"It is exciting to know that our politicians have finally recognized the importance of maintaining our infrastructure, but is "smart grid" a real improvement or is it just a new buzz word with no substance"
-Frank from Villa Park, IL-
To understand smart grid, let us first discuss what "the grid" means. We use electricity every day in our homes, our cars, our places of work. In most cases, this electricity originates as another form of energy (coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear) which is converted into electricity through the act of burning or releasing energy to drive a rotating shaft. The places and equipment that transform these raw forms of energy into electrical energy - known as generators - create noise and air pollution (among other issues) and generally do not get built close to the customers they serve. The series of cables (to allow flow from one point to another), transformers (to match the right potential to the right situation), switches and relays (to regulate what energy can flow when) that connect these sources of electrical energy to our homes, offices, etc. are what make up "the grid".
For those that want a more detailed history of how our current grid infrastructure came into existence, the Edison Tech Center has a straightforward review of the topic. For over one hundred years, the grid has functioned to transmit electrical energy in one direction, from a small series of point-sources of power to a vast number of individual users. Relays and switches protected the system from damage, and transformers allowed for the transmission of high voltage power across long distances which could then be "transformed" to lower voltage power at the building level. All of these devices maintained a steady flow of electricity from the source to the user.
The water references, abundant in electricity transmission, may confuse the issue a bit, as they suggest that systems can store electricity - like water - and use when needed. The great limitation of electrical energy comes from the fact that the generators can only supply what the users need at any one time. Unlike natural gas or oil, any excess generation goes to waste (at best) or oversupplies a system (at worst), so managing the grid requires a delicate balance to match generation to load (or need for electricity).
With this as a backdrop, the concept of a "smart grid" sounds simple enough: add "intelligence" to all the devices in the system and share information about real-time activity. That does not tell the whole story, however. Most leading researchers in the arena of "smart grid" (who, by the way, are gathered in Chicago this week for an international workshop that will help shape the next wave of research into smart grid) actually refer to them as "micro grids" preferring to focus on the size, scale and functionality rather than solely on the additional intelligence - of which they have plenty. Micro grids have several key components that define them:
1. The grid operators have more information about the distribution of energy at all levels through digital meters and sensors strategically placed throughout the system.
2. End users have much more information about how much energy they use, at what time, and for what duration.
3. As the name implies, the micro grid represents a finite subset of infrastructure at a particular scale. The functionality that flows from this decision allows for more local generation (mostly renewably created), more specific matching of power quality to load need, and a greater amount of reliability by decreasing the need for large sources of power far away.
4. Multidirectional (although not simultaneously so) flow of electricity within and around the grid.
The increased metering, increased flow of information, and decreased reliance on "far away" generation resources changes the relationship between generator and user, creates a scenario in which greater accuracy of generation matches the load, and establishes more sources of electricity within a particular area. With the increased monitoring, the grid can allow energy flows in multiple directions enabling flexibility for more sources local to the users. Traditionally one-way electricity flow yields to more "loop" structures that provide greater resilience by allowing a single load to be served from multiple points in the grid. Electricity storage in large battery systems, coupled with the intelligent information and response systems, provide more reliability about the flow of electricity, and better backup in case of failures.
The addition of information systems, replacement of old switches with new devices, and deployment of generation sources all require investment. In Illinois, some of those costs have been built into the costs that utilities charge us in order to accelerate upgrades. What do we get for that investment? We get greater reliability of service, decreased waste, and improved management of resources. This does not count the currently unquantified benefits that come from implementation of a new technology. Although dealing with public and private utilities generally requires a heavy dose of skepticism, "smart grid" or micro grid is the real deal, and we need to take smart, significant steps toward increasing the number of areas that upgrade to the newer, more resilient infrastructure.
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