"Fashion, Trend and Behavioral Change – What are the Implications for Energy Innovation” Speaker Notes Michael Powers - May 10, 2007 |
• Important similarities
between growth of internet and newly-emerging global network of
electricity transmission lines
• 2006 saw dozens of new international grid connections, from Asia to Africa to Mediterranean and Scandinavia – even Middle East. • (3) map slides: 1) global view, 2) potential grid, 3) grid now constructed • Driver: “Net metering” -- utility customers generate their own power (e.g. solar energy) and spin their meters backwards; after a year, they pay net difference. • Driver: Electricity consumers becoming part-time producers – “pro-sumers” – and utilities shifting from “energy-making business” to “energy-moving business”… analogous to banks or telecom firms. • Driver: Electricity demand is time-sensitive. When one region is at peak demand, others at a distance are at low demand and have extra generating capacity. • Driver: Growing popularity of renewable energy, which is not “dispatchable” – can’t be switched on to meet demand. Tends to produce peaks and valleys in power supply. Transmission linkages allow surplus power to reach markets with best ROI. • Key Fallacy: Power loss makes long-distance power trading impractical. Not true. With UHV and HVDC technology, present limit for bulk power transfers is more than 4,300 mi (7,000 km) -- greater than distance from London to New York or New Delhi. • Unique properties of electricity:
• Multiple trends supporting grid growth and power pools (technical and economical) including growth of carbon markets, “smart grid” technology and superconducting transmission lines. • Focal point? East-West Energy Bridge connecting Alaska and Siberia across Bering Strait (two 26-mile connections, same as English Channel transmission link) • Long-Range Vision o Analogous to telecom, growth of energy “aggregators” buying and selling blocks of solar, wind and fuel-cell generated “premium power” (low carbon) o New IT space: hardware and software for energy management and real-time power transactions o Peer-to-Peer energy trading: homeowner in San Diego using solar to capture kilowatts for sale to homeowner in Shanghai, instantaneously o Phase-out of most inefficient, carbon-based power generation o New strategy for mitigating global warming |