Appeals for grid upgrades... Metering and BPL trend reports

A few years back, Smart Grid Newsletter was one of the first publications to spotlight the dire state of the US grid and the impact it could have on the country's economy and on its hopes to move to renewable resources. As you will see below, the message is catching on, with more and more calls for action. Next question — is anybody listening?

The fragile future of US grids. The entire US grid infrastructure is headed for collapse, according to an article in Executive Intelligence Review. Author Marsha Freeman claims the high-voltage transmission system has been under fire due to underinvestment, regulation, anti-technology fanatics, free market ideologues and bad policies. These shortcomings have accumulated over the last thirty years, resulting in expensive inefficiencies. The blackouts in New York, frequent grid congestion, and other problems have made a mockery, she says, of the country's entire energy scenario. Additionally, appeals from irrational environmentalists have made it impossible to set up new generating facilities in energy deficient areas. The need of the hour is an unregulated and open system as well as a broad vision for the entire sector.

   QuickTake: You may or may not agree with the author's proposed solution, but her piece does an excellent job of recounting the stresses and challenges facing our grid, and the urgent need for upgrades.

   Executive Intelligence Review article

AEP boss issues warning: new transmission capacity is indispensable. The US electric system is overloaded and overstressed according to Calvin Crowder, Managing Director of utility giant American Electric Power. Writing for Platts.com, he cited special problems for those areas where generation hasn't kept pace with the increasing demand. Bolstering transmission infrastructure is essential to maintain the grid reliability, he maintains. The regulatory bodies are propagating fuel diversity on grounds of environmental, cost and security benefits but it is not an end in itself. Renewable energy sources cannot be exploited for baseload generation and are not always universally abundant.

   QuickTake: Crowder is exactly right. There is no short-cut to the problem of grid congestion. The regulatory bodies and the utilities need to focus on expanding the transmission network for maintaining security of the electricity distribution system. Will they listen to a top executive from one of America's largest utilities? Or will it take another major blackout before they will pay attention?

   Platts article

Wind power demands grid improvements. The US is capable of harnessing renewable resources such as wind power. Indeed, experts forecast that wind energy will meet 6% of the country's power needs by 2020. However, the transmission network does not support the easy integration of renewable power such as wind, according to a new white paper from National Grid. Capital spending needs to increase by 25% from $4B to $5B annually. Presently, only the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and Alberta have beneficial transmission policies to integrate new sources of energy generation.

   QuickTake: And here is another important utility — this one with operations in the both US and the UK — calling for grid upgrade. The US needs to catch up with Europe in terms of harnessing wind power – more than 25% of Europe's power needs are met through wind generation compared to a mere 1% in the US The first pre-requisite for the US will be to upgrade the transmission infrastructure to accommodate a variety of generation resources, including intermittent sources such as wind.

   National Grid white paper (PDF)

US needs renewables research and upgraded grid. Renewable energy currently meets only 6% of US energy needs. Though several states, such as California, Texas and Iowa, are increasing their usage, the growth across the country has been inconsistent. A new white paper issued jointly by the Worldwatch Institute and the Center for American Progress urges the US government to establish a uniform long-term framework of regulations and incentives. It also argues the transmission grid must be upgraded to integrate those renewables.

   QuickTake: And now we have two independent policy centers adding their voices to the call. Europe and parts of Asia are way ahead of the US in exploiting renewable energy. This paper makes the important point that an updated, intelligent grid is essential to increasing America's use of renewables, while also giving a useful overview of our renewable options.

   The Worldwatch Institute and Center for American Progress report (PDF)

RF mesh best for advanced metering? Technology improvements have ushered a new phase for the advanced metering segment, argues the CEO of a startup company in EnergyPulse. He says advanced metering will need to be an integrated package incorporating advanced functions such as interval data, remote disconnect, and on demand reads. It will also need to incorporate gas and water meters, not just electric meters. This calls for large-scale information synthesis, data storage and management, application software scaling, and robust communications technology. Wireless mesh technology has been gaining widespread significance, he claims, due to its ability to incorporate high functionality at lower risks and competitive costs.

   QuickTake: The author is hardly objective, since he heads a mesh networking company. In our view, advanced metering products must support a wide range of communications options, so utilities can mix and match as needed. We do not agree with the implication that mesh networks will become the dominant choice in the next few years. But we do agree they are an increasingly viable option.

   EnergyPulse article

Advanced metering market trends. The new report titled "Intelligent Metering and Wireless M2M" by BergInsights delves deeply into Europe's advanced metering sector. It provides up-to-date information about deployments in Scandinavia, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK as well as strategies adopted by industry leaders such as ACEA, E.ON, Fortum, Nuon and Vattenfall. The report also highlights established vendors.      

   QuickTake: The advanced metering segment is buzzing with activity. Although early deployments were in the US, Europe is rapidly becoming a hotbed.

   BergInsights report purchase options

BPL technology for utilities. The new report titled "Opportunities for Electric Utilities: Broadband over Power Lines 2006" by The United Telecom Council (UTC) provides detailed information about the emerging Broadband over Power Lines (BPL) technology. The report prepared by UTC in association with United Power Line Council (UPLC) and SHS Technologies concludes that BPL is an economical as well as practical solution for providing commercial services and energy management solutions. It also emphasizes the possibility of BPL as a long term solution once standards and regulatory issues are settled.

   QuickTake: BPL technology has steadily evolved, but large-scale rollouts are still lagging. At GlobalSmartEnergy, we believe grid automation and advanced metering are the killer apps, not consumer broadband.

   United Telecom Council report purchase options (PDF)