Obama jump starts the smartgrid

Obama's Smartgrid Funds

It's well known that America's national electricity grid, once the greatest machine ever built, is now old, antiquated and in desperate need of an upgrade.

The next generation of power consumption will lead us to the smartgrid, a clever, cleaner way of transmitting our electricity that will increasingly come from renewable sources. However the smartgrid will also be extremely expensive.

Therefore it was music to the ears of many utilities and environmentalists alike when Obama announced investments that promised to "jump start" America's smart electricity future.

As part of the infamous American Reinvestment and Recovery Act Obama smartly set aside $3.4 billion to invest in smart grid technology during 2010 and beyond. However just as important was the industry money and private investment, totalling over $8 billion. The cash will be used for everything from installation of smart meters to funding for manufacturing processes.

Education consumers

The initial phase of funding will help various 'foundation projects' such as the installation of 18 million smart meters in around 13 percent of Americas homes. The aim here is for utilities to use the information gathered by the smart meter technology as 'educational tools' to teach consumers how effectively and efficiently monitor their power usage. They will also need to be educated on how to use smart appliances at times when the grid is not at peak use, one of the key elements of a smartgrid.

This will help to take responsibility out of the hands of utilities who often rely on coal-powered 'stand-by' power plants.

The cash will also be used to roll out broadband technology across the country to allow the entire grid system to communicate and pull power to where its needed, and again being able to correctly distribute power will help to make America more energy efficient.

Power Grid 2.0

The broadband technology will also allow power from traditional, polluting plants to be turned down when there is sufficient power being generated from a clean source in another location. So, for example, when there is a very windy day in Texas creating a great deal of power, this energy is not wasted and can take the place of power generated by a coal-fired plant in Pennsylvania. At the moment we have no truly efficient way of harnessing all of the clean power America produces.

A great deal of money will need to be spent to ensure power can indeed travel great distances across different states to where it is needed. Installing smart meters, syncrophasors, automated substations, and smart transformers will help to make this happen.

Electric vehicles, smart appliances and assisting the progress of cleantech R&D will also receive stimulus attention, and this in turn will help the economy in general as new jobs are created and enterprise encouraged.

Bring on Power Grid 2.0.

Related Articles:

Why America needs a smartgrid | Smartgrid and tech solutions | Are smartgrids secure?

Daniel Jones

Daniel is a Politics and Philosophy graduate from Cardiff University where he also worked as a section editor on the award winning student newspaper. After university he joined an IT support company where he was a B2B online writer. He loves anything to do with sport and joined GDS in July 2009.

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