GridWise Alliance grows, aims to create a smart grid in the U.S.
Not long ago, several important companies with interests in the utility and energy businesses created the GridWise Alliance. The group, which recently added fifteen new members (still no CA Edison), announced a meeting next week in Washington D.C. to discuss smart grids, how they can help us reduce our carbon footprint and how they are affected by the Energy Act of 2007.According to their website, the Gridwise alliance aims for "an electric system that integrates the infrastructure, processes, devices, information and market structure so that energy can be generated, distributed, and consumed more efficiently and cost effectively; thereby achieving a more resilient, secure and reliable energy system." For us, this means that electric networks need to be adapted for plug-in cars. As we pointed out, our current electricity grid is dumb and does not distinguish what we plug into our socket walls - and there are serious concerns about the capacity of power plants to feed new electric demand. Smart meters should allow EVs to purchase electricity at certain times, such as during the night, when there's less electricity demand.
[Source: Gridwise]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Bryan 7:37PM (9/19/2008)
Great. Now that it can be determined what is plugged into my home outlets at any given moment, a plethora of new and device-specific taxes can be introduced. This will consequently create a market for devices that can fool the so-called smart grid to avoid those taxes or increased electric rates. Thanks but no thanks.
Reply