Bob Gilligan, vice president-digital energy for GE Energy Services, outlined the evolution of a smarter power grid in the US and the impact this evolution could have on the economy and environment in a keynote address at the Advanced Energy 2010 Conference recently. "While revolutionary energy technologies are developed each day, the way we apply them to modernize and nurture our electrical infrastructure is really more of an evolution than a revolution," stated Gilligan.
In his view, Americans could sustain and improve their energy-dependent lifestyles even by making conservative adoptions of technology solutions. "What's important is taking steps today to lay the foundation for our growing energy appetite. We can then sustain ongoing efforts to improve our energy landscape," he said. Gilligan used conservative technology growth estimates to lay out a scenario in which the total energy usage and emissions saved by the nation between 2010 and 2030 could be more than the total electrical usage and electrical carbon dioxide output for this entire year. "The net result would be like 2010 never happened," he explained.
In Gilligan’s scenario, along with reduction in energy consumption and pollution, there will be 140,000 sustainable new jobs and an electrical landscape that has 3.3 billion fewer customer outage minutes. By 2030, these improvements in power reliability could help save $65.7 billion from reduced power interruptions. "The good news is that we are not talking gloom and doom," Gilligan said. "Our electrical future can be a story of potential, opportunity and global competitive advantage. With increased reliability, efficiency and sustainability, we'll be able to power traditional economic growth and be ready for the next generation of life-changing technology. We can do it by taking measured, affordable evolutionary steps. However, we, as a country, must act today."
Gilligan presented a number of facts to support his push for energy evolution. He said that by 2030, over 60% of the world’s population will be living in cities and they will consume a vast majority of their available power. In such a scenario, these cities cannot rely on a century old infrastructure. He also said that electricity demand worldwide is forecasted to increase 75% by 2030. Electricity generation is responsible for over 40% of the current environmental emissions. And, about half of the transformer assets making up the US electrical infrastructure are at or near the end of their design life. According to Gilligan, electric cars and increasing levels of solar and wind energy are technology-enabled advances that will take place in the near future.
