maven&meddler

Ever since reading Thomas Friedman’s seminal work on energy and America’s future “Hot, Flat and Crowded”, I have been touting the need to convert to a smart grid. (If you haven’t read it, you’re behind the ‘power curve’ … literally.)

Here is a great definition and explanation of what the ‘smart grid’ is and how it will benefit America, from Repoweramerica.org:

Unified National Smart Grid and what it means to you and I

The Problem: The US electricity transmission and distribution system – or ‘grid’ — is in critical need of an upgrade. It is old, balkanized and too limited in its reach. The current grid is a series of independently operating regional grids – it can’t meet the needs of a nation whose economy would benefit substantially from the system optimization that comes with national interconnection. Its limitations and vulnerability to failure are also reported to cost the nation $80 billion to $188 billion per year in losses due to grid-related power outages and power quality issues.¹ And most critical to clean energy development, areas rich in renewable resources like solar, wind and geothermal are currently not well-served and thus have no ‘highway’ available to move power outputs to the markets where that power is needed.

The Solution: Modernize and expand the infrastructure for moving electricity from where it is generated to where it is needed through a unified national smart grid. Make that grid ‘smart’ so that it can monitor and balance the load, accommodate distributed energy from local areas and, in the near future, capitalize on a massive national fleet of clean plug-in cars. This new grid encompasses both the long-distance, high-voltage transmission lines and the lower voltage distribution systems that connect the power to customers.

The Benefits: Updating our grid with advanced transmission will save money, increase reliability and protect consumers from outages, and make possible a clean electricity system. It will move renewable power from where it is generated to wherever it’s needed, whenever it’s needed. Just like the interstate highway system and railroads before it, investing in modernization of the grid will create thousands of jobs for American workers.

What Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to do about it:

Washington, D.C. — Nevada Senator Harry Reid today announced a $138 million grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to NV Energy to implement smart grid technologies for the Silver State. This significant funding, part of the largest single smart grid modernization investment in history, will create good-paying Nevada jobs while helping to make our state the leader in a national clean energy revolution. NV Energy will match the Federal grant with another $160 million to create a highly efficient electricity and natural gas delivery system that will save consumers money, generate hundreds of jobs, and accelerate Nevada’s energy independence.       
  
The statewide project will deliver more than $65 million in annual benefits to the state.  When fully implemented during 2010-2012, 1.45 million advanced/smart electric and gas meters will be installed across 54,600 square miles of the company’s service territory, and benefit 2.4 million Nevadans.   Those meters will give consumers more choices about managing their energy consumption and make it easier for them to deploy distributed renewable generation at home.  The project incorporates electric vehicles and state of the art information technology applications.  The project will be a model for the entire utility industry.
 
“I advocated for this funding because Nevada is the perfect model for an advanced smart grid project,” said Reid. “This project will create jobs across the state while empowering Nevadans to take control of their energy consumption, integrate renewable sources and net real savings on their energy bills. With the implementation of this project the clean energy revolution has begun in earnest and Nevada is leading the way.”

If this ain’t ‘green jobs’ for Nevada, then I don’t know what is. Senator Reid understands A-Nevada’s potential for ‘green jobs’ and B- that a ‘green’ revolution can renew America.

I know this for a fact, personally. Senator Reid sent some of his best and brightest technology wonks to my place of employment to find out what we are doing to bring high tech ‘green’ jobs to Nevada. We sat around the conference table for at least an hour in a give and take session.  They are listening.

Reid: Working for Nevada.

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