How Smart? (smart-grid/electric car bill)

[jpak]

http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/04/how-smart

The draft climate change bill released by House Democrats on March 31 calls on electric utilities to create a new infrastructure that will revolutionize the U.S. transportation system. Smart Grid technology will run it and clean electricity will power it.

In the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, the Clean Energy Title (Title I) calls for the development of an electric vehicle infrastructure that would support the use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and electric vehicles. Utilities will be weighing the merits of battery exchange and fast-charging infrastructure and other services. State regulators will also have a role to play. Among other directives, they will evaluate pricing options that would enable PHEVs and electric vehicles "to contribute to meeting peak-load power needs."

If ever the over-used term "paradigm shift" was apt, this is it. The renewable energy requirements and global warming provisions in the draft bill came as no surprise but how much of a sea change are utility operations and power generators slated for as the smart grid technologies take control?

"I would say we're asking the automotive industry to revolutionize the way they build cars and we're asking the utility industry to make sure we can charge those cars," Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), told Power Engineering.

<more>

[Phred42]

1. The "Grid" must be replaced

The ‘Grid’ is 19th Century technology. It is an antiquated dinosaur and an expensive inefficient danger to National Security. Power sources must implemented that are decentralized and local.

[kristopher]

2. Distributed Storage...

"...Distributed Storage

Once plug-in hybrids have been widely adopted across the United States, a potential will grow over time for returning some battery-stored electricity from those vehicles to the grid, he said.

EPRI is working to ensure that the vehicle is an integral part of the new smart infrastructure. This will benefit utilities that are bringing more renewables into their generation portfolios or that want to increase asset utililization as peak load grows in proportion to average load.

"PHEVs could be No. 1 as far as providing distributed storage free or almost at cost," said Duvall.

The whole program could take about five years to take off, starting with the commercial introduction of PHEVs in 2010. "It looks like we're finally going to see real leadership out of Washington, he said. "If we can get to a million PHEVs in eight years that would be impressive," he said. "The next 18 months will be pretty exciting.""

Good article.

[Blue Meany]

3. It's a good step, but as long as we are getting most of our power

from coal, we are not going to see much environmental benefit.

[zipplewrath]

4. Decent swap

Isn't swapping in high efficiency coal burning for swapping out low efficiency gasoline burning a fairly decent trade?

[kristopher]

5. A car running on electricity from the current mix of fuels powering the grid

roughly emits the equivalent pollutants (including CO2) of a car getting 48 miles per gallon (according to the unpublished calculations of a friend).