Energy Exchange

Smart Meters Are Key To A Smart Grid

By Cassandra Ely / Published: July 26, 2012

Cassandra Brunette is a research associate in EDF’s Office of Chief Scientist.

Source: PG&E

A well-designed smart grid is critical to the clean energy revolution we need – enabling significantly greater use of clean, renewable, domestic energy resources and improved air quality to protect the health of millions of Americans now harmed by dangerous air pollution.

Smart meters are a key component of the smart grid.  They unlock air quality, climate pollution and public health benefits by enabling two-way, real-time communication that gives households, small businesses, manufacturers and farmers (and the utilities that serve them) the information they need to cut energy use and electricity costs.  These devices help ensure that every day energy users reap the many benefits of the smart grid.

However, as a recent PBS NewsHour report explained, some activist groups and individuals in areas where smart meters have been deployed have expressed concerns over exposure to radio frequencies (RFs) resulting from the use  of this technology.  EDF supports further research and opt-out programs for those concerned.  But what is missing from the PBS report is a clear account of the current, available scientific evidence on smart meters and health.  EDF uses the best available science in all of its programs, and our smart grid initiative is no exception.

I am a member of EDF’s science team out of the San Francisco Bay Area and have dug deep into the peer-reviewed literature on health effects of smart meters, as well as independent assessments by agencies and industry groups and reports from government agencies.  Here is what we know:

Research shows that every day humans come into contact with RFs from a wide variety of sources, including – but not limited to – wireless or cellular phones, microwaves, wireless internet routers, hair dryers, baby monitors and wireless laptops.  Each has varying levels of exposure that depend on the technology and – importantly – on distance from the source.

One example in our daily lives is the use of a cell phone.  A study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) found that during a call, cell phones held at the ear generate exposure levels between 1000-5000 microwatts per square centimeter (µW/cm2).  In comparison, when transmitting, smart meters create exposure levels of approximately 8.8 µW/cm2.  And that’s if a person is standing right in front of the meter.  In homes and businesses, people are much farther away from their electric meter, so exposure levels are far lower.  This means that a cell phone call exposes a person to hundreds of times more RFs than a transmitting smart meter.  Moreover, smart meters only transmit signals roughly 2-5% of the day (approximately 30-70 minutes).

Source: CCST

The chart to the right (units in µW/cm2), from a report by the California Council on Science and Technology, puts smart meters in context with other RF emitting technologies.  Keep in mind that this chart compares smart meters at a hypothetical maximum exposure level with transmission occurring during 100% of the day.  Even at these hypothetical maximums, exposure from smart meters is significantly lower than other technologies already in use.

Assessments also show that impacts from RFs come in two forms, thermal (heat-related) and non-thermal.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sets safety standards for thermal impacts.  Smart meter exposure levels fall well below the FCC’s limits for safety for thermal impacts.  As for non-thermal impacts, the cumulative impacts of low-dose, long-term exposure are uncertain.  To date, there is no scientific evidence of non-thermal impacts from smart meter RF emissions.  EDF supports continued research on any possible health impacts of all RF emitters, but given the current standard for thermal impacts and uncertainties of non-thermal impacts, there is no evidence that the public would benefit from additional standards.

EDF’s number one priority is environmental and public health safety.  We advocate for a “smart grid done right” to quote a message by EDF’s President Fred Krupp, and we are not alone in this effort.  Though the PBS NewsHour story references “environmentalists” broadly opposed to a smarter grid, EDF is one of many environmental organizations strongly advocating for grid modernization as the clear path to lessening our dependence on fossil fuels and moving us toward a clean, healthy, low-carbon energy system.  Our science team will continue thorough assessments of the best available science on this topic and our work with utilities, regulators and the smart grid industry to protect the environment and the health of customers.

For more information on the many benefits of the smart grid, please view EDF’s fact sheet here.

Posted in Grid Modernization / Tagged | Read 14 Responses

Big Data – Launch Pad For Big Ideas

By Andy Darrell / Published: July 13, 2012

Source: TechCrunch

When the internet came along, it transformed our relationship to big data – unleashing innovation, markets and, yes, funny dog videos at a global scale.  “Big data” is all the rage these days in the energy sector, as investors, utilities and consumers wake up to what smart use of data can do for them.

A few weeks ago, I posted about Clean Heat – a project in which organizing data about buildings attracted nearly $100 million to finance upgrades to cleaner heating systems.  If we can cut soot pollution from heating oil in New York City 50% by 2013 with the power of open data  … what opportunities might be out there at even bigger scales?

This week, EDF teamed up with the White House, Google and HonestBuildings to pull together a “data jam” at Google’s New York City headquarters in the impossibly hip meatpacking district of Manhattan.  Todd Park, U.S. Chief Technology Officer, kicked of a brainstorm among  tech entrepreneurs, energy experts, finance whizzes, web designers and government agencies, to answer this question:  if government makes its energy data open and computer-friendly, what could entrepreneurs invent to “improve energy outcomes for families and businesses?”

For six hours, we divided up into teams and jammed on this question, inspired by the extraordinary public data sets squirreled away in federal, state and city agencies on topics from energy efficiency to power plant pollution, electricity markets, transportation and health.   The jam session generated at least ten great ideas, ranging from consumer energy apps to ways to save money on your commute.  Teams are coalescing around these ideas – and similar ideas developed earlier this year at a similar data jam at Stanford.   The goal is to turn the most promising ones into prototypes over the next 90 days. 

Whether any of these ideas make it to market, it’s too early to tell.  But if this group can generate so many prototype-worthy ideas in one afternoon, imagine what could happen if consumers, students, entrepreneurs, businesses and families across the country were empowered to harness “big data” to find the best ways to save money, cut pollution and improve quality of life?   

It worked for the internet.  It worked for smart phones.  Now let’s see if it can work for energy and pollution.  I’m hoping to be back in 90 days to tell you about the great idea the folks in my sub-group are developing to increase investor confidence in energy efficiency.  Stay tuned.

Also posted in New York / Read 3 Responses

Electric Utilities – An Industry In Transition

By Greg Andeck / Published: July 11, 2012

The recent merger of Duke Energy and Progress Energy represents yet another turning point for the electric utility sector, with significant implications for public health and the environment.  Duke’s six-state footprint – Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, North Carolina and South Carolina – offers it an opportunity to lead the way on clean energy deployment.  The question is: Will the new Duke Energy – now the largest utility in the country – harness its size and scale to accelerate investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy, or stay anchored to the past?  EDF’s partnerships with Wal-Mart, FedEx and McDonalds have shown that when large companies are motivated, they are a powerful force for change.  But change doesn’t come easily.  It requires vision, leadership and a constant willingness to innovate.

This is true not just for Duke Energy, but for electric utilities around the country.  Over the past two years, four of the five largest investor-owned utilities have experienced a merger or change in the CEO role – AEP, Duke, Exelon and Southern Co.  The steps taken by these companies and their leadership will have a profound impact on our antiquated electric utility grid, human health and the environment.  The most visionary utility companies will do three things exceedingly well: 

1.       Get out ahead of environmental regulation

In 2002, Duke Energy supported efforts to tackle power plant pollution in North Carolina by supporting the “Clean Smokestacks Act.”  Xcel Energy followed a similar model in Colorado and endorsed the “Clean Air Clean Jobs Act.”  These landmark laws significantly accelerated clean-up of the dirtiest power plants in those two states and made it possible for the utilities to recover the costs of their investments.  It also enabled Duke and Excel to take early steps to modernize their fleets and prepare for future federal clean air requirements.  As a result of early actions, both companies are well-positioned for EPA’s recent Clean Air Rules – unlike the utility giant AEP, which continues to delay critical human health protections.  The world’s most successful companies skate to where the puck is headed, not to where it is, and are more competitive as a result.

2.       Treat efficiency and smart grid investments as new revenue centers, not side projects

The fact is that most electric utilities still see energy efficiency investments as side projects separate from their core business – generating power.  Without state building codes or energy efficiency standards in place, utility investment in energy efficiency remains low.  The reason is simple.  Even in states with decoupled rate structures in place, building nuclear plants is more profitable than energy efficiency projects.  Large generating plants require a large investment with a guaranteed rate of return over a long project lifetime.  In comparison, energy efficiency projects are generally small, often have an uncertain return and a short project life.  EDF is working with leading energy companies and regulators to craft new incentive models that make efficiency investments attractive, but utility companies must be willing to fundamentally alter their business models.      

3.       See competition as opportunity

Even in highly regulated markets, new market entrants and competitors are beginning to change the face of utilities with strong monopoly power.  The costs of solar panels have dropped by over a third in the past few years, making solar energy cost competitive with retail electricity prices in many parts of the country.  Companies like SolarCity are even financing and then leasing solar systems to home owners, enabling cash-strapped customers to reduce their dependence on the grid.  Hundreds of companies now exist to help all kinds of customers reduce their energy bills and dependence on electric utilities.  (I should know – I just insulated my attic and crawl space – and am already benefitting from lower electric bills.) 

Utility companies that help bring energy efficiency and renewable energy to market can retain ownership of environmental attributes (like renewable energy credits) and earn new revenue streams.  Otherwise, those benefits are likely to go to third parties or customers.  Smart utilities recognize the threat that this small, yet growing base of companies provides to their business model, and aim to bring technologies and services to market faster than new competitors.  Rather than trying to delay the inevitable, savvy utility leaders make their companies part of the solution – and profit from doing so.  Companies like San Antonio’s CPS Energy are making this idea a reality through partnerships with a wide range of service providers.

The next generation of electric utilities and their leaders must run their businesses differently than their predecessors or risk being left behind.  Just like the once monopoly-oriented telecom industry, those companies that are willing to adapt and transition to this new energy paradigm will prosper and be well rewarded.

Also posted in Climate, Energy Efficiency, North Carolina, Utility Business Models / Read 1 Response

A Dynamic Approach To California Energy Use

By Jamie Fine / Published: July 5, 2012

This commentary was originally posted on the EDF California Dream 2.0 Blog.

Californians are poised for a more functional, data-driven model for setting the prices people pay for electricity.  The new model will make the massive differences in costs of providing electricity during the course of a typical day more evident to us as energy users, thereby inspiring more efficient use of electricity resources.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) started a rulemaking to examine if the current rate structure for residential energy users is fair and equitable across customer classes and if it:

  • supports statewide-energy goals;
  • facilitating technologies that enable customers to better manage their usage and bills;
  • enables conservation and efficiency on the customer side of the meter; and
  • increases the reliance on non-fossil based generation to reduce overall greenhouse gas emissions.

We know already that the short answer is “no”, so CPUC is eyeing a transition to time variant (“dynamic”) rates.  According to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), with time variant, or what is often referred to as “time-of-use”, pricing – rates “will be higher during summer weekday afternoons when electric demand is higher, typically noon to 6 p.m., May through October. In return you’ll pay lower rates at all other times. This means that when you use energy is just as important as how much you use.” 

EDF’s Energy team has been, and will continue to be, closely involved in the CPUC’s rulemaking, which will examine several facets of the current system.  EDF has also been involved in the related smart grid proceedings, such as the deployment of smart grid infrastructure – which provides the ability to both measure energy use in real time and inform customers about the costs (and environmental impacts) of their choices to use electricity at different times of the day.  This Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) enables a smoother transition to dynamic rates for residential consumers.

EDF is very encouraged that the CPUC is considering  time variant pricing because it will help consumers to be more thoughtful about their energy usage, particularly at times when demand is peaking and pushing electricity supply sources to their limits.  This type of rate structure can encourage conservation and reduce peak demand while providing customers with more choices that can ultimately lower their monthly bills.  For example, allowing consumers to see how much they can save on their electric bills by reducing their energy use during peak hours will encourage a shift of energy-intensive activities, such as washing and drying clothing and dishes, to off-peak (and less expensive) times of the day. 

Because a dynamic pricing system will alleviate pressure on the electric grid during peak demand, it will also lead to a more stable, less expensive energy system that is increasingly resilient to extreme weather events.  The economic motivation should also help to create an easy way for consumers to make decisions more efficiently, thereby lowering their electric bills and shrinking their environmental footprints.   

Futhermore, dynamic pricing can help integrate renewables and electric vehicles into the electric grid by allowing utilities to respond to price signals more effectively.  For example, time-of-use rates support electric vehicle charging at times when grid resources aren’t strained, such as late at night or early in the morning when most people are sleeping. 

This new approach will facilitate conservation and energy efficiency, as well as an increase in the use of clean energy sources that avoid harmful greenhouse gas and urban air pollution.   If adopted, the dynamic pricing model can be a common sense approach to saving energy and money, while promoting energy efficiency and a smarter, “greener,” electric grid country-wide.

Also posted in California, Energy Efficiency, Time of Use / Read 3 Responses

Postcard from Mark Brownstein in Ramallah, Palestinian Territory

By Mark Brownstein / Published: June 22, 2012

Many environmentalist believe that the ideal landscape is one untouched by human hands, and we fight tenaciously to protect unspoiled places from all manner of intrusion.   Yet sometimes landscapes are inspiring precisely because of human action.  Etched upon the Judean Hills is evidence of over a millennium of human activity, and this ancient record enhances their beauty.  The biblical origins of environmentalism are found in Genesis 2:15 where God places man in the Garden of Eden to till and tend it, and driving through hills lined with ancient terraces you can almost hear the voices of a thousand generations whispering “amen.”

I believe that Thoreau was the first to offer the idea that a walk though unspoiled nature restores our souls, but no matter who first said it, I believe it.  But I also believe we were not put on this earth only to contemplate it, and so, how we choose to make use of nature is as important to our spiritual health as the fact that we appreciate it. 

On the outskirts of Ramallah, in the Palestinian Territories, the planned community of Rawabi is rising from the Judean Hills.  When you first arrive there it looks like any other construction site, and you recoil at how significantly the landscape is being scraped and shaped for what looks like just another housing development in the middle of the wilderness.  You recoil, that is, until you meet Amir Dajani, a large, jovial man, who is deputy director of what is this large project.  Dajani talks like a man on a mission, and he is.  The purpose of Rawabi is to establish a town that, in all respects, reflects a new and progressive vision for a Palestinian state.  Rawabi is being developed according to a master plan that takes into consideration all aspects of what makes for a quality life.  The vision statement for the development is “live, work, grow” and this reflects the fact that the developers are thinking about all aspects of what makes for a liveable community, and they are taking steps to ensure that this is a place where Palestinians of different ages, religions, and occupations can build a comfortable and secure life.  The hope is that Rawabi becomes a replicable model for building other similar communities on the West Bank.

Sustainability is at the heart of everything being done at Rawabi, from the site plan that honors the natural contours of site to the buildings which are efficient and make use of the ample solar energy available in the region.  Waste water will be fully recycled to support location-appropriate greenery, and smart grid technology will be deployed to help manage water and energy use.  Rawabi will be a city with free public transportation and a walkable town center where cars will not be required.  For those who believe that smarter land use is a necessary aspect of a sustainable, low carbon future, Rawabi is an exciting experiment in the making.

But perhaps most remarkable is how the Palestinian developers are reaching out to Israeli Jews for advice on the design and development of this project.  Israel itself was inspired by a utopian vision of a better future, and hopefully there is some healing that comes from Jewish expertise and experience helping to lay the foundation of an environmentally and economically sustainable Palestinian state alongside the Jewish one.  There are a thousand reasons why this all ultimately may not work, only some of which pertain to the environmental challenges being tackled here.  But the hope is that in tilling and tending this bit of earth properly, the seeds of a better future will begin to blossom for everybody.

This will be my last post card.  Tomorrow we spend time at the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and tour the Old City of Jerusalem, both of which are infused with much personal meaning, but something I’ll choose to keep private. 

L’hitraot, chaverim.  Looking forward to seeing you all stateside.

Posted in Grid Modernization / Read 2 Responses

Postcard From Mark Brownstein In Sderot, Israel

By Mark Brownstein / Published: June 20, 2012

(Credit: www.allnumis.com)

“Remember, when you hear the siren, you have 15 seconds to find cover.”  Such is life in the southern Israel town of Sderot only a few kilometers away from the Gaza Strip.  Fortunately, for my tour, today’s rocket attacks fell on the outskirts of town and did not affect our visit.  Israelis often point to such events as the reason why environmental issues are often not very high on the public policy agenda.  How hard is it to spend any time thinking about global warming, when there are more tangible and immediate threats confronting you?

And yet, global warming is having an immediate and tangible impact here as well.  Our visit to Sderot came after a tour of Israel’s largest desalination plant located in the neighboring town of Ashkelon on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.  Israel is chronically short of water, consuming 2 billion cubic meters of water per year where the nation’s natural hydrology is capable of producing, on average, 1.2 billion cubic meters per year, according to Abraham Tenne, head of the Desalination Division of the Israel Water Authority.  Mr. Tenne was blunt in reporting the facts.  The Israel Water Authority expects average rainfall to decline by 15 percent by 2040, while Israel’s population is expected to continue to grow by 1.7 percent each year.  The drought of 2008, where rainfall was only 65 percent of the current average, was a powerful reminder that today’s water situation is bad, and unchecked, it will only get worse. 

Mr. Tenne is understandably proud of the building or upgrades to Israel’s three desalination facilities, which are key to solving the problem, but he is quick to remind us that, as important as this technology is to Israel’s future, it is a last resort.  Israel’s consumption of 2 billion cubic meters of water by a population of roughly 8 million stands in sharp contrast to Arizona’s consumption of 8 billion cubic meters of water by a population of roughly 7 million.  He visited Arizona last year for an international water conference where he was asked to speak on desalination, and was shocked to see flood irrigation – the practice of watering crops by flooding the field – commonly practiced.  He contrasts this with Israel, where drip irrigation is standard practice for 95 percent of all agricultural production, and where the amount of water used is precisely controlled by technology that monitors the moisture at the root of the plant, delivering only what is required to maintain healthy growth.  He then tells us about London, which just inaugurated its first desalination plant, while doing little to fix the local water system where 40 percent of the water flowing through the system is lost to leaks.  And then, for the second time in two days, I hear of smart grid technology being deployed in Israel to pinpoint leaks.

Although recent discoveries of significant natural gas reserves off the Israeli coast suggest that Israel may be able to completely wean itself off coal, over 35 percent of the nation’s installed electric generation capacity comes from coal-fired power plants, including one right next door to the Ashkelon desalination plant we visited today.  But even when the desalination process is driven by natural gas-fired power plants, as this facility is (it generates its own electricity and actually sells some excess production back to the grid) the fact of the matter is that Israel’s total water system – not just desalination, but the pumps necessary to move water around the country – consumers 6 percent of the total electricity produced in Israel.  Thus, the battle to conserve water is also a battle to save energy, which in turn is a battle to avoid carbon emissions that contribute to global warming, and make Israel’s water situation worse.

We are spending tomorrow with some of Israel’s leading experts in solar energy, but already I am wondering why a nation so obviously blessed with ample, strong sunlight, seems to have so little invested in deploying solar power.  Solar hot water heaters have been required here since 1980, and as my friend, and EDF consultant, Roger Duncan, often reminds me, solar hot water heating is often the most overlooked cost-effective solar technology, but given Israel’s pressing challenge of finding both secure and sustainable supplies of electricity, the government’s policy of 10 percent renewable energy by 2020 seems incredibly modest.  A nation with the determination and technological prowess to erect the world’s most sophisticated missile defense system surely should be able to do better and tomorrow will be about finding out why not.

Also posted in Natural Gas, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed