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Smart Grids Jeff WillTom O’ConnellCatherine LangeIntroduction Just as every private company moves to make itself more profitable, so too is it time for energy companies to move in that direction. In the past, energy has been so abundant that companies in the industry were complacent with the status quo, but there is now demand for not only a more reliable system, but also one that is more environmentally friendly and efficient. The answer to all of these issues is a smart grid. This would put the energy industry on par with every other industry that exists to better the world for people in some way. While there are many benefits to smart grids, obstacles exist for implementation that make the transition slow and scale up even more daunting. Many of the difficulties surrounding implementation can be solved through good planning at the local, regional, and national level as the specific case mandates. Benefits of Smart Grids The current electrical grid is outdated. The same technologies that were developed 100 years ago are still utilized globally (Kenworthy, 2009). These systems cannot keep up with growing demand, and do not meet the emerging standards for sustainable energy. Recent modernization of the electrical grid in cities—now labeled the “smart grid”—allows greater flexibility, energy conservation, and more personal control in terms of electrical power and energy sources. SmartGridCity in Boulder, Colorado and the Telegestore Project in Italy are two smart grid projects that are currently being implemented and tested. ENEL, an Italian Power Electricity Utility, started the Telegestore Project in June 2000 with the installation of a remote metering system designed to allow customers to watch and control the energy they are using at home. Their smart grid system consists of the smart meters, concentrators, modems, and a central system (Rogai, 2009). It is through these technologies that the benefits of the smart grid are apparent. ENEL’s customers continually benefit in numerous ways from the smart grid installation, including better efficiency in distribution of electrical power, and—in the long-term—lowered taxes. Moreover, the Telegestore system fosters competition by enabling customers to change energy providers more efficiently, through reduced running costs and accurate meter readings (Cannatelli, 2005). This sort of competitive atmosphere is often beneficial to businesses, future growth and ingenuity. Environmentally speaking, the Telegestore Project is beneficial in that it allows absolute transparency to customers about their own energy consumption and power usage. Customers are free to read all their information on the display, and then adjust their usage accordingly. Simply making aware one’s own personal useis an effective way of lowering total consumption. “It has been proven that a customer who is made aware of the cost of consumption during peak hours will change his behavior and switch consumption to the less expensive times” (Cannatelli, 2005). This allows the energy system to reduce consumption peaks. Additionally, a customer who is made more aware of the cost of energy will reduce energy consumption by between 5 and 10 percent (Cannatelli, 2005). The benefits of the Telegestore Project go beyond pure energy conservation. Because the meter readings are instantaneous, billing mistakes are mitigated, thereby reducing complaints and disputes (Rogai, 2009). Also, because the grid is controlled automatically, operations run at optimal efficiency. This leads to increased customer satisfaction, and better relationships between energy companies and the residents of the region. SmartGridCity in Boulder, Colorado is a similar project that is currently in the process of being implemented in the United States. Xcel Energy is behind the installation of our nation’s first fully integrated smart grid community, featuring the largest and most dense concentration of these emerging technologies to date (Xcel, 2008). In total, approximately 10,000 Boulder residents will be involved in the smart grid (Kenworthy, 2009). Participating customers are provided with greater energy use information, in-home energy management devices, and a remote system for Xcel Energy to control energy distribution manually when demand calls for it (Technology, 2009). Colorado University and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder offer academic and research facilities studying the long-term benefits of SmartGridCity. Early results indicate that Xcel’s new technology is allowing the company to predict equipment failure and proactively make necessary repairs before a power outage occurs. These technologies include switching power through fully automated substations, re-routing power around bottlenecked lines, detecting power outages, and proactively identifying outage risks (Xcel, 2008). Many of the benefits of SmartGridCity in Boulder are similar to those in the Telegestore Project. The addition of clean, green power sources has measurable environmental benefits, as well as greatly improving power delivery and reliability. Customers of SmartGridCity are given the choice of when, how much, and what kind of energy they use, which shares the benefits described in the Telegestore Project. Even since the installation of the smart grid in Telegestore, technology has improved, making the digitally enhanced grid in Boulder more stable and less prone to outages. Customers can remotely manage their appliances and energy usage through an Internet program, allowing decreased usage during peak hours. For example, one customer reset his thermostat so that heat turned on later when he had a late night at work. Plug-ins are often provided in home garages to charge electric cars using solar arrays. The electric company can detect when a transformer is close to failing, and then prevent a blackout from occurring at all. A 2006 study by the Department of Energy found that power outages alone cost the United States $79 billion a year. Eliminating this cost is an enormous benefit to our national economy (Kenworthy, 2009). Xcel officials believe that with the smart grid, consumers can cut their energy consumption by up to 10 percent. The Department of Energy conducted a study in 2003 that concluded over a 20-year period, there would be $75 billion in benefits from implementing a smart grid system (Xcel, 2008).Implementation of Smart Grids While the


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CORNELL CRP 384 - Smart Grids

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