Smart grids will cut emissions, but are they secure?

US Smart Grid

A smart grid could significantly cut electricity use in the US as well as reduce carbon emissions by 12 percent by the year 2030, according to a new report published by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Through directly using new technology and indirectly making renewable energy more affordable and potentially larger the report - entitled The Smart Grid: An Estimation of the Energy & CO₂ Benefits - evaluates how different functions of the smart grid could provide substantial reduction in energy use and carbon emissions.

President Obama has pledged a stimulus grant worth $3 billion that aims to update America's ancient and antiquated national electricity grid, a vital step towards ensuring a secure energy future for America through reducing reliance on foreign fuel.

Cost-effective energy efficiency

"By making the grid smart, we make it more efficient and more accommodating of renewables, and we're able to cut down on the amount of carbon we emit to generate the electricity we need," explains Lead Researcher Rob Pratt of PNNL.

It's claimed that the money freed up from deploying smart grid technology can then be reinvested into buying more renewable energy resources and rolling out more cost-effective energy efficiency initiatives. This is on top of the environmental benefits.

"This report suggests that we could substantially reduce emissions by deploying a smart grid," enthuses Pratt.

Smart grid vulnerabilities

However a digitally-based electricity distribution and transmission system carries with it a number of security risks. Tests have shown that a hacker can break into the system, and cyber security experts said a massive blackout could result.

Last year CNN reported that until the United States eliminates the smart grid's vulnerabilities, some experts advised that deployment should proceed slowly.

Cyber-security experts insist some types of meters can be hacked, as can other points in the Smart Grid's communications systems. IOActive, a professional security services firm, determined that an attacker with $500 worth of equipment and a background in electronics and software engineering could "take command and control of the [advanced meter infrastructure] allowing for the en masse manipulation of service to homes and businesses."

However, with the help of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, utility companies around the world have just revealed plans to combat this problem by investing $21 billion in smart grid security efforts between 2010 and 2015.

Utilities have also received encouragement and help from the US Department of Energy's smart grid stimulus programs, and the need to secure smart grid deployments that are becoming more and more technology-reliant and vulnerable to infiltration and compromise.

Securing the smart grid

The Smart Grid Cyber Security Report, conducted courtesy of Pike Research, a market research and consulting firm focused on clean technology markets, utilities, vendors and world governments are becoming more focused on grid security, which will grow revenue in that sector from $1.2 billion in 2009 to $3.7 billion by 2015.

Most of the money will be spent in securing the distribution automation, transmission upgrades and advanced metering infrastructure areas.

For all its environmental and economic benefits if the America people don't trust the smart grid then the idea is redundant, therefore any money spent on ensuring this is not the case is money well spent.

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