The Energy Internet
In the face of the basic fact that fossil fuel reserves are finite, the exact length of time these reserves will last is important in only one respect: the longer they last, the more time do we have, to invent ways of living off renewable or substitute energy sources and to adjust our economy to the vast changes which we can expect from such a shift.
Presently, 82% of all power generation is non-renewable, causing many of the world's most noxious environmental ills -- greenhouse gases, acid rain, toxic wastes. Yet, enormous potential for hydro, tidal, solar, wind and geothermal sites exist around the world. . These renewables are critical given the projections of the World Energy Council of a doubling of primary energy demand in the next 25 years as developing countries grow economically and in population.
In 1993, Johansson, Kelly, Reddy and Williams published "Renewable Energy, Sources for Fuels and Electricity." This landmark work offered a major shift in how we could meet our energy requirements in the coming decades. Using the same demand projections as the WEC, the authors projected that the renewable share could increase from 20% to 60% by 2025, with roughly comparable contributions from hydropower, intermittent renewables (wind and direct solar) and biomass.
Although we continue to make great progress in solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy, we cannot leverage these technologies to their full extent without significant advances in energy distribution simply because the places where the production of wind and solar energy are most economical tend not to be close to the places where consumption is the greatest.
The downfall of most of the new renewable energy sources is that they are not continuous or wholly predictable. If we lack the ability to store energy, then the potential for these technologies will simply not be achieved
Real economic potential will come from networking and storage (power distribution and energy storage capabilities).
Now these renewables are now within economical transmission distance.
Technological advances over the past two decades have extended the interconnection of international and inter-regional networks. Just five decades ago, electric power could only be efficiently transmitted 600 kilometers. In the 1960's, breakthroughs in materials science, improved alloys for conductors and better insulators, extended this transmission distance to 2500 kilometers. Today, research shows that the feasible and economic distance of ultra-high voltage transmission to be 7000 kilometers for direct current and 4000 kilometers for alternating current.. Buying and selling power is now common in all developed nations, as utilities desire to level the peaks and valleys of energy demand to save costs and increase reliability.
The commercial potential of harnessing energy from the wind, sun, tides, and earth and distributing it intelligently to homes, businesses, and vehicles is enormous, representing the next wave of innovation and wealth creation.
Let us look at a comparable situation in Computing where distribution and storage of information has progressed exponentially: The first computer systems consisted of mainframe computers hard-wired to an array of "dumb" terminals—so called because their principal purpose was to enter or draw information from the mainframe. Eventually personal computers came along that were smarter and more self-sufficient, able to have two-way conversations with mainframes and other PCs. Now everything seems to talk to everything else, and can do so wirelessly. Computers talk with a billion other computers, as well as with TVs, phones, home entertainment systems, and soon, our cars, refrigerators, and wristwatches.Yes I am talking about the Internet
All of this resulted from hundreds of innovations provided by thousands of companies, triggering dramatic price drops and efficiency gains in digital storage, microprocessor speed, software standards, communications bandwidth, and myriad other things. Everything has become and continues to become smarter and smaller. Information has become so cheap, efficient, and ubiquitous that it's nearly free: We rarely worry about how much time we spend talking, texting, surfing, or downloading—at least in terms of cost.
Energy systems are developing along similar lines. The "mainframe" is the central power station, most likely fueled by coal or natural gas. The "dumb" terminals? They are homes, businesses, and most other buildings that can only receive "information" from the "mainframe.And I am talking about creating an “Energy Internet" or a "Energynetwork"
Those homes and businesses will become smarter and more self-sufficient as we install solar and other renewable systems to generate power.
Smart meters and other devices, they'll be able to have two-way conversations with the power plant. Increasingly, major power-using devices such as refrigerators, lighting, and heating and air-conditioning systems will "talk" to the electric grid, powering down when appropriate—perhaps imperceptibly—to take advantage of cheaper rates as prices fluctuate throughout the day and year, in accordance with supply and demand.
The Energy Internet will be self-healing,redundant and decentralized.Whenever one sector is defective,energy could be drawn from a multitude of redundant paths.The millions of home that produce clean solar or wind power could be input into this network and stored in “Energy Centers” much like “Data Centers” across the globe.
In the face of the basic fact that fossil fuel reserves are finite, the exact length of time these reserves will last is important in only one respect: the longer they last, the more time do we have, to invent ways of living off renewable or substitute energy sources and to adjust our economy to the vast changes which we can expect from such a shift.
Presently, 82% of all power generation is non-renewable, causing many of the world's most noxious environmental ills -- greenhouse gases, acid rain, toxic wastes. Yet, enormous potential for hydro, tidal, solar, wind and geothermal sites exist around the world. . These renewables are critical given the projections of the World Energy Council of a doubling of primary energy demand in the next 25 years as developing countries grow economically and in population.
In 1993, Johansson, Kelly, Reddy and Williams published "Renewable Energy, Sources for Fuels and Electricity." This landmark work offered a major shift in how we could meet our energy requirements in the coming decades. Using the same demand projections as the WEC, the authors projected that the renewable share could increase from 20% to 60% by 2025, with roughly comparable contributions from hydropower, intermittent renewables (wind and direct solar) and biomass.
Although we continue to make great progress in solar, wind and other forms of renewable energy, we cannot leverage these technologies to their full extent without significant advances in energy distribution simply because the places where the production of wind and solar energy are most economical tend not to be close to the places where consumption is the greatest.
The downfall of most of the new renewable energy sources is that they are not continuous or wholly predictable. If we lack the ability to store energy, then the potential for these technologies will simply not be achieved
Real economic potential will come from networking and storage (power distribution and energy storage capabilities).
Now these renewables are now within economical transmission distance.
Technological advances over the past two decades have extended the interconnection of international and inter-regional networks. Just five decades ago, electric power could only be efficiently transmitted 600 kilometers. In the 1960's, breakthroughs in materials science, improved alloys for conductors and better insulators, extended this transmission distance to 2500 kilometers. Today, research shows that the feasible and economic distance of ultra-high voltage transmission to be 7000 kilometers for direct current and 4000 kilometers for alternating current.. Buying and selling power is now common in all developed nations, as utilities desire to level the peaks and valleys of energy demand to save costs and increase reliability.
The commercial potential of harnessing energy from the wind, sun, tides, and earth and distributing it intelligently to homes, businesses, and vehicles is enormous, representing the next wave of innovation and wealth creation.
Let us look at a comparable situation in Computing where distribution and storage of information has progressed exponentially: The first computer systems consisted of mainframe computers hard-wired to an array of "dumb" terminals—so called because their principal purpose was to enter or draw information from the mainframe. Eventually personal computers came along that were smarter and more self-sufficient, able to have two-way conversations with mainframes and other PCs. Now everything seems to talk to everything else, and can do so wirelessly. Computers talk with a billion other computers, as well as with TVs, phones, home entertainment systems, and soon, our cars, refrigerators, and wristwatches.Yes I am talking about the Internet
All of this resulted from hundreds of innovations provided by thousands of companies, triggering dramatic price drops and efficiency gains in digital storage, microprocessor speed, software standards, communications bandwidth, and myriad other things. Everything has become and continues to become smarter and smaller. Information has become so cheap, efficient, and ubiquitous that it's nearly free: We rarely worry about how much time we spend talking, texting, surfing, or downloading—at least in terms of cost.
Energy systems are developing along similar lines. The "mainframe" is the central power station, most likely fueled by coal or natural gas. The "dumb" terminals? They are homes, businesses, and most other buildings that can only receive "information" from the "mainframe.And I am talking about creating an “Energy Internet" or a "Energynetwork"
Those homes and businesses will become smarter and more self-sufficient as we install solar and other renewable systems to generate power.
Smart meters and other devices, they'll be able to have two-way conversations with the power plant. Increasingly, major power-using devices such as refrigerators, lighting, and heating and air-conditioning systems will "talk" to the electric grid, powering down when appropriate—perhaps imperceptibly—to take advantage of cheaper rates as prices fluctuate throughout the day and year, in accordance with supply and demand.
The Energy Internet will be self-healing,redundant and decentralized.Whenever one sector is defective,energy could be drawn from a multitude of redundant paths.The millions of home that produce clean solar or wind power could be input into this network and stored in “Energy Centers” much like “Data Centers” across the globe.
