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The Power Grid Imperative

by Steven Hodson on November 25, 2008 · Comments

power gridsAs we march down this technological road with increasing haste there are two definite areas of our society where incredible change must happen. It is no longer a matter of letting nature takes its own course or for businesses in these two areas to be left to their own devices. There is too much at risk and our timetable to make the needed societal changes is growing shorter.

These two seemingly disparate areas are transportation and power and rather than being the separate and distinct entities we think they are they in fact are interdependent on each other. This interdependency is only going to increase as we move forward the question is are these two segments of our society ready for our overall changing society.

While much attention is being focused on the transportation industries where some are facing a very bleak future the fact is that our power delivery systems are in much rougher shape.

After all this is the delivery system which in 2003 brought much of the northeast United States and the province of Ontario in Canada to its knees because of a blackout caused by a single event which then cascaded out of control. Much of the affected areas were without power for the better part of three days which I can attest to personally given that I live in Ontario.

It was a cascading effect that ended up shutting down approximately 100 power stations and left a lot of people questioning whether our power grid is capable of maintaining the current user needs - let alone an increasing need in the future as we look to alleviate some of our transportation problem by moving to electric based vehicles.

This doesn’t even take into account the natural increase of need due to a growing population which in the U.S. has caused many states to require power utilities to add an aggregate of nearly 40 gigawatts of clean energy production by 2030. Until then much of our power will come from the typical sources of hydroelectric production, coal fire production and to a lesser degree nuclear powered energy. there is much talk of trying to broaden our power production to include alternate methods like wind, solar and a myriad of other still experimental methods.

The problem is that all this power is going to be funneled into a power grid system that is antiquated at best, broken at the the worst. It is one thing to have power being generated; regardless of whether it is clean or dirty, but if the delivery mechanism is faulty, or ineffective and making that available power progressively expensive to the customers then all the power generation in the world won’t make one bit of difference.

As much as there might be pressure to radically change our transportation systems; whether they be public transportation or revamping the automotive sector, there is an even more urgent need in my mind for an immediate rebuilding of our power grids system(s). While much of the grids are a state; or provincial, regulated system I believe they need to become more of a federally mandated policy and oversight. The whole power network is no longer just something that affects a small portion of people; especially when they start crashing.

I believe that we to realize that we need a massive works project that will build out a fully planned  nationwide power grid system; not just a collection of individually controlled grids. Yes this is going to cost a lot of money which as Craig Rubens at the Earth2Tech blog points out will cost $2 trillion for a fully green power grid

In order to meet the Renewable Portfolio Standards of states, utilities will need to add an aggregate of nearly 40 gigawatts of clean energy generation by 2030. And to get all that power to customers, a total investment of as much as $2 trillion into transmission and distribution networks will be required, according to a report released today by energy consultancy The Brattle Group.

The question is then do we have the political will in both the U.S. and Canada to undertake such a massive rebuilding of one of our most essential services. As well we have to ask ourselves what will happen if we don’t. I don’t think it is a matter of when will we do this anymore, but more of how soon can we start.

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Tagged as: blackouts, Canada, Electricity generation, Energy, Ontario, power grids, Technology, United States

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  • In your post you state that, "I believe that we to realize that we need a massive works project that will build out a fully planned nationwide power grid system; not just a collection of individually controlled grids." Exactly how does gutting the entire North American electric grid make it any more reliable?

    You make a leap from the 2003 blackout to the Brattle Group Report to the need for a massive public works project without making a coherent argument as to how the project improves the reliability of the grid. It's the same poorly constructed argument that we've heard frequently in recent months if only from politicians, journalists and activists who have zero experience with power systems or electric markets. A bit of education on power systems and electricity markets is required in order to speak authoritatively on this topic.

    Rather than take up any more space in your comments I'll just say this. The sky is not falling. A massive public works project is not required. What's needed from the federal government is support for development of new transmission by private entities. They can help by performing analysis to determine where upgrades are necessary and by providing incentives to developers who site projects in the identified areas. The designation of national interest electric transmission corridors has been a good first step towards improving the reliability of the grid. http://nietc.anl.gov/index.cfm
  • I never claimed to be an expert on the matter. I am just making calculated assumptions based on current usage type and what we are going to be expecting that usage to be like in the near future as we look more to electricity to help power massive data centers, increasing electric transportation (not just your next door neighbour's electric car).

    If I am wrong in my assumptions then I welcome any logical discussion on the matter as I know I am capable of making mistakes and more than willing to accept other opinions.
  • Great post - but honestly I kind of found the blackout refreshing. You could see the stars at night, noise pollution from A/C were down. Neighbours actually talked to each other, it was nice. BTW I submitted this post to ZoomIt.ca - the URL is in my name, check it out.
  • PJ
    I know I'm "johnny come lately" on this but I would like to point out a few additional points that you didn't quite address.
    1. As we bring new (many green) power generation sources online, our ability to replace aged electrical infrastructure is going to be made more difficult, not eased. Why is that? The additional power added to the North American grid does not really "increase" the overall power available. Instead, it backfills capacity shortfalls. A fair amount of electricity is lost through inefficiencies inherant to the distribution system. We'll be playing catch up for quite some time to come especially as the green power generation plants generally produce far less energy than a nuclear power plant.
    2. The power distribution system needs to not only be replaced but modernized. Computers were unheard of when North America began laying down the power grid. As substations and distribution systems are replaced or upgraded, they need to have modern technology integrated to help control inefficiencies and reroute power during crisis situations.
    3. Introduction of security measures. The power grid is a national strategic element for the US and I'm sure it holds a similar position for Canada. As such, the loss of power over a large area for any length of time has a significant and adverse affect on continuity of operations for the government. Security measures will help to harden the system against the larger-than-life, yet ever present, "terrorist" or "hacker" from taking a portion of the grid down and holding it for ransom or causing incalculable damage.
    4. Improved management and accountability will hopefully be by-products of the previously mentioned items. Are you generating excess power from your home's solar panels? Want to donate it to a worthy cause? This will eventually become a possibility. Right now your only choice is receive payment or credit for the buy-back. One day you'll be able to donate (or receive donated) electricity to individuals or groups.
    5. Integration of micro-/mini- power generation stations. During World War II the Germans pushed manufacturing out to mom and pop type businesses. Something similar will happen in the future. Communities will get most of their electricity from locally produced power stations such as home-based solar systems or micro-nuclear power plants. Individually, each station will generate far less than 30k of electricity during a day but in the aggregate, the entire community will generate enough electricity to ensure everyone has what they need. Excess energy will be put back into the grid for either credits or money. Communities in some parts of Europe are already doing this. Small villages around Achen, Germany, have purchased wind turbines and located them on hills. The community payed for the turbines and they then purchase the resulting electricty at a reduced price. Any excess electricity is sold and profits pay for the upkeep of the turbines.
    Like you, I'm not an expert in this topical area but there are some aspects that seem eminently clear from my perspective.
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