In Boulder, Colo., a surge of electricity on the power grid can largely go unnoticed. The grid is monitored electronically, so that if there are any sudden rushes or fallen power lines, electricity is automatically rerouted from one part of the system to another. This pilot project sounds simple enough—maybe even a little obvious. But this new type of technology could have prevented the 2003 blackout that knocked out power to much of the Northeastern United States. On that August day, a few sagging power lines brushed against some trees, and the lines shut down. This set off a domino effect, as one part of the grid taxed another. The result? By the end of that humid evening, 50 million people in eight states and southeastern Canada were left without power.
At the time, energy experts and politicians called the blackout a wake-up call about the country’s antiquated power grid. Since then, major changes have been slow to take hold. The power grid has basically been the same for the better part of a century, says Ian Bowles, Massachusetts’ secretary of energy and environmental affairs. That is, until the smart grid. “You have to think of the smart grid as a cell phone, as opposed to your grandmother’s black rotary phone,” he says.
The “smart grid” is a catchall phrase for the power grid of the future, with various test projects underway in Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Illinois, and Hawaii. The idea is to make a system that will stop power surges from causing blackouts. It would create more energy-efficient power lines to carry electricity longer distances without losing voltage (current grids lose about 8 percent of power over distance). It would incorporate wind and solar energy into existing power grids. And it would let customers monitor the electricity they use in their homes, paying less for power consumed in off-hours.
via Technology: Plugging Into the Smart Grid | Newsweek Emerging Technologies | Newsweek.com.
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