| Smart Grid Technology - Part 1: The Evolution of the Smart Grid |
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One of the biggest components of the drive to energy efficiency is the modernization of existing electric grid transmission and distribution services. Virtually every utility industry expert agrees that today’s grid is rapidly aging and woefully outmoded. A future Smart Grid would be a more reliable, secure, efficient, environmentally friendly and economically viable alternative to the existing, outdated electric infrastructure. It is important to first understand how the electric grid of today delivers electricity from points of generation to consumers. Our electricity delivery network functions via two primary systems: the transmission system and the distribution system. The transmission system delivers electricity from power plants to distribution substations, while the distribution system delivers electricity from distribution substations to consumers. The grid also encompasses myriads of local area networks that use distributed energy resources to serve local loads and/or to meet specific application requirements for remote power, village or district power, premium power, and critical loads protection. Created in 1896, our existing "alternating current power grid" was based on limited emerging technology available 120 years ago. Some of these obsolete power grid assumptions and features (like centralized unidirectional electric power transmission, electricity distribution, and demand-driven control) are still legacy components in our current electric grid and need to be replaced. The alternating current power grid does not address the nation's 21st century power supply challenges. Not only is the energy-waste and inefficiencies of the current grid costing consumers billions of dollars, existing conditions also pose a grave national security risk to the US. Today's grid is vulnerable to attacks and natural disasters. An extended loss of the grid could have catastrophic consequences to our security, economy and quality of life. So the question is, how do we modernize our utility assets to meet our 21st century power needs? The development of modern microelectronics, and especially the entry of the microprocessor, opened new ways to significantly improve power grid control. The evolutionary integration of intelligent microelectronics and their distributed and highly-adaptive control systems is being referred as the Smart Grid in Title XIII of the U.S. Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. This was a mandate for the DOE to undertake a variety of activities to accelerate the development, demonstration and deployment of Smart Grid technologies, services and practices nationwide. With the adoption of Title 13, deploying the Smart Grid became the official policy of the United States. Modernizing the utility grid can only be accomplished through concerted and coordinated efforts of electric utilities, equipment manufacturers, software developers, services providers, federal and state agencies, national laboratories, universities, consumers and other stakeholders. In Part 2 of this series on the Smart Grid, we will take a closer look at the key technologies and integrated communications infrastructure that is being built by these stakeholders, necessary in bringing a future grid to life. What are the key characteristics of this smart utility grid and how they differ from our existing alternating current power grid? Aeris Communications • 2033 Gateway Place, Suite 300 • San Jose, CA 95110 • www.aeris.com • 1 888-GO AERIS |
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