Smart Power Grid Pricetag $100 Billion
Barack Obama economic stimulus package calls for significant investment in alternative energy tchnologies. One very interesting part of this plan has nothing directly to do with developing specific alternative energy, instead it calls for renewable energy power grid can will be more efficient then those in existance today.
A substantial increase in the amount of electricity produced from renewable energy would require building a transmission system that would carry a price tag of up to $100 billion, according to a new study.
The new system would be needed because the existing Eastern grid couldn’t handle the volume of power coming from the wind-producing states.
In addition, the new grid would need to be able to handle the fluctuating nature of wind power, which can surge at some moments and drop sharply at others.
There is strong political and public support for increasing production of renewable energy, and Congress is considering enacting a nationwide standard that would require utilities to garner more of their power from renewable sources.
However, there is only an emerging understanding of how new standards would affect the country’s existing electricity infrastructure.
The study, sponsored by some of the nation’s biggest grid-running organizations east of the Rockies, is the most comprehensive attempt by the industry to figure out what kind of infrastructure upgrades would be needed if the U.S. attempts to sharply increase the amount of power it gets from sources such as wind and solar.
The smart grid would be able to identify energy spikes and reroute unused energy to where it is needed most. Bits and pieces of the smart grid are already taking shape — Obama’s stimulus package includes $11 billion for the development of this nationwide smart grid. Utilities like Xcel are starting test projects in cities around the U.S.
sources: wall street journal, fox news, tim
