The Smart Grid will trigger many transformations. Chief among them is the change in the relationship that consumers have with electricity. We can transform from consumption roles to prosumption roles – producing electricity as well as consuming it. One of the most prominent enablers for us to engage as prosumers are the buildings we inhabit…
Natural gas seems to invoke a win/win perspective as the solution to all problems in some discussions about energy policy and the best fuels for electricity generation and transportation. In these scenarios, the only downside is the pressure it puts on renewable energy technologies. Yes, natural gas is cleaner than goal. It exhausts about half…
Solar panels capture energy from light and convert it to electricity. This is the most visible form of energy harvesting, but it is hardly the only one. Energy harvesting captures energy lost as heat, light, sound, vibration, or movement. Devices that harvest or scavenge energy can capture, accumulate, store, condition, and manage this energy into…
In the developed world, we take for granted the infrastructure fundamentals that give us the good life. Healthy drinking water? Naturally. Reliable electricity? Of course. But in the developing world, this infrastructure is out of reach for at least 1 billion people. Last week the Center for Science, Technology, and Society at Santa Clara University in…
On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans demonstrated for a clean and sustainable environment. In October 1973, Americans experienced the first oil embargo, and for the first time thought about the real costs of our reliance on oil for energy. On the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, we know how the Smart Grid helps achieve…
The past two decades of telecommunications history can serve to illustrate trends and develop insights that apply to electric grid modernization – the evolution to the Smart Grid. Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs) disrupted and disintermediated the phone company from commercial and industrial consumers. PBXs duplicated the most relevant functions of the large and remote (and…
When it comes to grid modernization, understanding some history can help us map the best path forward – particularly in ensuring that the Smart Grid is both reliable and resilient for everyone. For instance, the transformations that occurred in the telecommunications sector within the past 25 years offer cautionary and instructive lessons. In the past,…
The CEO of NRG, David Crane, was quoted at a recent industry conference as saying “…consumers don’t need the power industry at all.” He was referring to NRG’s plans to bypass utilities by selling solar panels and small natural gas generators to home owners for self sufficient energy operations. True, there will be disruptions to…
At a Smart Grid industry conference last week, three attendees protested against smart meters based on concerns about the health impacts of the Radio Frequency (RF) signaling technology in them. Smart meters use either RF or Power Line Carrier (PLC) communications technology to transmit information to and from the meter. Smart meters are an important…
Utilities are projected to invest $3 Billion per year by 2015 to upgrade their distribution grids (the low voltage part of the grid) to accommodate increased renewables and energy storage assets and/or replace aging equipment. At a recent industry conference, Duke Energy presented their vision for the distribution grid and how a solution from the…