Energy Biz - March/April 2008 - (Page 23) BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE BY STEVEN G. HAUSER ILLUSTR ATION BY R AY VELL A Early every morning from Bar harbor to Malibu alarm clocks go off, coffee pots turn on, lights, TVs, hair dryers begin waking up with Americans in a daily ritual that is as routine as putting on socks or combing your hair. And with the waking of Americans comes the waking of businesses, factories and farms from coast to coast as they turn on machines, motors, lights, heaters, computers, copiers, and more. While some equipment has quietly worked through the night, most wake from being idle just as their users show up for work, school, and various daily activities. This is the sign of a healthy economy that feeds our diverse and growing appetites for energy another day. We’ve become dependent on this daily routine in America, more than any other country, and largely take for granted the comfort, security and safety customarily provided. And what feeds this waking giant of an economy day in and day out? Mainly a vast, largely transparent, energy infrastructure: trainloads of coal crisscrossing the country on their daily trips from Wyoming, West Virginia and other states to thousands of behemoth power plants strategically placed next to major water sources; thousands of miles of natural gas pipelines stretching from Canada to Mexico and from California to New England; giant metal towers and wooden poles marching like soldiers across mountains and prairies alike, with millions of miles of wire draping from tower to tower and pole to pole, along streets and through neighborhoods, to the glass bubble by the back door. The electrical power grid, a massively complex machine, the largest on earth, was recently acclaimed by the National Academy of Engineering as “the most significant engineering achievement of the 20th century.” Unfortunately, we’ve taken this massive infrastructure, the power grid, somewhat for granted as it rapidly ages and as we more frequently push its physical limits with our growing demands. Those demands will continue to grow as the population increases, as the climate warms and air conditioners are needed in Vermont as well as Texas, and as computers, plasma TVs, and new electronics invade every home and business. These demands will certainly require new infrastructure, but will also require innovative new concepts and technologies to continue to drive the economy forward. Now as we begin the 21st century, it’s time to revisit this critical infrastructure and rethink its ability to drive our security and prosperity for the next 100 years. This century demands from us a different kind of electrical grid, a smarter one, one that is prepared for real-time information, countless choices, rapid decisions, and fast response. We’ve already seen the benefits this brings in other industries. While we file our taxes electronically, order books, flowers, clothes and even food online, and communicate around the world at nearly the speed of light via e-mail, we still generate and deliver electricity much the same way we have for more than a century. While it has served us well, the current grid is an antique, susceptible to power interruptions and outages that cost the www.energycentral.com E n E rgyB i z 23 http://www.energycentral.com
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