Re: [Pen-l] smart grid question

[Gar Lipow <gar.lipow@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 6/8/09, Michael Perelman <michael@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I hope that Hans is correct & Gene is wrong, but I am not sure. I have a
> sense that the bastards can find a way to turn it to their advantage & not
> to the advantage of either us or the environment.


In a way both are right. The bottom line is that there are NO
technologies that can't be manipulated by the bastards to make things
worse for us and better for them. The difference is not good
technologies and bad technogies but something almost as
oversimplified: bad technologies and neutral technologies. :Bad
technologies are things like coal where no matter how it is deployed
the negatives overwhelm the positives. While a whole herd of magic
pony breakthroughs could be imagined to change that no technology we
actually know how to deploy, nor any likely near-term breakthroughs
could let us mine and burn coal responsibly.  That includes carbon
capture and storage, "clean coal" and the other bullshit that is often
offered as path to "responsible" coal burning.  On the other hand a
"smart grid" can be used for either good or bad purposes. It can be
used for manipulating prices as Gene says, though as Enron showed,
when allowed that can be done fine without it. Since it can be used to
increase the percent of demand that is baseload, it can increase the
percent of coal and nuclear in the grid. (:Both are capital intensive
and thus offer the greatest rate of return to investors when used to
provide baseload power, because that provides the fastest amortization
of pricey capital investments.)    But a smart grid can also shape
demand to match supply in general - which can be used to increase the
amount of wind energy a grid can accept. Even when demand can't be
shaped, a smart grid can anticipate demand better, lowering the amount
of spinning reserves needed, thus actually lowering total generation
by .5 % to 2% .  One difference is that while a smart grid can aid
variety of bad causes, it is not a requirement for any of them.But if
we are going to produce 60% or more of our electricity from variable
sources like wind and sun, a smart grid is a necessity. Without a
smart grid (and for that matter without long distance transmission)
you need unacceptably expensive levels of storage  (which by the way
can also enable increased use of coal or nuclear) or you end up with
renewable energy as a fuel saver while most electricity comes from
carbon intensive sources.   In short, a smart grid is a neutral
technology deployable for either good or evil purposes. But renewable
energy needs it a lot more than the big boys do.
_______________________________________________
pen-l mailing list
pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l