Smart Grid report

by Amr Diaa El Din

8200190
A smart grid
is a form of electricity network utilizing digital technology. A smart
griddelivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using two-way digital
communications to
control appliances at consumers' homes; this saves energy, reduces costs
and increases
reliability and transparency. It overlays the ordinary electrical grid with an
information andnet metering system, that includes smart meters
A smart grid includes an intelligent monitoring system that keeps track of all
electricityflowing in the system. It also has the capability of integrating
renewable electricity such assolar and wind. When power is least expensive
the user can allow the smart grid to turn on
selected home appliances such as washing machines or factory processes
that can run at
arbitrary hours. At peak times it could turn off selected appliances to reduce
demand.
A smart grid includes an intelligent monitoring system that keeps track of all
electricityflowing in the system. It also has the capability of integrating
renewable electricity such assolar and wind. When power is least expensive
the user can allow the smart grid to turn on
selected home appliances such as washing machines or factory processes
that can run at
arbitrary hours. At peak times it could turn off selected appliances to reduce
demand.

Advantages and Disadvantages

The major smart grid curriculum includes peak leveling, democratization of
energy, operational advantages including self-healing, and other commercial
benefits.

Smart Grid Curriculum

The U.S. Department of Energy defines smart grid as an automated, widely

distributed energy delivery network incorporating the benefits of distributed
computing and communications to deliver real-time information and enable
the near-instantaneous balance of supply and demand. The smart grid brings
the philosophies, concepts, and technologies that enabled the Internet to the
utility and energy grid.

Power grids now undertake a one-directional broadcast" power from the

central power generators to users. The smart grid concept entails routing
power to users using two-way digital technology that enables the power grid
to respond to a wide range of conditions at the users point, facilitating
optimal energy usage, resulting in reduced cost and increased reliability and
transparency.

The key additions to a smart grid compared to the traditional grid include:

An intelligent monitoring system including a net metering system to keep

track of all electricity flowing in the system
Superconductive transmission lines to integrate renewable electricity such as
solar and wind to the grid and ensure less transmission loss
Internet protocol based smart grid communication technologies on home
devices to maintain live and automatic communication between the utility
service provider and the customer
Image Credit: flickr.com/World Economic Forum

Peak Leveling
The two-way smart grid communication technologies allow control over
consumption by both the user and service provider. Smart grids have the
potential to gain central control over many remote devices such as the
consumers washing machines, heaters, factory machinery and others, and
automatically turn such appliances on and off during non-peak hours. Peak
leveling makes possible optimized power flow, reducing waste and

maximizing use of lowest-cost generation resources.

The primary benefit of distributed automation smart grids is considerable allround savings for all the stakeholders. The benefits result from the following
ways:

Peak leveling enables the load curve to level itself, and this helps
transmission companies by improving load efficiency and reducing the
spinning reserves electric utilities keep on stand-by.
Power generation companies save through higher asset utilization made
possible by peak leveling. This allows provision of additional services with the
same installed capacity, savings from not having to install additional capacity
to meet fresh demand, and re-deployment of existing assets to perform new
functions such as backup, on-site generation, or other ancillary services.
Consumers save on energy charges. Smart grid makes possible differential
tariffs based on timings, and utility companies could pass on a portion of
benefits of peak power savings.
Peak leveling and differential billing provides consumers with better
information about power consumption and provides them with various
alternatives and choices.
Democratization of Electricity
Smart grid has the potential to revolutionize the energy industry by creating
new energy markets that make it possible for everybody from individual
homes to big businesses to sell electricity. The two-way interface of smart
grid allows businesses and homes that generate wind and solar energy to
release the surplus electricity from such sources to the central gird.

Such distributed automated smart grids trigger tapping into alternative

energy sources such as wind and solar energy in a big way. The major
impediment in harnessing wind and solar energy at present is the complexity
of variable power generation, changing usage patterns, and multiplicity of
sources making such forms of distributed energy more costly than centralized
power from the grid. Smart grid offer seamless integration of such alternative
energy sources through simplified interconnection processes and universal
interoperability standards.

The benefits of such democratization are huge, and include:

Improved reliability, better power quality, reduced costs, and choice for the
customer
Improved use of existing grid assets to reduce grid congestion and
bottlenecks
Less reliance on auxiliary power plants. For instance, the electricity utility
could draw power from thousands of solar instillations rather than operate an
auxiliary power plant on a hot day with increased usage of air conditioners
Increased reliance on wind and solar energy sources leading to reduced
carbon emissions and less pollution
Greater resource flexibility, making the grid more robust to withstand
accidents or attacks. For instance, a 5 megawatt wind turbine abruptly going
down would not matter much, while a sudden shutdown of a 1,000 megawatt
coal power plant would translate to a major outrage
Considerably less wastage. The availability of electricity from multiple
locations allow operation of only as much resources as required
Self healing, or the ability of the smart grid to automatically detect and
rectify disruptions and withstand accidents is an important component of
smart grid curriculum. Smart grids improve the operational efficiency of
power utility companies and brings forth many other benefits.
Self-Healing
Smart Grid Curriculum

A major component of the smart grid curriculum is self-healing. Smart grids

preempts or mitigates power outages, low power quality and other service
disruptions by using real-time information from embedded sensors and
automated controls to anticipate, detect, and respond automatically to
system problems and events that occur anywhere in the power generation,
distribution, and demand chain.

For instance, the smart grid

Responds to cloud blocking the sun and reducing the amount of solar power
or a very hot day by triggering peak leveling mechanisms or an auxiliary
power plant
Deal with temporary shutdown of a distribution line owing to failure of a
transformer by automatically looping energy through an alternate line
The self-healing capability of smart grids could save the estimated $100
billion lost each year due to outages and power quality issues.

Image Credit: flickr.com/Ian Muttoo

Other Advantages of Smart Grid Technology

The information provided by the smart grid helps determine the life cycle of
power generation and transmission equipment, schedule preventive
maintenance on time, and determine future requirements.
The use of robust two-way communications, advanced sensors, and
distributed computing technology improves all round efficiency, reliability,
and safety of energy transmission and use, and makes possible the
introduction of value added services such as fire monitoring and alarms,
making phone calls to emergency services and the like through the smart
grid.
Establishment of a smart grid requires modernization of the transmission and
distribution grids and improvements in end-use devices and appliances. All
these bring forth tremendous commercial and investment opportunities.
Smart grids bring forth intangible social benefits such as decreased customer
discontent, greater personal and economic security, and greater confidence
in public governance.
The Smart grid is the answer for the looming energy crisis caused by
depletion of fossil fuels, and has the capability to change the society just as
internet did. The establishment of Smart grids however requires new
investment and commitment by all stakeholders
References
Cascio, Jamais. Smart Grids, Grid Computing, and the New World of Energy
Kannberg, L.D., et al. GridWiseTM: The Benefits of a Transformed Energy
System

LaMonica, Martin. Will anyone pay for the 'smart' power grid?
Motorola Case Study. Smoothing the Rocky Road to Distribution Automation