...Smart Grid: Focus Areas Smart Grid The current electric grid was conceived more than 100 years ago when electricity needs were simple. Power generation was localized and built around communities. Most homes had only small energy demands such as few light-bulbs and a radio. The grid was designed for utilities to deliver electricity to consumer's home and then bill them once a month which is a one-way communication which is illustrated in figure 1; Before smart Grid. Figure 1: Pre and Post Smart Grid communication This limited one-way interaction makes it difficult for the grid to respond to the ever changing and rising energy demands of the 21st century. The smart grid introduces the two-way dialogue where electricity and information can be exchanged between utility and its customers shown in figure 1; After smart grid . Its a developing network of communications, controls, computers and automation, and new technology and tools working together to make the grid more efficient, more reliable, more secure, and more greener. The smart grid enables newer technologies to be integrated such as wind and solar energy production and plug-in vehicle charging. With our participation as informed consumers, the smart grid will replace the old infrastructure of today's grid. And utilities can better communicate with us to help manage our electricity needs. Grid Situational awareness Situational awareness in the context of power grid operation is the...
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...THE SMART GRID: A PRAGMATIC APPROACH A “State-of-Play” Discussion Paper Presented by the Canadian Electricity Association TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..2 Introduction. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..3 I. Definition and Objectives of the Smart Grid. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..5 A) Definition.. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..5 B) Objectives ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..5 II. The Smart Grid’s Five Capabilities .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..7 A) Demand Response .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..7 B) Facilitation of Distributed Generation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..7 C) Facilitation of Electric Vehicles . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..8 D) Optimization of Asset Use ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..8 E) Problem Detection and Mitigation ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ..9 III. Building Blocks . ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... A) Hard Infrastructure .. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ....
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...infrastructure. the SMART GRID: an introduction. How a smarter grid works as an enabling engine for our economy, our environment and our future. prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy by Litos Strategic Communication under contract No. DE-AC26-04NT41817, Subtask 560.01.04 DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor Litos Strategic Communication, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or Litos Strategic Communication. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. PREFACE It Is A ColossAl tAsk. But It Is A tAsk thAt must BE donE. The Department of Energy has been charged with orchestrating the wholesale modernization of our nation’s electrical grid. While it is running. Full-tilt...
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...The first alternating current power grid system was installed in 1886.[5] At that time, the grid was a centralized unidirectional system of electric power transmission, electricity distribution, and demand-driven control. In the 20th century local grids grew over time, and were eventually interconnected for economic and reliability reasons. By the 1960s, the electric grids of developed countries had become very large, mature and highly interconnected, with thousands of 'central' generation power stations delivering power to major load centres via high capacity power lines which were then branched and divided to provide power to smaller industrial and domestic users over the entire supply area. The topology of the 1960s grid was a result of the strong economies of scale: large coal-, gas- and oil-fired power stations in the 1 GW (1000 MW) to 3 GW scale are still found to be cost-effective, due to efficiency-boosting features that can be cost effectively added only when the stations become very large. Power stations were located strategically to be close to fossil fuel reserves (either the mines or wells themselves, or else close to rail, road or port supply lines). Siting of hydro-electric dams in mountain areas also strongly influenced the structure of the emerging grid. Nuclear power plants were sited for availability of cooling water. Finally, fossil fuel-fired power stations were initially very polluting and were sited as far as economically possible from population centres...
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...The Smart Grid is a decentralized and interactive system. The interactive nature will involve two-way communication between the utility companies and the consumer. Through Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) consumers are able to make better energy use decisions, defer usage to off-peak periods, and contribute power to peak period usage. Utilities will be better able to detect problems within their own systems and react quickly to replace power sources from multiple possible sources. The “Prices to Devices” concept, based on the premise that energy is priced in real time, allows for ongoing transmission of power availability and pricing to “smart” home controllers and devices. The devices can interpret this information to alter energy usage accordingly – to defer usage to more amenable and less expensive times. The current U.S. power grid is no doubt an amazing machine, but it has many limitations and poses many challenges. One main drawback of the current system is that it was built to move power in one direction – from the plant to the consumer. Years ago this made sense, but today it limits the ability to handle power generated from wind turbines and solar panels. The smart grid uses two-way communication, which handles excess distributed power as well as detects and avoids potential power outages. Currently, power companies rely on customers to tell them if there is an outage or problem. The smart grid automatically detects the problem and instantly reroutes...
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...Security in the Smart Grid introduction Present and future battlefronts of electronic terrorism includes the state of readiness and resilience of the computer equipment protecting America's energy distribution networks and industrial control systems. According to a Pike research report [1] published March 1st of this year, it is projected that investments in smart grid cyber security will total $14 billion through 2018. First, what is a power grid? A power grid consists of several networks that carry electricity from the power plants where it is generated to consumers, and includes wires, substations, transformers, switches, software, and other hardware. The grid in the past used a centralized one-way communication distribution concept that consisted of limited automation, limited situational awareness, and did not provide the capability for consumers to manage their energy use. “Smart Grid” generally refers to a class of technology designed to upgrade the current utility grid infrastructure to improve the efficiency on the power network and in energy users’ homes and businesses. Much of the legacy power plant infrastructure is now over 30 years old with electrical transmission and distribution system components (i.e. power transformers) averaging over 40 years old and 70% of transmission lines being 25 years or older [2]. In December 2007, Title XIII of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 became an official...
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...Haris A. Raja Industry Analysis BA 01 Smart Grid Industry Introduction Current electrical grid was conceived more than a hundred years ago. With rising and ever changing energy demands of the 21st century, existing grids are under pressure to deliver efficient, reliable and sustainable supply of electricity. 21st century demand for electricity is driving the evolution of smart grid technologies. The smart grid is a “developing network of new technologies, equipment, and controls working together” to deliver electricity efficiently and reliably. (www.smartgird.gov) Its been called “electricity with a brain,” or “the energy Internet.” (www.nist.gov) Some key benefits associated with smart grids are as follows: • Efficient power transmission • Faster recovery from power disruptions or failures • Better integration with other power generation systems (e:g. renewable energy) Driving Forces and Trends Capacity- growing demand According to International Energy Agency, $6 trillion investments will be needed to satisfy the global demand between now and 20301. Boston Consulting Group predicts that by 2020 there will be 40 million electric cars in the US. This mean that a robust infrastructure is needed to charge potentially millions of batteries. This will clearly put higher demand on the electrical systems. (www.abb.com) Reliability- Reliable operation According to the US Department of Energy power outages and interruptions in the US electrical supply cost $150 billion...
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...SELF HEALING INTRODUCTION Smart Grid is sophisticated, digitally enhanced power systems where the use of modern communications and control technologies allows much greater robustness, efficiency and flexibility than today’s power systems. The American Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), an advocator of building the smart grid, gave this grid a definition with self-healing, security, integration, collaborative, forecast, optimization and interaction. While European commission define it as : A grid which could support distributed and renewable energy access, supply more reliable and secure electricity, have a service-oriented architecture and flexible grid applications, possess an advanced automation and distributed intelligent, be able to local interact the load and the power, adhere to customer centric. Obviously, these definitions has been formulated for the future of power industry mainly focusing on world today’s energy generation, transmission, distribution limitation & changing consumer trends. Recently world has observed a series of blackout, partial power failure and this compelled the world’s nations to go for an ideal grid system that is smart enough to face such kind of challenges. This has resulted the unification of power system with the information technology & modren telecommunition setup. And SELF HEALING become the key component of smart grid, as smart grid should possess an intelligent control funtion, which could rapidly isolate and self...
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...Technologies for Smart Grid Abstract Smart Grid is next generation power transmission system with advanced communication technologies. This article will make a review of some possible communication technologies for the smart grid. The applications and limitations of these technologies will be introduced and discussed. 1. Introduction Smart grid is next generation of the power transmission system and is a revolution of the old electrical power grid which has been used for about one hundred years. Now there is still not a clear definition of smart grid but some main aims and features of expected smart grid are: observable, controllable, efficient (energy and economy), incorporating renewable and distributed generation, enable demand side operation and the ability of automated. The technologies support the future smart grid can be divided into three parts: 1. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) 2. Sensing, Measurement, Control and Automation Technologies 3. Power electronics and energy storage Technologies This article will only introduce the current information and communication technologies for the smart grid because of the length restriction. The reliable and stable communication system is a key factor for the power delivery system. Therefore, a communication system that meets the requirements is the foundation to the successful implementation of Smart Grid in the future. 2. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for Smart Grid The application...
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...Smart Grid: It’s a network that is linked with digital communication to detect and react to changes in usage to provide electricity is called smart grid. This modern technology made efficiency, reliability sustainability of the production and the distribution of electricity a lot easier. Electric utilities have found themselves making three classes of transformation: improvement of infrastructure, called the strong grid in China; addition of the digital layer, which is the main priority of smart grid; and business process of modernization that has been going on in the modernization of the electric grid, the substation and the distribution automation now included in the general concept of the smart grid, but it is evolving as well. The demand...
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...Smart Grid Policy As we briefly reflect on the inspiring amount of progress achieved over the past century we notice just how dependent modern civilization has become on these fairly new technological advancements. We are currently living in an age of convenience. We are continually creating more comfortable and convenient environments to further disconnect ourselves from nature. Though these modern advancements have advanced civilization by leaps and bounds we have evolved into a dependent population. We no longer fetch our own water, build our own homes, or even prepare our own meals, simple chores that were part of everyday life a short time ago. As we lay back and enjoy the convenience of online shopping and call in Chinese, we often forget that a natural disaster can bring it all to a screeching hault. The Northeast blackout of 2003 gives us good example of just how reliant we are to our electrical grids. In just two days without electricity New York City encountered a host of problems ranging from communication, transportation, financial, and industrial. The blackout was due to a software bug the infiltrated the outdated power grid of the region leaving over a dozen states and even parts of Canada in the dark. Our current power grid was constructed in the early 1900’s and has continuously been patched up over the years. Though our grid continues to keep the lights on to this day we must adopt a Smart Grid system that allows for our digital technology communicate with...
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...What’s the Buzz on Smart Grids? The smart grid is a new infrastructure proposal to substitute the current outdated and inefficient electric infrastructure that supplies electricity to companies and consumers in the U.S. The new grid is expected to offer great advantages nationwide. The smart grid offers new ways to handle power by using alternative energy sources whish enable us to go green. Smart grid uses digital technology to deliver electricity saving energy, reducing cost, and increasing reliability and transparency. The new infrastructure allows information to flow back and forward from energy plants to consumer’s households and companies enabling them to make more rational decision of consumption and production. In addition this offer consumer the possibility to regulate their electronic appliances such as heating and air conditioner system for a responsible consumption while meeting the maximum need of usage lowering cost and pollution. All this advantages are not just advantages but also a clear difference that sets the economy to propel at lees in this single sector. Furthermore the smart grid is capable of detecting power outages more precisely and quickly at the individual household levels. Smart grids are expected to reduce the energy consumption from a 5 to 15 percent nationwide if implemented across the nation. Not only will this new infrastructure enable consumers to visualize through a home display devise the consumption and cost of the energy used to...
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...“Smart grid” generally refers to a class of technology people are using to bring utility electricity delivery systems into the 21st century, using computer-based remote control and automation. (Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability, n.d.) A key feature of the smart grid is automation technology that lets the utility adjust and control each individual device or millions of devices from a central location. In December 2007, Congress passed, and the President approved, Title XIII of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA). EISA provided the legislative support for DOE’s smart grid activities and reinforced its role in leading and coordinating national grid modernization efforts. President Obama has announced the largest single grid modernization investment in U.S. history, funding a broad range of technologies to spur the nation's transition to a smarter, stronger, more efficient and reliable electric system. This will promote energy-saving choices for consumers, increase energy efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. Congress enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to create new jobs and save existing ones, stimulate economic activity, and invest in long-term growth. The $3.4 billion in investments, as part of the Recovery Act, will be matched by industry funding for a total public-private investment worth over $8 billion. (Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability...
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...Here is the summary on the talk “The Smart Grid Addresses the Grid Integration Challenges of Distributed Generation" by Saifur Rahman, PhD Virginia Tech, USA. In the talk, he explained on how the smart grid can make a difference by providing two way interaction by exchanging data between stations to enable effective integration of new sustainable energy source. The aim is to provide a smarter, safer, reliable and more cost effective grid system using communication technologies, therefore opening up carrier opportunities for IT graduates. The smart grid can help improve service provider in the sense that it helps improve customer management and billing. It also provides peak load reduction. He explained different types of power generation source such as solar voltaic, solar thermal, hydropower, geothermal, current and wave power that can be used with the smart grid. He explained the pros and cons of these entire power generation sources. Among some problems that have to be taken into consideration is the demand, space, how much land it will take to build a power station, cost, the amount of power generated, how it will affect the landscape and the environment, should it be done in a large scale or a small scale and much more. Another problem is that renewable energy are not always usable, for example solar energy which only generates energy when there is sunlight and wind turbine which provides energy only when there is wind. These energy sources are intermittent. It has been...
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...What's the smart grid buzz in 2011? Behind-the-scenes discussions yield fruitful harvest Kate Rowland | Feb 08, 2011 I did a lot of listening last week. One of the most-asked questions at any industry conference, participant to participant, is "what are you hearing?" DistribuTECH was no different. The answers this time, though, were far more disparate than two years ago, at the same conference, in the same venue, when the answers were clearly "stimulus funding" and "smart meters/AMI." Here's a peek at some of this year's most-discussed topics. Consumers There were definite discussions centering on consumers, selling to consumers and consumer pushback. From Craig Boice, president of Boice Dunham Group, who spoke at the pre-conference Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative Symposium, came the following opening salvo. "If we look to other industries, they are all working to create customer demand," he said. "We have to come up with compelling enough products and a compelling story to create customer demand." Terri Flora, director of corporate communications for AEP Ohio, echoed Boice, and clearly defined the challenge electric utilities are facing. "We can't think like a utility; we have to think like a Best Buy. And that's very difficult for us," she said. This is an enormous challenge utilities have identified for themselves in the coming year, according to a new Comverge survey of utilities released during DistribuTECH. While aging infrastructure and implementing variable and...
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