‘Smart grid’ a boon for energy, savings
Serious economic challenges require serious economic solutions that invest in our nation’s infrastructure and future competitiveness. As Congress works with the president and the states to get our economy back on track and create jobs, we are making the right kinds of up-front investments in new technologies, new educational opportunities and a strong, well-trained work force that will pay dividends for our communities for years to come.
One of the most striking innovations that America is poised to adopt as we respond to our new realities and transform our economy is “smart grid” technology. Our nation’s current electricity grid has been called the most complicated machine on Earth, but with age and strain it’s grown creaky. Smart grid technologies will make our nation’s electricity grid more intelligent, create jobs, boost our economy and save Americans money on their monthly electricity bills.
Using smart grid technology will increase the use of renewable sources of energy like wind power, help prevent brownouts and blackouts, and empower homeowners and businesses to generate their own electricity as well as make decisions about their electricity use to save money. Transitioning our nation’s electricity grid to a smart grid will truly transform our country’s economy and the way we think about and consume energy.
Spokane is right at the center of this transformation. In just a few days, Spokane will host the National Smart Grid Conference, bringing together thought leaders and local, state and federal government officials to discuss how we are going to actually move our electricity grid from a two-lane dirt road to a four-lane superhighway.
Already companies across Eastern Washington are implementing these technologies and creating thousands of jobs. Researchers and inventors at places like Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Washington State University and Gonzaga University are already pushing the envelope and running pilot projects and studies that are shaping the way the world deals with the electricity grid.
Smart grid technologies are also going to be essential if we’re going to maximize the potential of plug-in electric vehicles. As we develop new plug-ins and other modes of transportation, we’re going to need a much smarter grid to accommodate their use, lower driving costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
PNNL recently found that consumers could save 10 percent on their overall electricity bills simply by being on a smarter grid, without any inconvenience to their families and without any other changes in their normal behavior. Their demonstration project also showed tremendous reductions in peak-load demand with a smart grid transition and found no technical hurdles to wide deployment of grid-friendly technologies. PNNL also projects that moving to these new these technologies will reduce the need to build almost $70 billion in new electricity systems over 20 years.
The recently enacted stimulus bill makes a significant down payment on a 21st century energy grid by putting $4.5 billion on the table to jumpstart smart grid programs. According to the GridWise Alliance in Washington, D.C., these funds will increase private investment and could generate 75,000 jobs just in the first year. The stimulus bill also includes about $100 million for smart-grid-related worker training, $80 million for resource assessment, and $10 million for the development of new interoperability standards, all essential components of making a smart grid a reality.
All told, the data shows that investing now in smart grid technology will save consumers real money on their monthly electricity bills, save America from spending billions in stale repairs to an outdated system and create thousands of jobs for our workers.
So the question is: What are we waiting for?
Three decades ago, the information technology, or IT, revolution created a whole new way of conducting commerce, whole new industries, new jobs and a whole new Internet economy. The smart grid industry holds just as much promise today as the Internet boom did 30 years ago.
Getting our economy back on track isn’t going to happen overnight, and it certainly won’t be easy, but as we look to our future we should leverage the innovative work being done right now by our country’s leading companies and national laboratories. Setting in place cost-effective, efficient, forward-thinking transformative policies will set America on the fast track to create a better and brighter future for us all. Making our electricity grid smarter, saving consumers money and creating jobs all at once by deploying smart grid technology is a first step we can take right now, and it truly starts right here in our own backyard – Spokane.