 | Issue: | Global-ICT 2009 |
| Article no.: | 15 | |
| Topic: | Intelligent grids for the future | |
| Author: | Greg Brown | |
| Title: | Co-CEO and CEO | |
| Organisation: | Motorola and Broadband Mobility Solutions | |
| PDF size: | 200KB |
About author
Greg Brown is President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Motorola, Inc. and Chief Executive Officer of Motorola’s Broadband Mobility Solutions business and a member of Motorola’s Board of Directors. Mr Brown previously served as Motorola’s President and Chief Operating Officer and headed four different businesses at Motorola. Prior to joining Motorola, he was Chairman and CEO of Micromuse Inc., a network management software company. Before that, he was President of Ameritech Custom Business Services and Ameritech New Media Inc. Before joining Ameritech Mr Brown held a variety of sales and marketing positions with AT&T. Mr Brown is an active member of the civic and business communities. President George W. Bush appointed Mr Brown to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). He is also a member of the Business Council, Business Roundtable, Technology CEO Council, the U.S.-China Business Council, the U.S.-Brazil CEO Forum, Northwestern Memorial Hospital Board, and the 2016 Chicago Olympic Committee. Greg Brown earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from Rutgers University and is a member of the Rutgers board of overseers.
Article abstract
The way we produce, deliver, consume and secure energy is a defining issue of our day with important consequences for global economics and environmental stewardship. Intelligent electrical grids – smart grids – use broadband communications to integrate the management of energy production, distribution and consumption much as our nervous systems monitor and allocate resources within our bodies. Communications vendors are working with electric utilities to provide the wireless communications infrastructure to link grid components and help utilities process information in real time.
Full Article
The way we produce, deliver, consume and secure energy is one of the defining issues of our day. We see this almost daily in headlines everywhere as energy policy is intertwined with global economics and environmental stewardship. For example, energy and security intersect in Europe’s relations with Russia and virtually any discussion of the Middle East. In May 2009, the European recovery package made available nearly €4 billion of financial aid to support new energy-related investments. Energy and climate change policy was also at the top of the agenda at the recent 2009 G8 Summit in Russia, and most observers expect it to stay there for the foreseeable future. Energy policy is also now one of the most important initiatives of Barack Obama’s presidency in the United States. Both his ‘Smart Grid’ funding – included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) – and his cyber-security initiative highlight the need to secure energy production stations and the integrity of the electrical grid from attack while decreasing U.S. reliance on foreign oil with clean, reliable and green energy. This high-level attention creates a unique opportunity for forward-looking government policy and free-market innovation to step forward together in the 21st century. The development of the intelligent grid (known in the U.S. as Smart Grid) technology touches both ends of that spectrum. Intelligent electrical grids apply broadband communications technology to integrate the management of energy production, distribution and consumption much like the human nervous system monitors and allocates resources within our bodies. Efficient transmission and distribution of electricity is also recognized to be the key requirement for providing European citizens, societies and economies with essential energy resources. In June 2009, the European leaders endorsed the third energy liberalization package – which positively assesses the roll out of smart meters and targets equipping 80 per cent of the region’s population with intelligent metering systems by 2020. The essential role of energy policy is to create ways to use our existing energy resources as efficiently as possible – no matter what energy source we use or how much total energy we have. This is true whether the electricity flows from a wind turbine or a coal-fired plant. Today, electrical grids around the world are built and managed with many assumptions and precious little data. This is not the fault of utility planners who often are simply trying to keep up with accelerating demand. Intelligent grid technology empowers us to add common sense back into this supply-demand equation. Access and backhaul of real-time data and communications throughout the intelligent grid utilize the latest in broadband communication technology and distributed processing to transform the relationships among generating stations, the transmission grid, distribution networks and the actual points of electrical usage. Every light bulb, computer or cardiac pump that is turned on is a new input for a flexible and adaptive electrical grid. Energy stewardship is a shared goal across the globe, and broadband technology aligns our vision with our reach. The heart of the intelligent energy grid is composed of technology centred on providing real-time data and communications in several dimensions: people to people, things to things and people to things. Broadband technology makes real-time data the backbone of energy stewardship across a community. The community in question could be local, regional or even international in scope. Communications providers will play a vital role in the development of the intelligent energy grid everywhere. Communications vendors are partnering with U.S. electric utilities to provide the wireless communications infrastructure that will link grid components to increase efficiencies and integrate new clean distributed energy sources such as renewable power. A number of technologies are being deployed such as mesh, point-to-point and point-to-multipoint networks, WiFi and Broadband over Powerline architectures. Such technologies help utilities process information in real time as it is collected from the generating station, receiving station, distribution station and ultimately from the end-use customer. This real-time information will allow utilities to make critical decisions involving grid reliability, efficiency and security. In Europe, telecommunications technologies such as wireless broadband or two-way radio communication under the TETRA standard could become an intricate part of the intelligent grid of the future. We are collaborating with the energy industry to bring the intelligent grid to reality by tele-controlling the network and introducing a resilient, robust and reliable network for the transmission of telemetry data and voice services. Modernizing the European Union’s electricity grid through public policy and regulatory initiatives has the potential to dramatically affect the way in which states, localities and consumers receive and utilize energy. Member states and local authorities will play a very important role in modernizing the electricity grid as they will ultimately work with utilities to establish the necessary regulatory framework. Anything worth doing has challenges, and intelligent grids have their share. The first is funding. The second is the spectre of cyber attacks on the electricity grid. Lastly, there is the need for comprehensive planning and standards. Many utilities around the world have intelligent grid initiatives underway or in the planning stages. In a world with so many competing priorities, funding is a serious issue. While many state public utility commissions are providing rate relief for utilities that are investing in upgrading their grid infrastructure, additional funding support is needed, and the U.S. Congress and the Obama Administration should be applauded for including USD$4.5 billion for intelligent – or smart – grids in the emergency ARRA funding. This is just the beginning of assistance in funding the up-front costs of intelligent grids around the world. We should also press for grant mechanisms from national regulatory agencies and loans from financial institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank and their equivalents around the globe. Funding the up-front costs of deploying this technology will establish a new baseline for energy efficiency for the future. Cyber-security concerns are heightening in many quarters. This should be taken into account in planning for intelligent grids. On the other hand, to allow these concerns to derail energy efficiency is to hand cyber-terrorists a decisive victory without even engaging in battle. In some ways, intelligent grids are fundamentally more secure grids. Indeed, intelligent grids can pinpoint irregularities much faster than today’s systems. Because of their adaptive nature, intelligent grids can also re-route around problem zones in a manner analogous to the fluidity of the Internet. With that said, vigilance will be rewarded and cyber-security policies should be developed hand-in-hand with intelligent grid planning. Comprehensive planning and standards development should strive to open competition and harmonize system standards. There are many types of technology available to fit different situations; it is imperative to select technology best suited for implementation within the intelligent grid. There should also be a bias toward reconciling standards across jurisdictional and national borders. Such regulatory planning would smooth management of large-scale grids and enable the benefits of economies of scale. The advent of intelligent grids has global implications. Developed nations will be able to transform their existing energy infrastructure into a smarter, more responsive, self-healing and reliable system. Developing countries will harness new energy sources and build clean, efficient and reliable energy infrastructures. Energy consumers across the globe will become more educated about their own energy usage, utilize that knowledge to increase energy efficiencies, and have a greater choice of energy sources to choose from, including renewable energy sources. The development of the intelligent grid has the potential to change the way we all receive and use electrical energy. This will have far-reaching implications for issues such as sustainability and global climate change. To bring the intelligent grid to reality, policy makers, regulators, consumers, utilities and the technology industry must work together closely. Such a partnership will benefit all interested parties by improving grid reliability, efficiency and security.
