Infrastructurist has a piece by energy writer William Tucker on the ‘Smart Grid’ and its representation in popular culture – namely by GE, which has been running a striking advertising campaign on a smart grid theme (the scarecrow ad during Superbowl; its Smart Grid landing page is a recurring favourite on Delicious, though this may be due to its impressive Flash). Tucker picks apart the latest television ad:
He has two problems with this. The first is that real time pricing information will encourage people to shift their energy use to off-peak times. However they cite a report by Electric Power Research Institute, which is funded by the US utilities industry. Its most optimistic assessment is that smart grid information would mean 7 to 11% of future projected energy use could be reduced by 2030. [We note a DEFRA report from the UK government put the figure at 5 - 15%]
Utilities don’t like peak loads because they have to meet them by building generators that may be used only two or three weeks of the year. These are almost always gas turbines – essentially jet engines bolted to the ground. Because they don’t boil water, turbines can be started up and adjusted almost instantly, enabling them to follow loads. Steam generators, on the other hand, may take the better part of an hour to get to full speed. But turbines run on natural gas, the most expensive fuel. In addition, they sit idle most of the year, a costly way to employ capital.
The author also takes aim at the advert for confusing the smart grid – technically, the digitalisation of the distribution system – for a massive upgrade that would incorporate wind and solar energy:
The second premise is that the smart grid will help integrate wind and solar energy – the two balky “renewables” that have the disadvantage of not being dispatchable when we want them. With the smart grid, wind and solar generation will always be available somewhere and so can be conveyed to where it’s needed.
But these are different things. The true “smart grid” will be a digitalized distribution system that conveys real-time information. Incorporating remote wind and solar, on the other hand, will require an upgraded grid, something entirely different. Our present 345-kilovolt AC transmission wires can’t do it without unacceptable line losses. We will need to rebuild to 765-kilovolt DC system – something that could take decades and easily cost several trillion dollars.
It’s not surprising these things are conflated. Wikipedia hints at the distinction: “The term smart grid represents a vision for a digital upgrade of distribution and long distance transmission grids to both optimize current operations, as well as open up new markets for alternative energy production.”
More importantly, what does this mean for Google’s energy meter and the accompanying flurry of excitement?
