Green Tech

If you need more evidence that energy storage is much more than lithium ion batteries, take a look at the latest smart-grid utility storage projects.

The Department of Energy on Tuesday announced that $620 million in stimulus funding is going to 32 smart-grid programs, which will be coupled with another $1 billion in private money. A total of $770 million from government and industry sources in the next few years will go to energy storage, giving a number of storage technologies a dose of real-world experience. (See this PDF for details.)

(Credit: PG&E)

Notable in the list is the prominence of compressed-air energy storage and flow batteries, two technologies rarely discussed just a few years ago. Also in the mix are flywheels and using batteries for distributed energy storage in communities.

It's unlikely that all the DOE-aided projects will immediately prove to be commercially viable. But storage has clearly emerged as a key component in the vision of the smart grid. A number of start-ups are developing technologies they hope can address a specific storage application or undercut pumped hydro, considered the cheapest form of utility storage, on price. With pumped hydro, water is pumped uphill and released at peak times to run a generator. But its use is limited by geography.

Many of the 16 Energy Department power storage grants were focused on storing wind power, which is a variable source of energy. In California, for example, utility Pacific Gas & Electric plans to store the power generated by wind turbines at night, when turbines are most productive in underground caverns. During the day, when grid demand is higher, the air is released and passed through a turbine to make electricity.

The advantage of underground compressed air storage is that it can be cheaper than batteries and can store many hours worth of energy. PG&E forecasts that its Kern County, Calif., project can deliver 300 megawatts of power for 10 hours, enough to supply tens of thousands of homes.

Another novel technique is using metal tanks to store compressed air, a technology being developed by a Dartmouth College spin-off SustainX. The compressed air is released to run a hydraulic motor that drives a generator to make electricity.

Flow batteries, meanwhile, use tanks of liquid electrolyte solutions. When the two liquids interact, there is a chemical reaction that creates a flow of electricity.

An advantage of this approach is that store large amounts of energy and discharge relatively quickly, according to the Electricity Storage Association. One project will use technology from Premium Power, which makes tractor trailer-size zinc flow batteries to maintain a steady frequency on the grid and supply power during times of peak demand.

Different strokes
The variety of technologies points to the range of energy storage applications. Flywheels from award winner Beacon Power, for example, can absorb and discharge megawatts' worth of power to the grid but only in 15-minute bursts. Still, flywheels are getting more attention because they are a nonpolluting replacement to the natural-gas plants now used to smooth out short-term fluctuations in grid frequency, according to the company.

Click on the image for a slide show of different energy storage technologies.

(Credit: AEP)

Large batteries, too, will be further tested for grid storage. Duke Energy plans to use multiple battery types for 20 megawatts' worth of power delivery at the Notrees Windpower project in Texas. The "hybrid" battery system is being designed for two tasks: to smooth out short-term grid fluctuations and to supply hours' worth of power during the day, according to a Duke Energy representative.

Utility Portland General Electric in the next two years plans to install five batteries from auto battery supplier Ener1 to supply enough juice to power 400 homes for about an hour. Alternative chemistries, including lead carbon batteries from East Penn Manufacturing, will also be used.

One project will test the viability of used car batteries for grid storage. Lithium ion plug-in car batteries from A123 Systems will be used to supply 25 kilowatts for two hours in 20 community energy storage projects. The performance of lithium ion batteries degrades after many years in a car, but there is still sufficient storage and power for grid applications, utility executives say.

The Department of Energy on Tuesday awarded $620 million in smart grid projects, the second major wave of government-led funding to modernize the electricity grid.

The money will come from the stimulus package and be matched by commercial companies, making the total spending $1.6 billion spread across 32 demonstration projects in 21 states. A total of $8.1 billion in smart-grid spending from public and private sources was announced late last month.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the awards at Ohio-based utility AEP, whose GridSmart program is considered one of the more technically advanced.

The bulk of the DOE awards--$435 million--will be aimed at adding communications to the transmission and distribution grid through the installation of two-way meters, sensors on the transmission lines, and in-home energy displays.

This is a large megawatt storage device already on AEP's grid. Click on the image to see a photo gallery of power grid storage technologies.

(Credit: AEP)

By networking devices along the grid and adding digital controls, utilities can more easily locate and fix outages and use their energy supply more efficiently. For consumers, in-home displays will allow them to get a real-time readout of their electricity usage to help ways to cut down consumption. Some utilities also offer programs where consumers can get cheaper rates to shave power use during peak times.

The rest of the DOE funding will go toward testing a range of energy storage technologies, including flow batteries, flywheels, and compressed air storage. With storage, utilities can more easily use solar and wind power by better managing the flow of energy on the grid.

After 100 years, the lowly utility meter is poised for a digital upgrade, with the installation of up to 250 million expected over the next six years, according to a new forecast.

Pike Research published on Monday a research report on smart meters that predicts installation to ramp up at a 19 percent annual rate through 2015.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

Smart meters use wireless networking to shuttle information back and forth between utilities and customers. So far, the communications link has been used mainly to report back usage for monthly billing, but there are new applications aimed at efficiency.

Consumers can, in some cases, get a real-time read-out of electricity consumption or see a graph of a full day's use. Smart meters are also designed to help consumers take advantage of off-peak rates. Utilities are generally interested in moving usage to off-peak times and running power plants more efficiently.

A person could, for example, schedule a dishwasher to run or charge a plug-in vehicle in the middle of the night. Information from the smart meter signals when cheaper rates are in effect.

Pike's forecast notes that the push to smart meters is global, driven by government interest in energy efficiency. The U.S. Department of Energy's smart-grid grant program announced last week is expected to result in 18 million smart meter installations across the nation. About 3.5 percent of the world's meters can be considered "smart," with the number set to grow to 18 percent by 2015.

Despite the spike in installations, there are a number of technical barriers to overcome, including a lack of standards. In particular, there is a "jumble" of different neighborhood-area networking technologies to carry data from homes back to utilities. The most advanced smart meters have the ability to connect to home-area networks.

Google PowerMeter software monitors home energy usage in real time and can be accessed from a person's iGoogle home page.

(Credit: Google)

U.K. residents will now be able to monitor and regulate their home energy usage from any Web-enabled phone or computer regardless of whether their energy provider uses smart meters.

Google announced two U.K. partnerships this week concerning its PowerMeter software, one of which completely bypasses the need for cooperation from an energy provider.

Since the U.K. electricity and gas supplier First Utility began offering customers free smart meters in September 2008, it has had 30,000 customers take them up on the offer. Now, as a result of a Google partnership announced Tuesday, First Utility smart meter customers will have the option of allowing their info to be relayed to Google's PowerMeter so their smart meter data and control can be Web-accessible. The service will become available to Midlands customers in early November 2009, and eventually extend it to the entire U.K.

Google also announced Wednesday that its PowerMeter software will be compatible with AlertMe, a U.K. self-install energy monitoring system that works regardless of a resident's energy provider or the type of meter installed in the home.

Unlike smart meters, the AlertMe system does not communicate with an electricity utility's smart grid to advise on low-peak usage hours. It consists of a meter reader that clips on to a home's existing electric meter, smart plug adapters for appliances, and a wireless hub that plugs into a home's broadband connection. The hub wirelessly communicates between the meter reader, smart plugs, and AlertMe service.

AlertMe's smart plug, meter reader, and wireless hub.

(Credit: AlertMe)

The device's non-evasive nature makes it an option for renters as well as homeowners. And AlertMe is clearly attempting to target that renter market by pointing out in its quirky infomercials (see video below) that its device is unobtrusive. Unlike smart meters, it does require the usual landlord permission to be installed.

The kits costs 69 British pounds ($113) plus a required 12-month contract for its 2.99 pounds-per-month ($4.90) communication service, which requires that the home have broadband access. The total cost, including one free month of service, comes to 101.89 pounds ($167.55).

On Wednesday, the company also announced the start of its trial with British Gas on an AlertMe kit for monitoring and controlling heating from gas that will tie into the gas utility's smart meters. Since AlertMe monitors are now compatible with Google's PowerMeter, the software will be available to British Gas customers who join that smart meter program.

The Google PowerMeter software that ties in to First Utility, AlertMe, and (by default) the British Gas trial program, is currently free. It makes real-time usage data collected from the companies available by cell phone or computer. The data can then be charted in hourly, daily, monthly, and yearly segments for analysis, allowing users to basically conduct their own personal green-living and energy-usage experiments.

A person could test if shutting off their TV and its electronic accouterments for one week, as opposed to leaving them in standby mode, really makes a dent in their home's overall energy consumption. AlertMe subscribers could also use the PowerMeter software to remotely turn specific appliances on or off.

Both AlertMe and First Utility have said they've found their consumers really do tend to adjust their usage habits to save energy and money, once they come face to face with their own usage data.

"At the end of the day, if you can't measure and view your energy use, it's very difficult to make savings," First Utility's CEO Mark Daeche said in a statement.

DETROIT--There's a great deal of interest from consumers in plug-in vehicles but electricity utilities say they need to prepare even before electric cars start to plug in.

Industry association the Edison Electric Institute on Wednesday issued a pledge that its members will take steps to smooth the transition to electrically fueled vehicles. The chairman of the institute and CEO of utility DTE Energy, Anthony Earley, voiced the industry's support for plug-in vehicles here at the Business of Plugging In Conference.

"The industry's challenge will be to effectively manage this transition," Earley said. "We recognize that now is the time. After years of debate, the electric vehicle is ready for prime time."

In a DOE-sponsored program, a number of utilities are testing the mileage improvements and impact on the grid of plug-in electric vehicles.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

The statement underscores the growing interconnectedness between the auto and utility industries that's occurring as a wave of plug-in electric cars approach car dealerships.

Plug-in hybrid or pure-electric cars promise to be cheaper to fuel up--the equivalent of $1 per gallon, Earley said. But there are a number of barriers to widespread adoption, including higher upfront costs and the potential impact on the electricity grid.

Utility executives say that adding just a few plug-in electric vehicles to an area could overload the local distribution circuit, particularly if drivers install faster 220-volt chargers at home. There have also been concerns that fueling millions of vehicles from the grid will require construction of more power plants to meet the added demand.

Utilities and auto executives say there is sufficient demand to charge vehicles in the near term with existing power plants if cars are charged at off-peak times, typically overnight. But there needs to be some products and policy changes to ensure that off-peak charging takes place en masse.

In its pledge, the Edison Electric Institute said that they will seek to install more charging stations in public places. Also, it will encourage development of policies that give consumers cheaper electricity rates at off-peak times.

Utilities are now working in a U.S. Department of Energy-sponsored program to test the impact of plug-in electric vehicles. The Edison Electric Institute also said that utilities will establish customer support and education.

DETROIT--If plug-in electric cars become popular in your neighborhood, you may face an electricity supply crunch when it comes to charging.

There have been a number of studies measuring whether the national power grid can fuel large numbers of electric vehicles. But the biggest concern regarding the impact of plug-ins is at the local level, where adding just a few vehicles could strain a local circuit, said Peter Darbee, the CEO of California utility Pacific Gas & Electric, during a talk at the Business of Plugging conference here Tuesday.

Darbee predicts that demand for plug-in vehicles will be very high, as turned out to be the case with cell phones. Based on early data, it's clear that purchasers of plug-in electric vehicles live near each other. Berkeley, California, for example, represents 18 percent of all customers in PG&E's territory while Fresno is only 2 percent.

PG&E CEO Peter Darbee; John Lauckner, General Motors' vice president of global program management; and George Pataki, former New York governor and counsel at Chadbourne & Parke, on a panel at the Business of Plugging In conference in Detroit.

(Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET)

But high concentrations of plug-in electric vehicles poses a serious challenge to utilities, Darbee said. Plug-in electric cars could draw electricity equivalent the amount needed to run one home, or up to three homes in certain places, he said.

"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," Darbee said. "So we see it as an opportunity but we also see it as a challenge of significant proportions."

Darbee said that utilities need to work with auto companies and policy makers to ensure that customers have a smooth experience and that the grid is not stressed.The utility--considered one of the most progressive in the U.S.--is also taking a number of steps to avoid potential problems.

PG&E plans to recommend that consumers have a 220-volt charging point at home, which will allow most plug-in electric cars to recharge in two or three hours, rather than six or seven hours for a regular 110-volt outlet. Although it's more convenient for consumers, that higher-voltage charging significantly boosts the draw--as much as 6.6 kilowatts.

Darbee said that PG&E is a strong endorser of plug-in electric vehicle technology because it can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions and reduce imports of foreign oil. But there is a "nightmare" scenario for utilities. That's when large numbers drivers come home on a hot day when the load is already maxed out and they turn on air conditioners and lights, and plug in their cars.

"If that (charging) were at 220 (volts), the results would be pretty dramatic and pretty negative. You would create a peak on top of the current peak load. The effect would be to bring down the electrical system if you had substantial concentrations in the area," Darbee said.

To avoid that situation, PG&E plans to offer a 220-volt charger along with a timer. The consumer would be able to get off-peak rates--called dynamic pricing--by charging between 11:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m.

Smart-grid technology, whereby homes are equipped with meters that can communicate with the utility, gives more flexibility. In that case, the utility could charge three electric cars in succession or at different rates overnight to ease the draw on a local circuit. Or the utility could offer consumers a menu of charging alternatives.

In about seven or 10 years, utilities are envisioning vehicle-to-grid capability in which a plug-in electric car owner would sell electricity from a battery back to the grid. A driver could program the system so that the stored energy is sold only at a certain price, Darbee said.

The costs of bulking up local electricity circuits should be shared by all people in a service territory, he argued. "Just like when there were hair dryers or electric driers, there was a shared cost," he said.

Microsoft, angling for a bigger piece of the utility business, said Tuesday that it has developed an architecture tailored for utility smart-grid programs.

The Smart Energy Reference Architecture (SERA) is meant to give utilities a blueprint for integrating and modernizing their IT systems. Microsoft said that its software will work with devices specific to the power industry and help utilities better handle an anticipated wave of real-time data.

Governments around the world are offering billions of dollars to entice utilities to upgrade their electricity distribution networks. These smart-grid programs can take many forms: smart meters that transmit information every few minutes to utilities; sensors on power lines to spot outages; or routers in substations to transmit information back to utilities.

In nearly every case, there's a large IT component to smart-grid programs because utilities expect to collect more usage information from customers in order to run their distribution grids more efficiently.

Earlier this year, Microsoft released Hohm, a Web application aimed at helping consumer reduce their energy use at home. A component of the application was aimed at utilities, though. One business model Microsoft is exploring is aggregating customer energy usage data and providing it to utilities looking for ways to lower electricity use during peak times.

With its utility push, Microsoft joins the large IT companies--Cisco Systems, IBM, Oracle, and SAP--that have or are developing product suites aimed at grid modernization.

NISKAYUNA, N.Y.--Modernizing the electricity grid to be a more efficient and reliable smart grid will bring a number of societal benefits. That is, if consumers are up for it.

General Electric on Tuesday hosted a symposium of utility industry executives at its research lab here, where the company showed off appliances due next year that communicate with smart meters to take advantage of cheaper electricity rates.

GE also showed off the Home Energy Manager, a device that gives consumers more details on energy consumption and a way to program their appliance preferences. For example, a person can allow the clothes dryer to go into "conservation" mode when the utility signals through the smart meter that peak prices are in effect.

Photos: GE's smart grid kitchen of the future

These sorts of goods promise to help consumers cut their utility bills without much added expense--GE forecasts its "demand response" appliances will cost about $10 more.

But industry executives still wonder whether consumers will be drawn to products like energy displays and networked appliances. And tepid acceptance of smart-grid technologies could cut short the benefits of higher grid efficiency, they said.

"There's a lot of good technology that fits into the smart-grid concept, but the challenge frankly moving forward is getting consumer acceptance, not just today but in the future," said Bryan Olnick, senior director of the Meter Service department at Florida Power & Light. The city of Miami is hoping to land government stimulus money to install smart meters through its entire city.

Olnick said giving consumers more detailed information on their usage, such as which appliances consume the most energy, is useful for consumers because it helps them find ways to conserve. But more smart-grid applications are needed to keep consumers interested and engaged over time, he said.

Peak shaving
In addition to saving an individual home's energy consumption, smart-grid technologies are supposed to deliver benefits to the grid at large. For example, better controls over the flow of energy means that more wind and solar power can be used.

Utilities and regulators are particularly keen on shaving their "peak load," which typically corresponds to the morning hours and the late afternoon to early evening. To supply electricity during high-demand periods, utilities turn to "peaker plants," which are expensive and polluting.

In New York, for example, thousands of megawatts of power generation are used only 10 percent of the time to deliver sufficient electricity during times of very high demand, such as the middle of a hot summer day when the air conditioning load shoots up.

Kevin Nolan, vice president of technology for GE's Consumer & Industrial unit, shows off GE's demand response appliances and Home Energy Manager at GE's smart grid symposium at its Global Research Center in upstate New York.

(Credit: GE)

For that reason, many smart-grid technologies, including GE's home appliances, are aimed at ratcheting down the load during peak times. A drier could get a "price signal" about peak rates via the smart meter and shift to conservation mode. The clothes will take longer to dry, but the consumer would get a discounted rate for easing the load on that grid.

But in practice, most utilities only offer a flat rate, not time-of-use pricing. And consumers will need to learn to navigate a variable pricing schedule to get any savings.

In its smart meter program announced Tuesday, Baltimore Gas & Electric, proposes giving consumers a rebate when they dial down energy use during peak times, rather than time-of-use rates.

Also, feedback systems and in-home energy displays can be daunting to many consumers. Baltimore plans on equipping homes with a small orb that turns from green to red to signal peak times.

At smart-grid conferences, there are often representatives from the AARP who voice concern over whether the elderly will be comfortable with the new technology, noted Juan de Bedout, technology leader for power conversion systems at GE research center.

"There's a big challenge in the human factors, making sure that interfacing with people works," he said. "It has to be simple."

Consumer control
Some people have also voiced concerns over privacy with smart meters and control in demand-response programs.

GE said its smart appliances can automatically shift to low-consumption mode based on a price signal from a utility. In other cases, the utility could dial down a thermostat or pool pump directly, something that some people view as intrusive.

The way to address those concerns is to ensure that data sharing and demand-response programs are voluntary, said Bob Gilligan, vice president of transmission and distribution at GE. Even though GM appliances will have a module built in to communicate with a smarter meter, consumers don't need to establish that connection, according to GE.

Images: The many faces of the smart grid

Most people will want to take a "set it and forget it" approach to home energy management, where they set up appliances according to few parameters, Gilligan said. For example, a homeowner can allow a utility to adjust the temperature on the hot water heater when nobody is home and allow the thermostat to go up 4 degrees during peak times when people are home.

In terms of data privacy, Gilligan said at this point consumers elect to send detailed usage data to the utility, but the rules on data collection aren't fully fleshed out. "There are concerns that still need to be addressed in terms of the regulatory structure," he said.

On Tuesday, GE released results of a survey done by Ipsos that found three out of five consumers in the U.K. and U.S. are interested in the pricing structure behind electricity bills. Half of the respondents in the U.S. and over one-third in the U.K. said they would be willing to pay a higher monthly rate if they were able to cut overall energy costs by 15 percent.

During a panel on Tuesday, Stan Blazewicz, the vice president of technology at utility National Grid, joked that he was surprised three out of five survey respondents claimed to know what the smart grid was. That said, it is clear that a significant number of consumers are concerned over the environment, primarily climate change.

"Consumers want to do something about the environment. They want to do the right thing, but they say they just don't know what that is," he said. "And they are looking for ways to save money."

One idea to get more solar and wind power into the grid is frozen cables buried underground.

American Superconductor, which makes superconductor wires, has developed a system to use direct current superconductor cables, which greatly reduce loss of energy during transmission. It's a way to beef up the U.S. power grid and bypass many contentious problems over siting overhead lines, according to the company.

Typically, plans to modernize the grid and meet growing demand for electricity involve adding bulk transmission lines. Also, more lines are needed to transport large amounts of solar and wind power from the west and Midwest to the load centers along the coasts. T. Boone Pickens last week said he is seeking new locations for a massive wind farm in Texas because the transmission lines are not available in panhandle region.

Underground direct current superconductor wires--a viable alternative to overhead transmission lines?

(Credit: American Superconductor)

But laying new transmission lines, in addition to be expensive, is meeting opposition from many quarters and brings up thorny debates over federal versus states rights in siting. In one case, a group of environmental advocacy groups is suing government agencies because the proposal to build transmissions lines through public lands is not well suited for transporting solar and wind power.

American Superconductor argues that superconductors get around many of those siting issues because cables can be placed underground on existing rights of way, company representative Jason Fredette said on Friday. Direct current superconductor cables are also far more efficient because there is minimal loss during transmission--only three percent. Losses today during transmission and distribution can be more than 10 percent of the energy generated, according to a 2007 Department of Energy study (click for PDF).

Superconductivity is possible when certain materials are lowered to very low temperatures, which makes the resistance drop off entirely. American Superconductor makes a ceramic wire that is cooled with liquid nitrogen circulated around the wires.

Researchers have been studying superconductive transmission lines for years and there are few installations of superconductor cables now in the U.S. for relatively short distances, a sign that utilities are more comfortable with using alternatives to aluminum or copper lines. But a long-haul direct current superconductor line is a big step from today's state of the art, Fredette said.

"The big barrier here, as with any new technology, is that electric utilities are very conservative...Now we're overcoming that obstacle with initial installations, which are relatively short runs but this superconductor pipeline is much grander in scale," he said.

In practice, the cables would be placed underground, as gas pipelines are, and have nitrogen cooling stations every seven or eight miles. Fredette said the technology is feasible but would likely need some sort of loan guarantee from U.S. government to test the system in the field.