Featured Ideas
Duke Alumnus David Brewster on a Sustainable Grid
Like this idea and put it on tv.
2 Comments
Discuss this idea
Discuss this idea
Email signup
Weekly updates
Weekly updates
Got an Idea?
Get going already!
Get going already!
One major problem with the electric power utility industry is that it builds peaking (or backup) power plants that account for 10% of the built infrastructure but stand idle 99% of the time, awaiting peak demand events. During those rare events, utilities bring those peaking plants online to help provide power to an overburdened system, like in summer months when AC units are in overdrive and thus over-stressing the grid. Some companies, including the Boston-based EnerNOC, are seeing that de-stressing the over-stressed can also be accomplished without building wasteful peaking power plants that sit idle for the greater part of the year.
Their idea is to take non-essential electricity use off the grid to de-stress the system. And so they are building a network of large power users (businesses, schools, institutions, hospitals, governments, etc.), installing smart energy-management meters and monitors, and working with them to assess how much energy they can curtail on demand during those rare demand response events. In effect they are building virtual plants and in the process preventing blackouts and brownouts in regions all across the country. More info here: http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/main/dukenvironment/sp11/brewster
facebook
twitter
On June 16th, 2012 at 3:27 pm J95494308B Said:
J95494308B
if the electric grid acts as an antena like the fractal geometry antena in the cell phones of today; could it act as a large collector of power from the sun? it already acts like this in some respects during solar eruptions causing power disruptions.
On June 16th, 2012 at 10:51 pm jerry dycus Said:
You don’t need all that. You just need to signal conserve or use by cell phone links. One doesn’t have to monitor everything as the utility already knows the load, just let those who want to save money or make electricity when needed, just let them know.
EV’s will be great for this as just by turing the chargers on and off you can balance the grid in a few yrs once enough are out there. Plus they already have 50-200kw inverters that can pump power back into the grid.
Homes/apartments, etc will have battery packs buying cheap off peak and selling back at peak.
Most RE is either callable like CSP, CHP, biomass, hydro or follows peak loads like solar and AC which PV tracks perfectly. If a cloud comes by the electric load is reduced too so no net effect.
Only wind is that variable and it could be backed up by biomass or CSP, etc.
Demand is far more variable than RE and utilities handle that without a problem so the whol;e variable thing is a canard by those who profit by usinf fossil fuels.