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10.08

Industry Moving Forward with Smart Grid, Academia Stuck in 20th Century

By Patrick Meyer

The ultimate goal of most smart grid initiatives is a complete revolution of the electric power industry, institutions, technologies, and the complex machine on which these rely — the grid. Smart grid initiatives seek a metamorphosis of the grid by undertaking actions to make it more secure, robust, reliable, intelligent, responsive, distributed, controlled, and environmentally-friendly.

Smart grid initiatives are almost entirely industry-driven. People based in academia — like myself — will be hard-pressed to find an institution from which they can learn all there is to learn about smart grid in one single helping. While industry charges headfirst into the first round of smart grid initiatives, the overall support of academia has wavered and been unimpressively contributory. Thus, the best source of information on smart grid — other than a degree in electrical engineering — is through IEEE and industry-organized conferences

But before we can go any further, we need a definition of the concept of smart grid.

Inconsistency abounds among definitions of smart grid. Further, existing definitions are often biased towards certain sectors of the electric industry, depending on what type of organization is providing the definition. Some definitions are oriented towards the end-use consumer of electricity and the specific technologies which could be made available to them through smart grid programs. Other definitions neglect the end-user and are focused on technical aspects of generation, transmission, and distribution technologies. Some definitions can be very precise, focusing on one specific area, while others are broad, focusing on sweeping changes of the entire electric industry.

In the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (H.R.6), the United States Congress defines a smart grid as an advanced system that includes: (1) increased use of information controls; (2) optimization of grid operations and resources; (3) use of distributed resources and renewable energy; (4) development and integration of demand response, demand-side resources, energy-efficiency resources, smart appliances, advanced electricity storage, peak-shaving technologies, smart metering, advanced communications, and distribution automation; (5) transfer of information to consumers in a timely manner to allow for personalized control decisions; and (6) development of standards for the communication and interoperability of appliances and equipment connected to the electric grid (Abel, 2007; H.R.6., 2007).

Amin and Wollenberg (2005) define smart grid as a system which uses independent processors in each component, substation and power plant. These processors must have a robust operating system and be able to act as independent agents that can communicate and cooperate with others, forming a large distributed computing platform. Amin and Wollenberg explain that the smart grid would be plug-and-play compatible; when a new component is connected to the substation, information will be automatically entered to the central computer system database. Further, the smart grid would be able to self-heal; the grid components would be treated as individual components and independent intelligent agents with sensors and activators able to diagnose and locally respond to problems before they affect global performance.

Smart grid initiatives envision an advanced electricity generation, transmission and distribution system which is capable of self-diagnosing and self-healing; incorporates numerous advanced technologies at all stages of the electricity supply chain; and focuses on efficiency, affordability and environmental quality. The list of advanced technologies to be incorporated into the ultimate smart grid is lengthy. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) has grouped smart grid technologies into five areas:

• Integrated communications consists of technologies such as broadband over powerline, fiber to the home, and hybrid fiber coax (HFC) architecture, all of which will serve as the foundation for intelligent electronic devices (IEDs), smart meters, and advanced control center technology (NETL, 2007d).
   

• Sensing and measurement technologies consist of wide-area monitoring systems, dynamic line rating technologies, fiber-optic temperature monitoring systems, and special protection systems (NETL, 2007e).
   

• Advanced components consist of technologies such as fuel cells, microgrid technologies, ultracapacitors, and NaS batteries (NETL, 2007a).
   

• Advanced control methods consist of digital protective relays, substation and distribution automation, dynamic distributed power control devices, and weather prediction and integration tools (NETL, 2007b).
   

• Improved interfaces and decision support technologies affect a person’s ability to interface and work with the grid, and include the most advanced smart grid applications, such as artificial intelligence-driven data reduction, holographic video and advanced speech recognition (NETL, 2007c).

To the average student, many of these technologies sound ground-breaking, cutting-edge and potentially rewarding. But the truth of the matter is that the industry is a long way from integrating many, if not most, of these technologies on a large scale. Much more research is needed prior to the mainstream application of the vast majority of smart grid technologies. Even when the technologies are ready to be implemented, the first-movers are often faced with policy hurdles that hinder full implementation. Policy issues remain one of the most significant obstacles to the development of smart grid technologies. Current state- and federal-level policy is not set up to optimally promote smart grid initiatives. That is, current policy restricts the eligibility of smart grid incentives to only certain classes of customers; restricts the quantity of energy efficiency savings that a customer could realize; prevents some customers from receiving credit for excess electricity; charges discriminatory or unclear fees; and demands unreasonable, opaque or redundant requirements (NNEC, 2007). Such policy barriers must be solved before the industry can hope to implement smart grid initiatives on a wide scale.

How to Learn More about the Smart Grid

To learn more about the smart grid today, individuals must rely upon industry and government resources, rather than academic. A number of industry- and government-sponsored smart grid initiatives are worthy of investigation. For example, EPRI’s IntelliGrid initiative is a consortium of utilities, power companies, public service companies, and state-owned organizations focusing on smart grid implementation. The group focuses its research on grid architecture/infrastructure, self-healing algorithms, communications/interconnection, and advanced monitoring systems. Similarly, DOE’s Modern Grid Initiative is primarily a demonstration program involving national and regional industry and government stakeholders. A third initiative, the GridWise Alliance, is a consortium of public and private stakeholders focused on information technology’s ability to transform the planning and operation of the power grid. The program seeks to utilize the grid as an “information superhighway” supporting a smart, dynamic, flexible, plug-and-play environment (EPRI, 2006).

The IEEE has also been involved with the research, development, planning, and early stages of implementation of the smart grid. The most recent — and potentially most notable — IEEE action is the creation of the Intelligent Grid Coordination Committee under the auspices of the Power and Energy Society (PES). Formerly a PES subcommittee, the group was recently elevated to committee status in light of recent national interest in smart grid developments. Countless members of the IEEE community will be watching the new committee as it takes its first actions towards organizing a smart grid movement among IEEE members.

There are dozens of IEEE Societies, committees, and subcommittees that work in areas that are relevant to the smart grid. Some examples are the PES Intelligent Systems Applications Subcommittee, the Power Electronic Society (PELS) Standards Committee, the Industrial Electronics Society (IES) Building Automation, Control, and Management Committee, and the Industry Applications Society (IAS) Appliance Industry Committee, to name but a few. Additional entities, such as the IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee (EPC), are engaged in ongoing discussions and analysis of smart grid developments.

Smart grid offerings from academia are scarce, but it should be noted that most — if not all — colleges and engineering departments offer classes which focus on one or multiple smart grid element. The problem is that the current national educational curriculum on smart grid is piecemeal at best. To date, there appear to be no courses specifically focused on the smart grid concept. Douglas Houseman, of Capgemini Consultants, suggests that there simply are no programs dedicated to smart grid at any level. As he says, the smart grid “is an open hole that someone needs to build a program around.”

Given the dearth of offerings, today’s students must diversify to learn about smart grid. Consider, for example, UC Berkeley, which offers a 2-credit Climate Action Course on climate change mitigation through the use of technologies such as co-generation and smart grid applications. Or consider Penn State’s Power Engineering Technical Modules; aimed at continuing education, the one- or multi-day modules provide training to industry engineers. One module is specifically on “smart metering/demand response/smart grid” and covers advanced metering infrastructures, demand response technologies, broadband over powerlines, etc.

Often, smart grid is taught in non-traditional ways. The Information Trust Institute (ITI), for example, hosts a course on Cyber Security for Process Control Systems. Sponsored by the ITI and the University of Illinois, this summer session course for graduate students discusses real-world control system security problems. Three of the 15 sessions are dedicated to smart grid issues, with guest speakers from EPRI, EnerNex and Gehrs Consulting. Instead of having an engineering base, all of the sessions approach the issue from a security perspective. Lastly, consider Colorado State University’s clean energy innovations course. Focused specifically on the local success of Fort Collins, Colorado, the course covers numerous clean energy innovations including biofuels, solar energy, engines and energy conversion, green buildings, and smart grid technologies.

IEEE conferences provide invaluable information on the smart grid through the numerous conferences which is hosts, sponsors, or co-sponsors. For example, the recently completed Third International Conference on Electric Utility Deregulation and Restructuring and Power Technologies and the Power Systems Conference, 2008: Advanced Metering, Protection, Control, Communications, and Distributed Resources hosted presentations on many of the technologies embodied in the smart grid. Upcoming conferences on the topic include International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems, IEEE Energy 2030, or the IEEE International Symposium on Power Line Communications and its Applications.

Smart grid, the future of the electric power industry, and public education of related areas is a subject in need of more aggressive IEEE leadership. James Gover, member of the IEEE-USA Energy Policy Committee, argues that “IEEE should play a much larger role in electrical engineering education.” Gover says that “electrical engineering educators are not stepping up to the plate and leading energy education integration into electrical engineering curricula.” Whereas mechanical and chemical engineering departments are revolutionizing and providing a modern curriculum, Gover feels that electrical engineering is stuck in the 20th century due to its attachment to electronics.

What electrical engineering is really in the need of, according to Gover, is strong leadership by IEEE in advancing electrical engineering departments into the 21st century. It could even be possible, argues Gover, that such advancements would mean the development of an entire new educational program at the undergraduate level. The program could be dubbed “Energy System Engineering,” and would take an interdisciplinary approach towards electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering, with additional focus on economics and public policy. Such a program could focus on advanced, 21st-century innovations and visions such as a national smart grid.

Smart grid is an exciting vision, with its roots in the 20th century, and implementation possible in the early years of the 21st century. The electric industry is moving towards implementation, but, it seems that academia is lagging behind. A student of electrical engineering would likely learn all that there is to learn about smart grid in a piecemeal fashion over years of undergraduate and graduate schooling, but non-engineering students will find it very difficult to educate themselves on the smart grid vision. For now, people interested in smart grid can gain the most valuable information through conferences, many of which are sponsored or co-sponsored by IEEE. It is likely only a matter of time before IEEE organizes a regularly-occurring symposium on smart grid. IEEE members and the public-at-large eagerly await the day.

References

A. Abel, CRS Report for Congress: Smart Grid Provisions in H.R.6, 110th Congress, Congressional Research Service, Washington, D.C., 2007.

M. Amin & B.F. Wollenberg, "Toward a smart grid: Power delivery for the 21st Century," IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, 3(5), pp. 34-41, 2005.

EPRI. (2006). Profiling and Mapping of Intelligent Grid R&D Programs: Final Report. Palo Alto, California: Electric Power Research Institute.

H.R.6. (2007). Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. Washington, DC: 110th Congress of the United States of America.

NETL. (2007a). A Systems View of the Modern Grid: Advanced Components. Pittsburgh, PA: US DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory.

NETL. (2007b). A Systems View of the Modern Grid: Advanced Control Methods. Pittsburgh, PA: US DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory.

NETL. (2007c). A Systems View of the Modern Grid: Improved Interfaces and Decision Support. Pittsburgh, PA: US DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory.

NETL. (2007d). A Systems View of the Modern Grid: Integrated Communications. Pittsburgh, PA: US DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory.

NETL. (2007e). A Systems View of the Modern Grid: Sensing and Measurement. Pittsburgh, PA: US DOE National Energy Technology Laboratory.

NNEC. (2007). Freeing the Grid: 2007 Edition; Report No. 02-07, November 2007. New York, NY: Network for New Energy Choices.

Patrick E. Meyer is IEEE-USA Today's Engineer Government Relations Editor, and a doctoral student at the University of Delaware. Comments may be submitted to todaysengineer@ieee.org.

Opinions expressed are the author's.