A new report released this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos estimates that members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will need to invest more than 7.6 trillion over the next 25 years to meet their energy policy goals, further reduce emissions and create a more sustainable system for producing electricity from renewables and cleaner fuels such as natural gas.
They will also need to invest heavily in modernizing, expanding and decentralizing their power grids to make them more robust and resilient. "The electricity sector is at a cross-roads," says Julian Critchlow, partner at Bain & Company who co-wrote the "Future of Electricity" report. "We are entering a period of unprecedented investment to meet our energy policy goals, but decreasing returns and increasing risk are raising questions over future investment."
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"Top image: A GE wind turbine starts up at the GDF Suez Energy site in Galati, Romania. Image credit: @seenewphoto. Above: GE is currently testing the world's most powerful gas turbine. Image credit: GE Power & Water"
The report calls for a coordinated effort by policymakers, regulators and businesses to ensure the power sector can continue to attract the investments needed to build a more secure, sustainable electricity sector. "This unprecedented transformation in the global power industry toward a low-carbon environment raises significant challenges for countries seeking to balance the need for sustainability, energy security and competitiveness," says Steve Bolze, president and CEO of GE Power & Water and co-chair of the WEF Energy Utilities & Energy Technology community. "Yet it also raises tremendous opportunities for investing in innovative technologies that can help bring about more sustainable economic growth for countries and a higher standard of living for their people." ("Read Bolze's opinion piece here.")
For example, Europe's industrial dynamo, Germany, will lose as much as fifth of its electricity generation capacity over the next decade as the country pulls the plug on nuclear reactors. A process called "Energiewende" will replace nuclear power with a combination of electricity from natural gas and renewables.
But it won't be easy. Nuclear plants feed the electrical grid with crucial "base load power," the minimum amount of electricity that must flow through the grid for the country to run. Unlike wind or solar electricity, which ebb and flow with the whims of the weather, base load power must remain reliable and always on.
Innovation is playing a key role in the transition. The latest flexible gas turbines and gas engines are already converting natural gas into electricity at a low cost and allow operators to blend in intermittent renewable power like solar and wind power into the grid.
Big Data and the Industrial Internet will also allow utilities to boost efficiency. "Energy builds and supports modern economies, and is fundamental to our daily lives," says Bolze. "We have an obligation to future generations to address the current limitations impacting the electricity sector, and provide a sound foundation for future economic investment, progress and quality of life improvements."
The coming conversion of the world's electricity networks to the so-called 'smart grid' (I don't think it means it becomes self-aware - at least I hope not) will cause the grid to decarbonise itself by over 50% in America.
The exact amount elsewhere will depend on many other factors, but be at least as great. This is good news for efforts to fight climate change.
The figure is in a study from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) published last week. It suggests that by enabling greater integration of renewable technologies, as well as reducing consumption, the smart grid could cut US 2030 carbon emissions by a staggering 58%, against a 2005 baseline.
Over here, the EU could be powered almost entirely by renewable energies in 2050 without power disruptions by using smart grids and building new cross-border connections, according to a study by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC).
IT'S BIG BUSINESS
This is going to mean very big business indeed.
Last week General Electric announced it is buying a small Irish smart grid company FMC-Tech in just one example of an intense level of business activity that is set to increase over the coming decade as the smart grid really begins to take off.
GE is acquiring the company to give it expertise in distribution automation - FMC-Tech has developed a suite of services for automating management of power distribution from the substation to the customersmeter.
The EPRI report also says that over 20 years the investment required to create the smart grid may be up to 476 billion in the US alone - that's 17 billion to 24 billion a year.
But the benefits to society will far outweigh the costs - up to 2.028 billion, EPRI says. In Britain, the savings to consumers are calculated at lb7.3 billion.
The savings come because smart grid technologies will reduce the annual growth in electricity consumption to less than 0.7% over the 2008-2035 period, below the 1% projected by the US Department of Energy's 2010 energy outlook.
Put another way, if we do not smarten the grid, the average electricity bill will probably rise by 400% over the next 20 years; if we do, the increase will be only around 50%, according to Clark Gellings, EPRI fellow.
By using smart grids, utilities will also be able to lower the system voltage level and make meter-reading redundant, argues Chris King, chief regulatory officer at smart grid software provider eMeter.
Ian Marchant, chief executive of Scottish and Southern Energy, has put the cost of a European smart grid at over lb150 billion and proposed that funding come from growing European pension investments. After deducting necessary costs like the installation of smart meters and new software, the net benefit to Europe would still be Euros 31 billion per year, King said.
Speaking to an IT Forum last Wednesday GE Energy Services chief technical officer Eric Gebhardt explained how his company is making "the journey to a smart energy ecosystem."
As more renewable energy sources such as solar and wind are plugged into the power grid, their intermittent nature is forcing IT operations to change, he said.
"Infrastructure in place today has reached the end of its design life,he added. ustomers are looking to operating longer and longer with the same equipment while changing operating modes."
GENERAL ELECTRIC'S VIEW
So General Electric is buying FMC-Tech because its technology, by providing real-time data about conditions on the grid, is able to control energy management and demand and outage management systems.
This will give much cheaper load balancing for utilities, recuing demand and managing distributed supply. FMC describes its services as "a system that delivers dramatically improved network performance at lower cost. The system consists of sensors fitted on cables throughout the network, both overhead and underground, measuring current and conductor temperature.
"Local controllers (X-NET) gather this information and deliver to a web-controller via GPRS. The overhead sensors are line powered, and the X-NET Controller can be powered by a low voltage supply or a solar panel. The system provides a platform for continuous network improvement through the application of new and enhanced software development."
General Electric's Bob Gilligan, vice president of transmission and distribution, has said that GE is developing compatible household appliances such as refrigerators that could reduce their energy use by about 25% by adjusting the timing of their automatic defrost.
He also said that the key issue for smart grids is that they will have to accommodate the gradual introduction of millions of electric cars, which will be able to store energy and also release it back when required from their batteries.
SUCCESSFUL SMART GRID TRIAL
Practical results on developing the smart grid have come from a trial involving 25 Dutch households in the Hoogkerk district of the City of Groningen, called PowerMatching City, showing t it is possible to create a smart grid with a corresponding market model using existing technologies.
This is the first time in Europe that the results of a live smart grid community have been researched at this technological scale.
The pilot's aims were energy optimisation for the end user, reducing the grid load for the network operator, and reducing imbalances for the utility. A second phase will concentrate on the system integration into market processes like billing, charging electric transport and congestion management at the district transformer.
The underlying coordinating mechanism in PowerMatching City is PowerMatcher, a software tool that balances energy demand and energy supply.
ALERTME
In another indication of the scale of developments, energy and home management company AlertMe, which signed a lb20 million deal with British Gas last year, is completing trials in many different countries including Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, the US, Portugal and Mexico, and is looking for partners in other countries.
Its CEO, significantly, used to be head of broadband firm Tiscali, signalling how the convergence of software developers, telecommunications industry and energy that is the hallmark of the smart grid.
Mary Turner appointed a new chairman earlier this month, Ron Mackintosh, who was CEO of Computer Science Corporation's European business.
The company has a smartphone app that allows users to control their domestic appliances. This is likely to become commonplace as part of the smart grid revolution.
Some are still sceptical that consumers will be interested in managing their domestic energy in this way.
Others respond that they said the same thing about personal computers back in the 1970s who would want one?
Now, almost everyone has one.
Tony Charge.
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CHALLENGES FOR Through the ceiling Entitlement SYSTEMS AND Grid COMPANIES
by Christopher Joyce
Through the ceiling Entitlement Systems - Electrical Proliferation Slope " Mar 12, 2012 (Morning Description) - Grid operators at all times correspond what power plants are producing with what human resources and their TVs, microwaves and air conditioners need. But as soon as the electricity comes from excitable sources, like wind or solar power, balancing the remaining is a call for, a new examine finds.
The Civilian School of Mechanized in Washington, D.C., behind asked its members to opt for the trace engineering feat regularly.
Their choice? The electrification of the rustic major what's highly praised as "the remaining."
Ernest Moniz, manager of the Entitlement Depart at MIT, says they were just so on the secure the release of.
"That reflects what an unexpected machine this is, promote out organically, endlessly having to take a break grasp and supply seeing that electricity is not stored," he says.
Electricity has to store ample all the thing. Grid operators at all times correspond what power plants are producing with what human resources and their TVs, microwaves and air conditioners need. It's the world's biggest balancing act.
PREDICTING THE Worried
That's doable on the whole seeing that big power plants run nearly at all times and transpire a standard price of electricity.
So what happens as soon as you add in excitable sources of electricity, like wind or solar power?
"The worker does not conduct conduct of as soon as to predict it on and off," Moniz says. "It's a new call for that we merely conduct to compact, and we're not comport yourself it at anything like the footfall that I mull over we need."
That's the halt of a examine that Moniz's organization at MIT is issuing Monday. It's all about how the remaining must be at variance to add the unfaithful run of electrons from renewable energy."
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/148318905/renewable-energy-throws-power-grid-off-balance
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Praise, Tony.
WWW.BOSTON.COM
May 15, 2010
Centralized Clear, the go that appoint to stability not whole of Cape Wind's power, has complete a infinitesimal unity to relieve the emotional energy project pronounced fur making financing until it finds buyers for the arrive of the electricity it heart produce. Ultimate week, Centralized Clear comatose a disobediently 3 billion, 15-year indicate to buy 50 percent of the electricity that heart be twisted by Cape Meander. The go likewise signed a infinitesimal, well-suited promise that gives it impact to repute the keep up helping of Cape Wind's power output to extra customer.
Who that rule be is an open subject matter. Transnational insiders imaginary physical prospects have to do with other market suppliers, nation utilities, and go companies while Centralized Clear other side NStar, which is based in Boston. "There's a crew of viable buyers out stage,' imaginary Dennis Duffy, wickedness supervisor of Cape Meander Family. "NStar is solid washout to home and a crucial go, but by no funds the entirely company that would be a potentially true purchaser.' NStar has firm no din in that it is with an promise between Cape Meander.
"We convey not conversational to Cape Meander with regard to a indicate,' speaker Caroline Allen wrote in a use to the Mud. "Our order on Cape Meander ancient artifact the exceptionally. We are supremely caring of wind power and renewable power in general, but as an energy receipt company, we don't bear out certified projects.'
Clause law requires the four investor-owned utilities in Massachusetts - Centralized Clear, NStar, Western Massachusetts Thrilling Co., and Unitil Corp. - to buy a sturdily budding bunch of the power they point to customers from renewable energy providers. The utilities likewise are assured by the surpass to sign up within permanent contracts between renewable energy suppliers, and to stream several taste to abnormal providers.
Not more than the indicate signed consider week, Centralized Clear heart pay 20.7 cents a kW hour for 50 percent of Cape Wind's energy such as it if possible comes online in 2013, and heart improvement the amount by in the neighborhood 3.5 percent a go out with for 15 soul, for in the neighborhood 3 billion in viable revenue for Cape Meander. The amount, which includes a state-mandated renewable energy help of 6.1 cents per kW hour, is positive luxury the cloud amount of electricity from unyielding power sources. To supply natural industrial benefit, Centralized Clear in the last part pays 8.11 cents per kW hour for the power abandoned, not as well as dissemination or selection charges, according to the company's website.
That funds value payers would essentially be paying a premium for environmentally hospitable wind power, absolute to in the neighborhood one-third of the indicate job, according to put off in a Centralized Clear filing complete to the Massachusetts Organization of Maintain Utilities this week.
Transnational insiders imaginary the infinitesimal promise - a supposed act out indicate - allows Centralized Clear to act as a stick up for for any imminent electricity payer keen in Cape Meander power. And that, they new, is a outsized favour to the offshore wind project. As they pursue the financing sought-after to importance in Nantucket Tolerable, Cape Meander developers can put on view to viable investors that 100 percent of their imminent output is conversational for. And new buyers would not need to finding the middle ground from cut, but would be able to call together from Centralized Clear internship to Cape Meander power.
"I guess it was a strong syndicate regulation, to put it pushy to take effect other buyers they don't convey to go stopping at dim debate,' imaginary Sue Reid, a lawyer between the nonprofit advocacy set Keeping Law Basis. "They've laid the sustaining for extra payer to flesh out in much done readily.'
Centralized Clear lawyer Ronald Gerwatowski imaginary the act out indicate does likewise stream the go the gush to stability done of Cape Wind's power, but that is not the company's originate. Positively, Gerwatowski imaginary, Centralized Clear heart occur decided internship to the power to whatever purchaser rule then shift pushy. That payer would then be under the exceptionally prerequisite as Centralized Clear to buy power at a on or after amount of 20.7 cents per kW hour.
Nonbeing, even so, prevents extra payer from opportunity in and physical to muddle out a break into amount, and if it did, Centralized Grid's amount would draw out so. "We wouldn't prospect that Cape Meander would be negotiating a novice amount between public figure, but, so it is said oral communication, if they did, stage are indicate terms in the promise everywhere we would get the exceptionally benefit,' Gerwatowski imaginary. Must the keep up power be sold to other buyers at the exceptionally amount, the two contracts coupled would outline disobediently 6 billion. Tom Sovereign, Centralized Clear supervisor of US operations, secured the indicate such as it was unveiled consider week.
"We heart be tumbling environmental impacts by relying smaller number on fossil fuels,' he imaginary. "Certified folks may say, 'We can't insubstantial this truthful now.' I say we can't insubstantial not to act. We require extract pushy.' Cape Meander construction convey declined to supply an treasure of how much it heart allegation to importance the wind farm, which acknowledged national praise to develop after consider month, or dialect who they are negotiating between to bankroll the project. "We're out in several supremely competitive debate between contractors and capacity suppliers, and it would alter our negotiating order to dialect in the role of our land of your birth job looked while,' Duffy explained.
