Good look at looming problems with the national electricity distribution grid, with interesting examples backing up the proposal to upgrade the entire network. I'd like to see more information about the economic feasibility and investment plans for developing local cogeneration opportunities, particularly for residential and industrial service.
Demand for electricity is expected to increase by as much as 40 percent in the next two decades—more than twice the population growth rate. To meet that need, we will have to generate an additional 214 gigawatts, a feat that would require the construction of more than 357 large coal plants. We also want to plug in dozens, if not hundreds, of gigawatts of wind and solar power harvested from the most remote corners of the country. And we will want to recharge millions of electric vehicles every night, without fail.
That is why we must fix the grid—reinvent it to be reliable, efficient, responsive, and smart. Washington is already on the case: President Obama has called a new energy agenda “absolutely critical to our economic future,” and his stimulus package directs more than $40 billion toward that goal—the largest single infusion of government capital to the energy sector in US history, more than half of which will go to grid-related projects. In the short term, this bonanza aims simply to create jobs. But in the long term, it lays the groundwork for the grid of the future. (About $400 million will go to fund ARPA-E, a sort of Darpa for energy research.) And this is just the beginning: Congress is considering additional legislation in the hope of remaking our energy infrastructure.
The grid took more than a century to grow into the unwieldy beast it is now. Given the urgency of climate change, energy independence, and economic demands, we have only a fraction of that time to fix it. But the solution won’t spring forth fully formed. This, the greatest engineering challenge of our era, must be solved the same way it was created—piece by piece, with utilities and consumers acting in their own interests. For too long, those interests have been misaligned. It’s time for a reset.
The grid isn't the only problem. Distribution is a perpetual issue: Many energy sources just happen to be a long way from the key consumers. How to get the electricity from source to consumer has long been the major issue, and now we're coping with a nation-wide grid owned by hundreds of different jurisdictions. Power is lost when sent over long distances--not unlike water evaporation from open canals across deserts. The mega-grid is essential for swapping power from region to region, matching peak consumption in one area with peak generation in another. The Pacific Northwest has the most 'spare' electricity in the spring and summer, when the demand is low. Conversely, southern California and the desert southwest use more power in the summer, and snap up any surplus the northwest has to offer--at prices that make northwest utilities smile. And when the northwest hydropower resources are depleted, our cold weather and long nights bring smiles to the utilities of California...if any surplus power is available. But a greater problem than transmission is generation. A classic NIMBY industry, electric power generation is an industry from which everyone wants the benefits, but nobody wants the power plant in their back yard. Or front yard. Which brings up the need to enhance local, small scale generation opportunities through wind and solar technologies. I live on a lovely hillside with abundant sun for half the year, and strong winds for the other half. My home could generate as much energy as it consumes, alternately taking electricity from the grid and providing a surplus for sale elsewhere... IF I could afford to install the equipment to capture the wind and solar energy that falls on the place--free--every day. It's time we invested in small-scale renewable systems as well. A national investment in green energy projects for homes like mine would solve many problems at once: developing the technology, employing developers and installers and maintenance folk, harnessing renewable energy, providing clean generation for sale to the utilities, and cutting home energy bills. How 'bout some stimulus for that?? And then there's the whole issue of public vs privately-owned utilities. That is another whole discussion for another time.