Smart Grid Success Depends on Engagement
At the recent National Council for Science and the Environment New Green Energy Conference, Katherine Hamilton, GridWise® Alliance president, highlighted the benefits of the smart grid and drew attention to a just released report that projects a smart grid can deliver a 12 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
"The smart grid, while a buzz word we hear everywhere, is still evolving and the true value of its success will be evident and measured over the course of many years as projected in the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's newly released report, "The Smart Grid: An Estimation of the Energy and CO2 Benefits."Hamilton said.
"Right now we are seeing benefits to consumers as they gain an understanding of how they use electricity and respond by reducing their energy use during peak demand times; to utilities in how they can increase their system reliability and reduce outage response times; to the environment in enabling the greatly expanded use of renewable energy resources and energy efficiency," she stated.
"The future holds the prospect for electric vehicles offsetting overseas oil dependence and an energy system that uses ubiquitous communications to be cleaner and more secure. The path to this success will need U.S. policy and technology engagement from the highest levels of government to our factories and businesses all the way to everyday consumers in their homes," Hamilton added.
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