Decades may pass before the smart grid’s real impact is understood, but utilities and equipment manufacturers are beginning to get a clearer picture. Real-world installations are now underway. A number of pilot programs now coming online are beginning to provide some answers to these questions. This article is one of a continuing series in the [...]
What the Smart Grid Means for You and Your Building
It’s a Small, Small World: Microgrids
Bringing power to the people could be more than just a 1960’s era goal for social change if promoters of localized electricity distribution systems—called “microgrids”—have their way. Seen as one approach for safely incorporating on-site renewable resources into the larger utility grid, microgrids are gaining new attention among both researchers and marketers. This article ran [...]
One Word: Plastics
The presence of wooden electric utility poles is, by now, such a familiar part of the U.S. landscape that many of us barely notice them anymore. For electric utilities, however, those faithful powerline supports can pose numerous problems, so some companies are looking more seriously at a modern-day alternative. Like Benjamin Braddock in the film [...]
Who Is Prepared for the Electric Car?
Electric vehicles are closer than ever to becoming a large-scale reality. Chevrolet’s much-hyped Volt is still on schedule for a 2010 introduction, despite the manufacturer’s financial woes. Toyota may be releasing its own plug-in hybrid (PHEV) to fleet customers later this year. With production getting in gear, attention is turning to another important question: how [...]
Demand-Side Management: An Old Idea Becomes New Again
Here’s a scenario you may find familiar: Oil and gas prices rise as concerns about supplies worsen. Electricity rates begin a climb that seems unlikely to reverse itself. And consumer groups and government regulators both urge utilities to initiate programs that reward customers for using less, rather than more, electricity. This article originally was published [...]
Groups Plan To Enact Smart Grid Capabilities
It’s not news that our national electrical system is in a squeeze; existing transmission lines are reaching carrying capacity just as a new generation of electronics is driving electricity demand higher. This situation is forcing intense debates among those who argue new power plants and transmission lines are the only solution, and others who believe [...]
