Slowly but surely innovation in the automotive industry is pushing toward PHEV technology. On a recent trip to Shanghai, I spoke with the CEO of Ford, China. He believed the PRC officials in Beijing were going to leap-frog the U.S. - going straight from combustion engines to PHEV technology through blunt force (as is typical in China). U.S. national policy seems focused on providing incentives for consumers to purchase PHEVs (mostly in the form of rebates), and putting a gun to Detroit’s head by forcing PHEV innovation with strings attached to the bailout money.
Some controversy about the actual mpg performance of existing models has questioned the economic savings at the pump. Several DOE tests done under real-world driving conditions showed only 51mpg performance for vehicles that were capable of 100mpg performance under lab conditions.
Despite the challenges there are several firms who are locking-in their first mover advantage in the U.S. urban markets they think will be early PHEV adopters.
Two top competitors in this space are starting their efforts in California. Coulomb Technologies has plans to install 500 PHEV charging stations along California highways in 2009. Better Place is focusing on charging stations that also offer battery swap services. A San Jose news report stated that a Coulomb’s “ChargePoint” charging station was installed in twenty minutes and cost only $2,000 dollars (paid for by Coulomb). The unit is only three-feet high x one-foot wide and in this case they had strapped it onto a modified street lamp. Coulomb customers who have an account, sign-up for a access key, that when swiped at a charging station, opens the door to the outlet. Once plugged in, you close and lock the door (so that no one is tempted to unplug you). What I found fascinating was that Coulomb is emulating the electric utilities’ rate model by charging customers a “subscription fee” which blends the cost of the electricity that they consumed at the charging station with maintenance costs, and the up-front capital cost it took to install the station. Most importantly, the units have bi-directional metering so if your car is plugged into a charging station at a parking deck during peak hours, Coulomb’s software will stop charging your battery during those peak hours to help the electric utility “peak shave” demand. There is a revenue sharing business model with “hosts” who buy the charging stations, although this isn’t released. They have also integrated with Google Maps to not only show the location of charging stations in their network, but through their network software they can determine which station is occupied at a given moment. This will allow customers to plan their route and choose the closest unoccupied station. The company has already formed a joint venture with a German company to distribute Charge Point stations throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia (EMEA). Although GridPoint’s V2Green has through their partnership in the “Pecan Street Project” marked Austin as their target. There are two PHEV vehicles on a proof-of-concept project with Austin Energy to determine the value of PHEVs as load-management resources. It will be interesting to see if these two California players make inroads in the Austin market in the next 3-5 years.
Web Sources:
http://cleantechnica.com/2009/02/18/smartlet-stations-charge-plug-in-vehicles-from-sidewalk/
http://www.coulombtech.com/aboutus.php
http://www.betterplace.com/
http://www.gridpoint.com/solutions/electricvehiclemanagement/
http://www.verdek-ev.com/MainPage.aspx
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/are-the-benefits-of-plug-in-hybrids-overstated-6014.html
Showing posts with label smart grid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smart grid. Show all posts
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Austin Smart Grid: A Smart Social Experiment
A draft bill has been proposed by Representatives Waxman and Markley in the House entitled the The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (PDF). According to a summary of the draft bill, it would require electricity suppliers to meet 25% of their load with renewable energy sources by 2025. It also would include "provisions to facilitate the deployment of a smart grid". The draft bill also includes support for energy efficiency and mandates a carbon cap-and-trade scheme.
However, as reported by The Economist, this bill could be derailed by the heavy support for Senator Thune's "amendment to the Democratic budget that would prohibit the collection of funds from any future cap and trade proposal if that proposal would increase electricity rates and gasoline prices for American households and businesses."
The 89 to 8 vote for this amendment indicates two key issues for federal plans for energy regulation. First, the rising interest in reworking our energy infrastructure is being met by ever increasing concerns about its costs. The second issue highlighted by the introduction of this amendment is related to the policy process. This proposal is a very blunt political tool. How can a federal government that is stymied by simplistic policy analysis and policy tools filtered through a low signal to noise ratio from lobbying and interest groups ever devise a system that maximizes energy, environmental, and economic performance?
It's true that this problem engulfs the very system of government that we enroll - representative democracy - but I contend that this system is still likely the best around.
However, there is an alternative. I would like to share a very enlightening quote from Carl Sagan (in chapter co-written by Ann Druyan) in his book, 'The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'.
"We face an abundance of subtle and complex problems. We need therefore subtle and complex solutions. Since there is no deductive theory of social organization, our only recourse is scientific experiment—trying out sometimes on small scales (community, city, and state level, say) a wide range of alternatives. One of the prerequisites of power on becoming prime minister in China in the fifth century B.C. was that you got to construct a model state in your home district or province. It was Confucius' chief life failing, he lamented, that he never got to try."
I'm disheartened by the environmentalist clammoring that we need to halt production in order to prevent the destruction of the earth. I'm equally dismayed by the reactionist declaring that we will destroy the economy by addressing environmental concerns. Some of this noise succeeds in getting the public-at-large interested in important issues, but much of this is just self-justification. I think it's wise to utilize analysis of actual examples when making policy decisions.
I think Austin is a great place to implement such a sample. One reason is because electricity rate changes may only have to go up to ERCOT. Also, devising a system that maximizes enviromental performance will be easier at the local level because, as Professor Webber noted in class, water supply is currently handled at the local level. Other previously mentioned advantages for Austin apply as well.
It's true that each city and region has it's own set of issues and adaptability to plans that improve our infrastructure to meet environmental and social goals. This would not be a true control test. However, one data point is better than none.
It's also true that incorporating current market externalities in this system and it's analysis will prove difficult - such as greenhouse gases. However, given the flexibility of Austin and the abilities of Austin's highly educated populace, we fare better at conducting this analysis than most places in the country.
I believe that until test cases prove successful, the role of the federal government should be to support cleantech and environmental research and development. In 'The Servitude of Power: Energy and civilization through the ages' the authors argue that throughout history, it is technology innovation that spurs complete reversal of exisiting infrastruture. New ideas are popping up all of the time.
The rigorous scientific method that usually accompanies science and engineering research and development should be adopted by public policy as much as possible. We should take note of each and every experiment including those in other countries, such as Chris Smith's recent research on efforts in the European Union. However, a test case of energy infrastructure that includes all of the tenants of a comprehensive plan - a smart grid, increased renewable energy generation, improved energy efficiency, and expanded environmental protection - right here in Texas, a home of lovers of liberty, would be very telling.
In conclusion, I propose that adopting an energy system of the future in Austin would be a wise social experiment that would inform us significantly before we roll out a new national energy plan.
However, as reported by The Economist, this bill could be derailed by the heavy support for Senator Thune's "amendment to the Democratic budget that would prohibit the collection of funds from any future cap and trade proposal if that proposal would increase electricity rates and gasoline prices for American households and businesses."
The 89 to 8 vote for this amendment indicates two key issues for federal plans for energy regulation. First, the rising interest in reworking our energy infrastructure is being met by ever increasing concerns about its costs. The second issue highlighted by the introduction of this amendment is related to the policy process. This proposal is a very blunt political tool. How can a federal government that is stymied by simplistic policy analysis and policy tools filtered through a low signal to noise ratio from lobbying and interest groups ever devise a system that maximizes energy, environmental, and economic performance?
It's true that this problem engulfs the very system of government that we enroll - representative democracy - but I contend that this system is still likely the best around.
However, there is an alternative. I would like to share a very enlightening quote from Carl Sagan (in chapter co-written by Ann Druyan) in his book, 'The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark'.
"We face an abundance of subtle and complex problems. We need therefore subtle and complex solutions. Since there is no deductive theory of social organization, our only recourse is scientific experiment—trying out sometimes on small scales (community, city, and state level, say) a wide range of alternatives. One of the prerequisites of power on becoming prime minister in China in the fifth century B.C. was that you got to construct a model state in your home district or province. It was Confucius' chief life failing, he lamented, that he never got to try."
I'm disheartened by the environmentalist clammoring that we need to halt production in order to prevent the destruction of the earth. I'm equally dismayed by the reactionist declaring that we will destroy the economy by addressing environmental concerns. Some of this noise succeeds in getting the public-at-large interested in important issues, but much of this is just self-justification. I think it's wise to utilize analysis of actual examples when making policy decisions.
I think Austin is a great place to implement such a sample. One reason is because electricity rate changes may only have to go up to ERCOT. Also, devising a system that maximizes enviromental performance will be easier at the local level because, as Professor Webber noted in class, water supply is currently handled at the local level. Other previously mentioned advantages for Austin apply as well.
It's true that each city and region has it's own set of issues and adaptability to plans that improve our infrastructure to meet environmental and social goals. This would not be a true control test. However, one data point is better than none.
It's also true that incorporating current market externalities in this system and it's analysis will prove difficult - such as greenhouse gases. However, given the flexibility of Austin and the abilities of Austin's highly educated populace, we fare better at conducting this analysis than most places in the country.
I believe that until test cases prove successful, the role of the federal government should be to support cleantech and environmental research and development. In 'The Servitude of Power: Energy and civilization through the ages' the authors argue that throughout history, it is technology innovation that spurs complete reversal of exisiting infrastruture. New ideas are popping up all of the time.
The rigorous scientific method that usually accompanies science and engineering research and development should be adopted by public policy as much as possible. We should take note of each and every experiment including those in other countries, such as Chris Smith's recent research on efforts in the European Union. However, a test case of energy infrastructure that includes all of the tenants of a comprehensive plan - a smart grid, increased renewable energy generation, improved energy efficiency, and expanded environmental protection - right here in Texas, a home of lovers of liberty, would be very telling.
In conclusion, I propose that adopting an energy system of the future in Austin would be a wise social experiment that would inform us significantly before we roll out a new national energy plan.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Austin in Front of Gathering Smart Grid Storm
The inclusion of $4.5 billion (and more) for “electricity delivery and energy reliability activities to modernize the electric grid” in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 has pulled a swarm of attention towards smart grid initiatives and entrepreneurship. Austin will likely be a major beneficiary.
Since the passage of this bill, major news distributors including CNN and The New York Times have run educational articles on the possibilities raised by the development of a smart grid. However, the most clear explanation may be from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) :
KEMA, in a paper prepared for the Gridwise Alliance, anticipates that a "potential" $16 billion investment in the deployment of smart grids during the next four years may directly lead to an estimated 139,700 permanent jobs and even more indirectly. In a move that is causing someto worry about data privacy, even Google is getting in this sphere by developing an energy information platform called PowerMeter. And it's not just Google.
Despite economic concerns, the growing consensus is that government funding and open standards oversight will unleash the vast entrepreneurial possibilities granted by information technology onto the country's energy system. Most also agree that the government's support and endorsement of smart grids will enable the technology to be competitive for dwindling venture capital.
Austin, while currently outpaced by other cities in clean energy manufacturing, is in a great position to seize this opportunity. The combination of a highly skilled workforce, a high concentration of technology companies, an innovative energy provider with a board partially comprised of city council members, and an environmentally conscience citizenry makes Austin one of a handful of cities most likely to benefit from smart grid investments and innovation.
In this maelstrom of publicity on smart grids, the Pecan Street Initiative is getting Austin attention. With an impressive combination of non-proft, governmental, and corporate partnership, the Pecan Street Initiative aims to make Austin a model of energy generation and distribution for the nation.
One of Austin goals with this project is to provide citizens with at least 30% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Due to the variability in solar and wind generation, an updated grid is a prerequisite for managing and maintaining this enormous increase in renewable energy. Supporters of smart grids also anticipate large improvements in efficiency that will enable a smaller amount of renewable energy to be a larger portion of the total energy provided.
A fully integrated smart grid of this scale has never been implemented. It will not be easy. This plan will require foresight and long term cost-benefit analysis from the political and business realms. However, due to the collaboration and congruence between Austin's public and private sectors, Austin may be better suited and equipped for the challenge of creating a smart grid and capitalizing on smart grid opportunites than anywhere else in the country.
Friday, February 6, 2009
What does $5.2 million and 1 minute get you: A preview of our energy future.
Somewhere in between the 59 year-old “Boss” sliding across stage and one of the most exciting endings in Super Bowl history were two energy-related commercials that hopefully did not go unnoticed by the general public. The commercials I am referring to were two new additions to General Electric's (GE)ongoing “Ecoimagination” campaign (you can view all of the ecoimagination commercials here), which is now being enveloped in their “Now” campaign to promote innovate ideas in healthcare, energy and the environment, and global research. The “Scarecrow”ad depicts the Wizard of Oz character dancing around power lines and power grids to the tune of “If I Only Had a Brain.” This clever ad intends to reflect how “smart grid” technologies will intelligently improve our aging electric power system by enabling advanced digital technologies to dramatically increase the efficiency of the electric grid. In a nutshell, the “smart grid” system is intended to optimize current electric transmission and distribution while opening up new markets for distributed power generation sources and alternative sources of energy such as wind and solar. Such a system would use two-way communications devices, advanced sensors, and distributed computing technology to improve the reliability and efficiency of power systems. This idea has generated such strong response of late that Obama’s proposed stimulus plan includes $11 billion towards investing in smart grid technology. The second commercial that GE broadcasts provides a funny spin on the potential of wind energy, even in its most simple application.
As an “energy junkie” and a “sports junkie” I was a thrilled to see my two greatest interests converge before a mass audience. Finally, the most pressing energy issues had made the "big time" and one of the "big-timers" in the industry was leading the charge (GE is the 12 largest corporation in the World in terms of annual revenues according to the Fortune 500). This got me to thinking about what this meant for the future of the energy industry and the advancement of new energy technologies. Here we have one of the biggest players in conventional energy technologies spending large sums of money in advertising (a 30 second commercial costs $2.6 million, although the cost for GE was actually an opportunity cost since they own NBC who broadcast the Super Bowl) to promote new energy technologies that could essentially replace its old technologies. This demonstrates that the new “green economy” that will promote more efficient energy use and cleaner energy sources need not be seen as a threat to companies with huge stakes in the energy industry, but rather as an opportunity. GE is not the only major energy player to jump on new technologies. Major oil companies such as BP have also been some of the biggest investors in renewable energy technologies. This makes simple business sense. These companies already understand the energy business, they only need to adapt their business model to new ways of making money in a new energy economy. But not all, or even many, of the major energy companies are jumping on board the renewable energy bandwagon. As oil and gas companies continue to reap huge profits, the industry's short-term business model just doesn't see the need. This is a shame, because these industries have some of the biggest research and development budgets in the world. It may take a gas tax or some form of carbon regulation to change the focus of major energy companies, but when it happens energy companies can already be prepared to shift to new business opportunities. The opportunities are out there, and companies can follow GE’s lead on developing and promoting these new energy technologies.
As an “energy junkie” and a “sports junkie” I was a thrilled to see my two greatest interests converge before a mass audience. Finally, the most pressing energy issues had made the "big time" and one of the "big-timers" in the industry was leading the charge (GE is the 12 largest corporation in the World in terms of annual revenues according to the Fortune 500). This got me to thinking about what this meant for the future of the energy industry and the advancement of new energy technologies. Here we have one of the biggest players in conventional energy technologies spending large sums of money in advertising (a 30 second commercial costs $2.6 million, although the cost for GE was actually an opportunity cost since they own NBC who broadcast the Super Bowl) to promote new energy technologies that could essentially replace its old technologies. This demonstrates that the new “green economy” that will promote more efficient energy use and cleaner energy sources need not be seen as a threat to companies with huge stakes in the energy industry, but rather as an opportunity. GE is not the only major energy player to jump on new technologies. Major oil companies such as BP have also been some of the biggest investors in renewable energy technologies. This makes simple business sense. These companies already understand the energy business, they only need to adapt their business model to new ways of making money in a new energy economy. But not all, or even many, of the major energy companies are jumping on board the renewable energy bandwagon. As oil and gas companies continue to reap huge profits, the industry's short-term business model just doesn't see the need. This is a shame, because these industries have some of the biggest research and development budgets in the world. It may take a gas tax or some form of carbon regulation to change the focus of major energy companies, but when it happens energy companies can already be prepared to shift to new business opportunities. The opportunities are out there, and companies can follow GE’s lead on developing and promoting these new energy technologies.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Technology Aims To Help Electricity Grids Use Renewable Generation
Newly elected President Obama just unveiled his 'American Reinvestment and Recovery Plan'. Part of this plan is a push for renewable energy, including a promise to double it in three years. Possibly more telling and exciting is the inclusion of a commitment for “3,000 miles of new or modernized transmission lines and 40 million 'Smart Meters' in American homes.” The reason this is important is because the current system cannot handle significant increases in renewable energy.
Our nation's industrialization and subsequent use of fossil fuels has given our society access to a switchable utility system. That is, when steam engine train conductors or coal plant operators wished to alter a supply of energy, they could simply add fuels to burn and convert to energy at any time they wished. Because of this, our electric grid is designed to simply deliver peak-load supply, i.e. the grid is built to have the necessary capacity for the maximum energy use on a hot day in the summer. If users are pulling more Watts from the system, grid operators can just switch the system to deliver more Amperes.
Renewable generation technologies including photovoltaic (PV) modules and wind turbines do not follow this model. These sources of energy cannot be controlled such as those provided by fossil fuels. These sources require the sun to shine and the wind to blow, respectively. For grid operators, increasing the use of these sources adds undesirable fluctuations of available energy. This is especially true for localized distributed generation sources such as solar panels on residential homes. Connecting these sources to the grid changes the makeup of the grid in unpredictable ways that make grid operators unable to properly evaluate system load requirements and locate system faults. Additionally, energy consumers cannot be expected to utilize renewable generation at the instant it is most abundant. Consumers are unlikely to dim their lights until the sun is bright or to complete their most power intensive computing when an impeding storm causes high wind speeds. Clearly, our electric grid will need to be updated in order to use more renewable energy.
Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology is one possible way researchers hope to improve the stability and reliability of our grid when incorporating renewable generation. The idea, originating from University of Delaware Professor Willett Kempton, is that the electrification of our transportation fleet goes hand-in-hand with the inclusion of renewable energy in our grid. He and other researchers argue that the Lithium-ion batteries on fully electric and partially electric vehicles can be used to temporarily store and redistribute energy to and from the grid. This means that your future Prius may come with a two-way connection to the grid. Professor Kempton argues that because 95% of vehicles are parked at any given time, a significant number of electric vehicles could potentially end reliable concerns of variable energy supplies.
An analogy with a different technology that you are using as you read this post may help illustrate how this works. Imagine that our information superhighway was changed to where there was no storage involved. Each bit and byte had to be available at all times so it could be delivered instantaneously upon request by the consumer. This is how our energy system works today. However, due to Internet protocols and storage technology, we do not have those requirements. As you access this post you are utilizing storage components within the Internet structure, and as you read this post you are utilizing storage on your personal computer. In fact, one crucial component of a V2G system is information technology that tells the grid when and where to pull and deliver energy.
The city of Newark, Delaware, is now testing a demo V2G system. Professor Kempton envisions a situation where consumers will be compensated by energy companies to enable V2G to pull from their vehicles. The Smart Meters necessary for V2G could also be used to give energy prices that correspond to the demand. This would encourage the public to buy into V2G systems because they could opt to sell energy when the price was highest.
Of course, problems still need to be clarified and researched further including the impact of V2G on the life-cycle on the Lithium-Ion batteries currently installed on electric vehicles. However, hope is increasing for V2G as politicians accept the need to modernize our electric grid as we increase our use of renewable energy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
