These days, it's almost blasphemous to speak ill of the smart grid. Utilities, energy and information technology firms, car makers, and politicians at all levels practically hyperventilate when enumerating how it will revolutionize our cities and our society. We'll be able to integrate more renewable power into our power grid. Utilities will instantly know when and where breakdowns occur on their network. Electric vehicles will recharge at night when power is plentiful, and feed power back into the grid when supplies run low on hot summer afternoons. Finally, we're reminded that smart meters will encourage customers to change both the level and timing of their electricity use.
Part of the reason there's so much focus on the electricity grid is that information technology companies now seek part of the action, realizing that the energy sector represents a significant opportunity to expand beyond their traditional communications domain. The biggest names in the computer world are spending a lot of money to tell us how we'll be better off if the grid gets smarter. It's hard to argue with such a vision — who wouldn't want a more reliable grid or the promise of cheaper, cleaner power? It sounds pretty fantastic to me. But then I'm reminded that the urban energy system is highly complex, and sometimes the greatest benefit can come from simpler fixes. So in our quest for more sustainable cities, what's the right strategy to follow?
Let's start by examining the claims being made about the smart grid. There's no question electric vehicles are potentially a very good thing, but it seems reasonable to ask whether they are the best choice for cities highly reliant on coal-based power. Moreover, in some cities, emissions take a back seat to the daily hassles wrought by traffic congestion. The attempt to establish a congestion-pricing scheme in midtown Manhattan was driven largely by concerns over the billions of dollars of lost economic productivity directly attributable to the city's well known traffic jams. Is New York's economy any better off if the traffic consists of thousands of electric-powered vehicles? Or should we be spending our limited resources trying to get people out of their cars?
It also turns out that there may be easier ways to obtain significant carbon-emission reductions. Particularly in northern climates, cities use lots of energy to heat buildings or make hot water. Researchers at Columbia University have found that more widespread deployment of cogeneration technology, ground-source heat pumps, solar hot-water heaters, and improved building-insulation practices can potentially cut New York City's carbon emissions by 50% or more. Such ideas — involving old school technology — may lack the sex appeal of the smart grid, but you can hardly call them dumb.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2010/09/smart_energy_for_smart_cities.html
