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Smart grids – we’d be dumb not to use them

Clever energy: why smart grids matter. The Green Piece.  17 April 2012.  Smart grids-they’ve been in the news a lot lately and their importance is ever growing. The UK, like countries around the world, is seeking to increase the share that renewable sources play in its energy mix, while also striving for cleaner forms of transport such as electric
vehicles.

As a result, smart grids are set to play an important role in how we manage these changes to our energy generation and use. With increasing reliance on intermittent sources of power such as wind and solar, and increased demand on electricity supplies through the use of battery-powered cars, it is going to become ever more important to properly manage our energy use.
According to a new report from IDC Energy smart grid spending will increase 17.4 per cent globally between 2010-2015; with overall spending set to reach close to $46.4billion in 2015. What is a smart grid?
A smart grid is an electricity grid which is technologically-enabled
to monitor and respond to changes in energy supply and demand,
creating a more reliable and efficient grid, cutting CO2 emissions and
providing end users with all the information they need to reduce their
CO2 footprint and energy costs.
Combined with electric cars, there is the potential for grid and car
to communicate and provide both grid to vehicle (G2V) and vehicle to
grid (V2G) energy flow to allow electric cars to support energy
management (rather than be a burden on it, as some elements of the
press would imply). In recent times, interest in V2G was spiked by
Japanese consumers, in the aftermath of the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami, as parts of the country suffered blackouts. In
such times, the energy stored in an EV’s battery could provide useful
back-up source of power to run domestic appliances such as
cookers…..
EPRI says that the benefits of smart grid include:
Direct participation by the consumer: The smart grid consumer is
informed and can modifying the way they use and purchase electricity.
They have choices, incentives, and disincentives in their approach to
energy use.
Accommodates all generation and storage options
Enables new products, services and markets
Reliable power
Makes optimum use of assets and operates efficiently
Can respond to system disturbances and effectively self-heal
Can operate resiliently against attack and natural disaster….
The challenges are massive, but it is evitable that the world will
continue to move towards implementing the smart grid technology. It
will allow us to make better use of micro-renewable generation and
larger scale renewables, helping us to produce more clean energy and
efficiently use it. With the world’s population growing and energy
demands rising with it, we are going to have to get smarter in how we
manage our electricity use. Anything else would be just be dumb.
http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/04/17/clever-energy-why-smart-grids-matter-the-green-piece/

April 18, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, ENERGY, technology