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Smart Grid City, Colorado. From the article:
A smart grid is exactly what it sounds like: an “intelligent” power grid that uses broadband technology to better manage multiple sources of electricity and increase energy efficiency. In August, Xcel plans to start installing the new smart grid with its 50,000 “smart meters” that will serve about 100,000 residents. Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy picked Boulder for the pilot because the Front Range city is medium-sized and environmentally conscious. It also offers research institutions like the University of Colorado and the National Bureau of Standards and Technology, which is already involved in smart-grid research for the federal government.
Kara Mertz, assistant to the city manager in Boulder, explains that the smart grid will employ a fiber-optic loop around the city. That network will allow communication between households, the utility company and the grid about the amount and source of power in use. The system can also regulate itself. If there’s a power overload in one part of the grid, for example, it will automatically route power through different lines to prevent a shutdown. In addition, a smart grid allows a consumer to choose the power sources she wants to use – wind, solar, or coal.
The system will help consumers make more energy-efficient choices and utilize more renewable energy resources, says Ethnie Groves, spokeswoman for Xcel. “If consumers can see what their households are using on a daily basis, they’ll be better able to track their own usage and figure out ways to save money or be more efficient,” she says.
Smart meters allow consumers to adjust their home power usage automatically. “Basically,” Mertz says, “if you have a ‘smart’ appliance or a little conversion box on your outlet to work with older appliances, the smart grid can talk directly to those appliances … you can turn your dishwasher on from a distance so it runs during non-peak hours, for example.” In addition, says Mertz, the system can store power in battery stations around the city, from which consumers can draw during non-peak hours, and customers “can put power back into the grid from (their) own solar panels.”
Read Welcome to Smart Grid City, Colorado in High Country News.