The Problem with Smart Grid:

Today's energy lesson is on the problem with the Smart Grid. First of all, there is no single definition for Smart Grid, so there is enough confusion stemming from that. But really I'd like to discuss Time of Use (TOU) rates and general future the industry is envisioning.

So I've already mentioned the concept of peak shaving, but let's hit it again. Everybody gets home from work, turns out their air conditioning, starts cooking dinner, and flips on the lights and tv all around the same time between 6 pm and 7 pm. If we say that to serve all of this load we need 1000 MWs and our powerplants can produce 10 MWs, we need 100 powerplants just to serve that one hour between 6 pm and 7 pm. The goal behind TOU rates it to encourage consumers to consider doing some things at different times so that maybe that 1000 MWs over one hour might be 500 MWs over two hours or, even better, 333 MWs over three hours. Then you'd only need to have 50 or 34 powerplants. The mechanism to spur this behavior is the cost of electricty from 6-7 pm versus the cost of electricity from 7-8 pm. Also the technological piece that aids in this behavior are smart appliances, which are programmable to the extent that you can at least load your dryer at 6 pm, but tell it to start running at 8 or 9 pm when electricity rates are lower.

So this all sounds fine and dandy, but do you think that your parents or grandparents will really grasp and embrace this concept? Consider how deeply engrained into our patterns and mindset the fact of instant electricity is. Also people in general are stubborn and self-centered, where a small amount of inconvenience to them is not worth the greater benefit for the whole community. Maybe I have little faith in the human ability to adapt.

EV's:

On Friday I had the opportunity to attend a technical conference on electric vehicles hosted by the the Maryland Public Service Commission. There were representatives from Ford, DOE, PJM, Delaware University, and several regional utilities speaking on the future impact of electric vehicles on the grid. Really the presentations were quite layman in my opinion; not nearly as technical as it might sound.

For those of you who don't know, battery electric vehicles are cars that run on a battery that will generally allow you to travel 40 miles per charge. That charge could cost you as little as a dollar on your electric bill versus the 1.5 gallons of gas you'd use which right now would probably cost you $4 or $5. Plus you're not blowing emissions out of your tailpipe. Of course the trade off in emissions is that they are produced at the power plant and losses are afforded through the wires, but energy produced and delivered at a power plant is many, many times more efficient than a combustion generation process in your car. Think of all that excess heat your engine generates.

So electric vehicles are awesome and the way of the future. There are many ancillary applications in the grand scheme of EV's, such as how they support the growth of wind and solar generation or how they will effect the prices in the energy market, but those are more complex concepts and you are welcome to ask me about them in detail if you'd like.

Tea Party: something little girls do these days

I don't usually like watching people get embarassed. I don't typically enjoy getting political, though I do read some of the news. This is just too good to pass up, though.

Sometimes while I'm taking a whiz at work I'll see a fat employee walk into one of the stalls behind me. I immediately think to myself, "I gotta get the hell outta here." Is that wrong?