Energy issues are getting a lot of attention on Capitol Hill these days. Prompted by concerns about climate change and dependence on foreign energy imports, lawmakers are looking for ways to promote a clean, secure energy future. When it comes to electricity, it seems everyone has a favorite source: wind, solar, clean coal, nuclear … But amid all the debate surrounding different sources of electric power, there is very little discussion of the critical role played by the delivery mechanism itself: the grid. In fact, the fiscal year 2008 budget request from the Department of Energy contains significant cuts to existing grid-research programs. This is unfortunate, because this piece of the puzzle is instrumental in unlocking the potential of all the other pieces.
The basic design of our nation’s power grid has remained largely unchanged since the 19th century. Electricity is still generated in large, centralized power plants and delivered through long-distance lines to end-users. The grid must be large enough to accommodate the highest level of demand, even if that level is rarely reached, and extra power plants must run constantly to meet any demand spikes. This requires massive investments in rarely used infrastructure and wasted fuel — a highly inefficient system.
As demand for energy services grows, the nation’s outdated grid is showing signs of strain due to congestion, sometimes resulting in large-scale outages, such as the blackouts and brownouts experienced in New York, California, and my home state of Texas during summertime heat waves in recent years. One solution to this problem would be to build scores of new power plants and thousands of miles of new transmission lines to increase overall grid capacity. A better way is to change how we manage electric power, by deploying smart-grid technologies.
A smart grid uses information technology to transform a simple “pipe” into an interactive energy-management system. Streams of real-time information are exchanged between users, producers, and the grid itself to allow dynamic power management that increases both efficiency and stability. A smart grid is not a single technology, but a suite of complementary tools. Here are some examples:
Two-way communications between users and producers that allow consumers to adjust demand based on real-time price information. For example, consumers can program appliances or thermostats to respond to different pricing conditions, reducing their use — and energy bills — when demand and prices are highest.
Embedded sensors throughout the grid can enable real-time, remote monitoring, rapid diagnosis and resolution of problems, and more efficient use of infrastructure.
Distributed generation and storage. A smart grid can draw upon small-scale generation sources (e.g., solar arrays or micro turbines) or storage sources (e.g., battery installations in office buildings, or even plug-in hybrid cars) to quickly relieve grid congestion or respond dynamically to peaks in demand or valleys in supply.
Most of these technologies, and others like them, are already in operation somewhere on the grid today, but they have yet to be linked together. Like individual PCs before the Internet, they are unable to realize their full potential until they are integrated into a coordinated system. A 2005 report from the non-profit organization Climate Solutions identified the following advantages of a smart grid:
Self-healing. A smart grid will be able to automatically and dynamically route power flows around trouble spots and manage both supply and demand to maintain stability.
More economical. A smart grid will be more efficient, managing user demand to reduce the need for investment in infrastructure that is used only at peak times. Such technologies could eliminate need for $46 billion to $117 billion in investment in U.S. peaking infrastructure over the next 20 years.
Cleaner. A smart grid will use power plants more efficiently and integrate distributed generation, reducing overall fuel requirements. It will also allow for the large-scale integration of renewable resources with intermittent and variable output (like wind and solar).
The smart-grid concept is generating interest from utilities around the country. What we need now are pilot projects that pull all the pieces together into a definitive demonstration of its viability and value. The federal government can play an important role here, just as it did in laying the foundations of the Internet. There is also a need, both at the federal and state level, to examine existing regulatory and rate-determining frameworks to ensure that they do not create disincentives for utilities considering these new technologies.
As we engage in debate over our nation’s energy future, let us not neglect this fundamental innovation that has the potential to revolutionize power management, benefit our economy, environment, and national security, and allow many others to follow.
Lampson is the chairman of Energy and Environment subcommittee of the Science Committee.
