More on Smart Grids
From CNN/Money:
Whilst the energy grids we rely on to provide us with cheap and reliable electricity may have been fit for purpose in the 20th century, it is now abundantly clear that the design of 21st century energy networks will have to be very different. In Europe, the foundations for a secure, flexible and more energy efficient future are already being laid.
The SmartGrids project will transform how electricity is supplied in Europe. Instead of centralized power generation, new suppliers will be linked up providing new trading opportunities for businesses and homeowners.
Traditional carbon-based power generators are far from efficient. They waste well over half their energy in heat and contribute over a third to total greenhouse emissions. It is now widely accepted that continuing to rely so heavily on such polluting systems would not only spark environmental catastrophe but also economic collapse.
With an aging electricity grid, a drive to lower carbon emissions by 2020 and burgeoning new markets in renewable energy, the time was right for Europe’s leaders to set about trying to find another way.
The result is SmartGrids — one of many projects set up under the European Union’s European Technology Platform (ETP). Combining the expertise of industry, NGO’s, scientists and regulators, SmartGrids is proposing a fundamental shift away from traditional energy supply models.
Go here for the rest of this report.