Kayla Shepard
February 7, 2013
With the world’s desperate need for sustainable energy, scientists are coming up with every idea possible to keep our energy usage in tact. Among these new ideas was the creation of the “smart grid”. In such a technological world it only seems necessary to create a remote controlled delivery system that allows back and forth communication of information track consumerism of electricity to help efficiency and sustainability on earth.
There is an intensive process of gathering data in order for the “smart grid” to work, taking up almost a century to obtain the information needed. Energy.Gov stated, “The workers read meters, look for broken equipment and measure voltage, for example”. The grid is made up of many computerized systems dispersed throughout power plants sending electricity back and forth; sensors also can be installed to gather necessary data on electric usage. Due to the creation of smart grid it allows new energy sources such as windmills to also be monitored keeping our energy greener.
There are many benefits of “smart grid”: efficient two-way power, easy restoration after power disturbances, management costs for utilities, wide spread incorporation of renewable energy, and improved security. SmartGrid.gov stated,
“A smarter grid will add resiliency to our electric power system and
make it better prepared to address emergencies such as severe
storms, earthquakes, large solar flares, and terrorist attacks.
Because of its two-way interactive capacity, the Smart Grid will
allow for automatic rerouting when equipment fails or outages
occur.”
Unfortunately the “smart grid” is still unfamiliar to many consumers when in fact consumers are the ones it benefits the most. It gives the “power” literally and figuratively back to the people. Writer Sonita Lontah wrote in the The Energy Collective, “The Smart Grid will give our energy providers visibility into the way electricity is flowing, letting them fix problems fast. It will empower us with information on how we use energy, so we can choose to use it more wisely. It is our power, our choice.”
Once this genius idea is understood and spread to consumers around the world it will be the first giant step to sustaining renewable power.
Lontoh, Sonita. “Articulating Smart Grid Benefits to End-Consumers.” The
Energy Collective. N.p., 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 7 Feb. 2013. <http://theenergycollective.com/slontoh/182666/super-bowl-outage-smart-grid>.
“Smart Grid.” Energy.Gov. N.p., n.d.Web. 7 Feb. 2013.
<http://energy.gov/oe/technology-development/smart-grid>.
“The Smart Grid.” SmartGrid.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.smartgrid.gov/the_smart_grid#smart_grid>.