Microgrids and the Smart Grid
There is a thought provoking article on the microgrid and smart homes in the July / August issue of Fast Company magazine. You should take a look at “Why the Microgrid Could be the Answer to Our Energy Crisis” because it will stretch the limits of your thinking about the electric utility business.
This article has an interesting correlation with something that I saw last week while visiting Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative in Bastrop, Texas. Their CEO, Mark Rose, is proactively planning for a future in which the cooperative is “energy neutral.” That is, he wants and expects that his customers, both residential and commercial / industrial, will generate enough power and energy to that the annual net take by Bluebonnet from the grid is near zero. Why? Because Mark does not believe that the incumbent electric utilities, including their current wholesale supplier, the Lower Colorado River Authority, will be willing or able to provide enough generation capacity that is acceptably economical, reliable, sustainable or environmentally benign to meet Bluebonnet’s rapidly growing demand.
How is Bluebonnet preparing for their vision of the future? By implementing a Smart Grid technology plan . . . taking maximum advantage of the best in electronics, telecommunications and electronics technology to be able to monitor and control their electric distribution system.
How aggressive is Bluebonnet’s plan? They have concluded that they need to replace their relatively new but conventional AMR system with new and better Smart Meters along with a meter data management system. They do not consider their original $12 million investment in AMR to be a mistake or a waste because it was the best technology available at the time and it accomplished what they intended . . . automatic monthly remote meter reading. But, they realize that new and better technology is not only available, but necessary to provide customers with the kind of service, security, safety, sustainability, economy and flexibility that they will require and expect.
Written by Steve Collier | Jun 24, 2009