The Smart Grid

I’ve been reading a lot about the Smart Grid recently. This is an exciting step towards wide adoption, and even government funding, for the smart revolution. This post is written to help you get up to speed.

So, what is the Smart Grid? The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) states “Think of the Smart Grid as the internet brought to our electric system… Devices such as wind turbines, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and solar arrays are not part of the Smart Grid. Rather, the Smart Grid encompasses the technology that enables us to integrate, interface with and intelligently control these innovations and others.”

The Obama administration has listed the Smart Grid as one of their agenda items. As part of the nation’s critical infrastructure, he calls for the establishment of a Grid Modernization Commission to facilitate adoption of Smart Grid practices to improve efficiency and security of our electricity grid.

According to the DOE, there is growing agreement among federal and state policymakers, business leaders, and other key stakeholders, around the idea that a Smart Grid is not only needed but well within reach. Under the Obama administration, the Smart Grid could be an early winner in U.S. stimulus package. Of the $54 billion that lawmakers have proposed for clean technology, $11 billion have been slated for the Smart Grid sector.

A study IBM conducted concluded that a $10 billion investment to boost America’s Smart Grid infrastructure would create 239,000 new jobs. And they aren’t the only ones with these predictions. The GridWise Alliance Group released a report this month entitled The U.S. Smart Grid Revolution: KEMA’s Perspectives for Job Creation. The report estimates that up to 280,000 new jobs can be created directly from the deployment of Smart Grid technologies. In addition to the 280,000 direct jobs, the report notes that a Smart Grid could enable a substantial number of indirect jobs through the deployment of new technologies.

In addition to creating jobs, the Smart Grid addresses environmental concerns. If the current grid were just 5% more efficient, the energy savings would equate to permanently eliminating the fuel and greenhouse gas emissions from 53 million cars, according to the DOE.

If you work in the technology sector, you might want to think about the DOE’s list of five fundamental technologies that will drive the Smart Grid:

• Integrated communications, connecting components to open architecture for real-time information and control, allowing every part of the grid to both ‘talk’ and ‘listen’
• Sensing and measurement technologies, to support faster and more accurate response such as remote monitoring, time-of-use pricing and demand-side management
• Advanced components, to apply the latest research in superconductivity, storage, power electronics and diagnostics
• Advanced control methods, to monitor essential components, enabling rapid diagnosis and precise solutions appropriate to any event
• Improved interfaces and decision support, to amplify human decision-making, transforming grid operators and managers quite literally into visionaries when it come to seeing into their systems

Many fear that a down market will halt innovation, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. In tumultuous times innovation is not a luxury but a necessity. The Smart Grid offers the prospect of job growth, the development of new innovative products and services, and improvements in security and efficiency.

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