Smart Grid Library

There are interesting synergies between renewable energy and energy storage that have profound implications for the Smart Grid and our energy and economic security.  Wind and solar are readily available domestic sources of clean renewable electricity and share a common characteristic of intermittency.  Wind tends to pick up at night, and we all know when [...]

A recent International Energy Agency (IEA) report titled the Clean Energy Progress Report reviews the global energy situation.  The IEA has a policy advisory role to 28 member countries, including the USA, for balanced energy policy making, energy security, economic development, and environmental protection.  One of the summary points made in this inaugural report is that [...]

The integration of renewable energy sources like wind and solar into the nation’s electricity supply is an important Smart Grid capability.   Solar and wind are intermittent energy sources that need energy storage to guarantee electricity when needed, but the sun will continue to shine, and the wind continue to blow, regardless of politics.  Increased electricity [...]

A school district in Silicon Valley is adding a 1.26 MW photovoltaic (PV) solar installation across several campuses to deliver about 45% of their annual electricity needs.  The ground-mounted facilities will be placed as canopies in school parking lots, so the shading provided by the panels can also reduce the air conditioning burden on the [...]

The United Nations Climate Change Conference is convening in Cancun, Mexico from November 29 to December 10 to discuss reduction strategies for global warming and funding for programs developing nations can put in place to mitigate the impacts of climate changes.   Can the Smart Grid solve climate change?  No, but it can reduce the amounts [...]

Distributed generation (DG) is one important realization of the Smart Grid to improve grid reliability and add jobs to local economies.  At residential, microgrid or utility-scale levels, DG increases options for powering the distribution grid in the event of centralized generation or transmission failures.  Last week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) clarified an earlier [...]

The NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) Summer Committee Meetings last week revealed a few sobering projections about our future electrical supply.  First, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) anticipates that the cost of electricity will increase by 50% by 2030 even with use of all possible energy sources from fossil fuels to renewables.  [...]

My blog dated April 19 focused on PG&E activities that seemed to be designed to kill the spirit and the objectives of the Smart Grid.  Since then, PG&E has admitted that mistakes were made in some meter installs (although my PG&E smart meter functions perfectly, thank you very much), the tariff change is wending its way [...]

The entire electricity grid is undergoing innovations, and one interesting change is occurring in electricity markets and the way we value electricity consumption.  The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) is the not-for-profit corporation charged with operating the majority of California’s high-voltage wholesale power grid.  It serves as the link between power plants and utilities, and [...]