. Run more efficiently

But what does it all mean? Here are few links to help put smart grids in context.

• NPR has just completed a news series about the U.S. Electric Grid. It’s a great read if you want to learn a little about the history of the United States power grid and where it is headed. Parts 2 and 6 have an emphasis on green energy, but the entire series is relevant for the environmentally conscious.
• Wikipedia has a decent entry on smart grids , although the entry is currently in dispute. Read the entry and the dispute to get some interesting information on smart grids and wikipedia’s policy on neutrality.
• Xcel Energy is working on building a smart grid community in Boulder, Colorado, named SmartGridCity. This utility company is still in the process of upgrading their power network and installing new intelligent meters in consumer homes, as well as utilizing GridPoint products.
• Gridpoint, founded in 2003 by Peter Corsell, is a self-described “clean tech company”. They offer solutions that allow utilities to manage their electric grids and incorporate the use of clean energy sources, fuel cells, and plug-in electric vehicles. In this manner, utilities can store clean energy when it is available and utilize it during peak hours. They also make a line of consumer products which are basically a series of large electric backup appliances. These appliances can integrate with existing solar panel systems, allow consumers to manage their home power usage, and even sell excess energy back to the utility company. The cost of one of these units is in the neighborhood of $10,000, meaning that the closest that most of us will be to one of these babies is as a subscriber to an electric company like Xcel Energy.

So there you have it. Just think, some day that windmill you’ve installed in the backyard could be hooked up to your home power management system, allowing you to sell excess energy back to the electric company. Or not. Either way, given the increase in energy demands, the U.S. Electric Grid and our relationship with it is going to be changing.