Energy Storage Tech Oozes Ahead

Sometimes I like to take a breather and set pure Smart Grid security to the side for a moment, and look at some of the new technologies being developed that may have a significant impact on what the grid of the future looks like.

Living just across the Charles River from the MIT campus, I've been lucky to have great access to lots of early energy tech breakthroughs and announcements. While this most recent one, a radical revision to the flow battery concept, is still too early in its development to know whether it can ultimately prove commercial viability, it sure is thought provoking.

For me, electric vehicle adoption and grid-scale energy storage are two of the biggest drivers of the future Smart Grid that supports a higher percentage of renewables (centralized and distributed) in its generation portfolio. And of course, as we always say, the more we build it, the more 2-way comms, intelligent devices and sensors we add, the more we come to enjoy its many new capabilities, the more we've got to make sure it's secure.

Here's a nice light intro to the goo-based battery from Discovery Tech that focuses on the EV potential, while CNET gives you a bit more technical detail and points to grid applications as well.

Photo credit: Lunchbox Photography on Flickr.com

It's Time to Get Serious about Smart Grid Data Volumes

Ever since October 2009 when Jack ran the numbers and wrote about the dramatic increase in data utilities would soon experience, and then this post a couple of weeks later responding to some of the initial disbelief, our sensors began picking up a spike in discussions and debates about Smart Grid data volumes. (One great source is Jesse Berst's webcast "High Performance in Data Management" featuring experts from Accenture, Oracle and Xcel's Smart Grid City).

Jack's first post, a wake up call culled from real data, faced some understandable incredulity. But the second post, titled "That Smart Grid Data Surge We Mentioned Earlier? You Can’t Ignore It", mustered more positive and very constructive feedback, like this:

Nicely done, Jack. This is a hard issue to get across, especially the need to set up the data collection with the simple question "What do I want to know?" I think you're correct about the coming data surge - but it won't only come from the customer side. The ability to collect information and automate some decision-making from generation through distribution will also involve enormous data flows. What will make the grid smarter is to integrate the data on many scales; to provide analyses for optimizing all kinds of operations along the value chain; and to enable better planning and resourcing. And how to do all this securly - and with many different legacy systems in the mix - is a huge challenge.

It's gratifying when readers catch the conceptual ball you've thrown and run with it. Even more gratifying when kernels of your thoughts are amplified by industry leaders themselves. Such is the case with the recent article by Austin Energy CIO Andres Carvallo. While "New Epiphany: Smart Grids Require Real-Time all-IP Networks" concerns itself with immense Smart Grid data volumes, its emphasis extends beyond mere storage to collection, transport, analysis and architecture:

If we were collecting real-time data from the 500,000 devices on our network, we would be generating about 40 petabytes of data per year from 100 terabytes today. ...the amount of data that we would need to collect and keep might be close to 10 petabytes annually vs. 40 petabytes. That amount of real-time collection, analysis, and decision making can only be achieved with a real-time all-IP network.

and concludes with some very timely advice from the field:

If you are in the middle of deployment, you will need to find an upgrade strategy sooner rather than later. If you decided but not yet deployed your Smart Grid / AMI choice, you still have time to switch to the right technology and partners. If you have already made your decision and deployment, your partner(s) needs to give you an upgrade path at a very reasonable price.

You heard it here first. The Smart Grid data surge writing was on the wall. Now it's front and center, and it's time to start planning accordingly.

Calling the Next Generation of US Energy Rock Stars

Some folks are suspicious of anything the government tries to do beyond defending our borders and protecting national interests abroad. Others believe that government can do much more. I'm kind of in between, generally valuing a small footprint Federal government, but every once in a while applauding innovation in government when it shows up.

Such is the case with a new DOE organization, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E), which came to life just this year and has been given a $400 million boost to get itself and its first bunch of projects off the ground. ARPA-E is not about incremental improvements in energy science; no, it focuses exclusively on high risk, bet the farm, swing for the fences, change the world energy technologies.

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Update: here's a list of recent ARPA-E awards for transformational energy technologies.

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A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of being in the first row when new ARPA-E director, Dr. Arun Majumdar, introduced the ARPA-E Fellows Program to a capacity audience at MIT. Saying the goal of his org is to boost US competitiveness in Energy Tech (ET) by helping to find and nurture the "Next generation of "Energy Rock Stars", Majumdar noted his own existence was thanks to the pioneering artificial fertilizer breakthroughs of American scientist Norman Borlaug. He went on to show how many energy technologies first discovered in the US like photo-voltaic solar and lithium ion storage now have little-to-no market leadership nor manufacturing presence in the country. This trend he plainly aims to turn around.

One thing you can say for sure: whether ARPA-E advances technologies that benefit the grid directly or finds ways to greatly increase the capabilities of renewable power generation or storage, it all grows the Smart Grid one way or another. By the way, Majumdar came across as warm, brilliant, determined and 100% sincere. I for one am rooting big time for him and his world changers.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab

Electric Car Conundrum: V2G a Smart Grid Blessing or Curse?

Initially arriving in the US in low volume in late 2010, the addition of thousands and later millions of cars with 5-10 KW battery packs drawing power from (and sometimes giving back to) the grid is cast as both a positive and a negative, depending on your point of view.

On the positive side, as this article says, high performance, deep cycle lithium ion and lithium air batteries en mass may be the energy storage solution the industry has been searching for. Here's an example starring Duke:

Duke Energy committed to an electric vehicle future when it committed with the FPL Group to buy 10,000 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in the coming decade, as they upgrade their fleets. The energy storage in these vehicles could eliminate the need for peaking plants and enable the expanded use of renewable energy. Duke Energy’s electric vehicle future may save billions in future power plant investments.

Sounds good, but others worry, here, that local electrical infrastructure can barely handle the additional iPods and iPhones it's had to deal with lately. Adding clusters of electric cars charging at approximately the same time each evening might break the camel's back in many neighborhoods. According to Peter Darbee, the CEO of Pacific Gas & Electric:

A high concentration of plug-in electric vehicles poses a serious challenge to utilities. Plug-in electric cars could draw electricity equivalent the amount needed to run one home, or up to three homes in certain places. You can see if you have three or five electric cars arrive in a neighborhood, you're going to overload the local circuits, and that will lead to blackouts. So we see it as an opportunity but we also see it as a challenge of significant proportions.

We all know how neighbors like to mimic and compete with each other (have you seen the Halloween decorations next door !?). One electric car will beget two will beget ten or twenty. Scheduling software will help, but much depends on fast this goes, and how close to edge local circuit gear is at the outset.

Nissan Leaf photo credit: Wikimedia Commons