Beyond the Meter: Next Generation SmartGrid

Editor's Notes

• #6: This Smart Grid definition is derived from the Smart Grid Dictionary, and identifies the greatest distinctions from the traditional grid . It is not the only definition out there, but it is one that is technology and vendor-agnostic. The US Department of Energy identified 7 characteristics of a Smart Grid, starting with the consumer – the Smart grid enables active participation by consumers. That’s a very important prioritization. The second characteristic is that a Smart Grid should handle all generation and storage possibilities. The other features address new products, services, and market models, operational aspects of power quality, efficiency, resiliency and self-healing. The British Department of Energy and Climate Change defines the Smart Grid as “An electricity network that can intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it - generators, consumers and those that do both - in order to efficiently deliver a sustainable, efficient and secure supply of energy.” Their December 2009 report titled Smarter Grids: The Opportunity offers a more detailed definition that describes the process of making the current grid smarter and puts much emphasis on the need to layer in ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) to engineer the Smart Grid. Still other governmental organizations around the globe consider a Smart Grid to be one that integrates renewable sources of energy, reduces greenhouse gases, and opens up markets to new business models. Bear in mind that while the focus of the world is on electrical networks today, many of the concepts, technologies, and even visions for the Smart Grid also apply to gas and water networks.
• #7: This slide shows the current grid structure in the USA, and this type of centralized architecture is widely adopted in other parts of the developed world. It is largely based on fossil fuels and the entire power infrastructure is based on the steady state characteristics of those fossil fuels. In the past these fuels were relatively abundant, and if you ignore inconvenient externalities such as pollution, also relatively cheap. Generation was centralized and located far away from the population centers. The transmission system has to safely carry electricity long distances but at a cost of loss of power and a lack of situational awareness, meaning there are no warnings of pending system failures. Distribution networks face similar challenges with aging equipment. For instance, many transformers in the USA were installed in the 1950s and 1960s and are operating now at greater loads. Utilities lack awareness of pending equipment failures and can’t respond until callers report power outages. Because electricity was abundant and cheap in the USA and in other parts of the developed world, consumers were encouraged to consider it a commodity. Awareness of energy has not been important, and as a result, consumers are not prepared to think about electricity now as something they can actively monitor and manage.
• #8: The electricity supply chain undergoes remarkable changes with the Smart Grid Generation will include renewables – both steady state like geothermal and hydro as well as intermittent sources such as wind and solar. Energy storage will play an increasing role – essentially time-shifting generation so that the intermittent renewables can be “conditioned” through storage to behave as reliable grid support and regulation sources. There will be many more grid configurations for distributed generation, cogeneration, combined heat and power and microgeneration of renewables to reduce grid loads and supply excess electricity to the grid. Microgrids, nanogrids, and femtogrids will also contribute energy that can be managed by aggregators to shift loads and shave peaks. Transmission facilities will benefit from sophisticated sensors called synchrophasors for wide area situational awareness to prevent outages like the great northeast blackout in 2004 in the USA. New superconducting technologies will reduce line losses to optimize energy Sources. Distribution networks will be structured with more awareness and intelligence to function as independent power islands to reduce power outage footprints. These networks will also be bolstered with their own localized generation and energy storage to cost-effectively deliver electricity close to loads. Consumers will see the biggest changes with the Smart Grid. For example, in the USA they will be weaned from their “electricity as a commodity Mindset” through time of use pricing, feed in tariffs and netmetering to sell back electricity they produce. Homes and buildings, both major consumers of electricity, will get smarter and use less energy through in home displays and software programs that let occupants become Home Operations Managers.