The Future Grid

My friend Navid just sent me this cool link to a video on the piezo effect (where you can generate electricity from vibration) that got me thinking about the energy grid of the future. (http://www.flixxy.com/piezo-effect.htm) It will be more complex and more fantastic than what most people can envision today. Our country will not run just on coal & gas but it won't run just on solar either. There is no magic bullet. The grid of the future will be everywhere. We will make power in ways we don't think of now. Some things we might expect:

- There will be an energy efficiency revolution. The cost of saving energy through efficiency improvements is currently about once cent per KWh. Compare that with 6-12 cents to buy it off the grid and this is already a smart idea. Common sense will catch up to us and we will see a major shift in the priority we place on building and product efficiency.
- Coal and gas will still be used, but more for evening out rough spots in the rest of the grid - like spackle on a wall. Clean coal technologies will dramatically reduce the pollution from these plants.
- Conventional renewables (like solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal) will come down radically in price (thanks largely to DOE's long-term, high-risk research) and we will see these sources everywhere - from large centralized power plants in rural areas (like wind tubrines on farm land and solar plants in the desert) to PV roof shingles on every home.
- Solar energy in particular will increase in efficiency and become pervasive and near invisible. Next generation PV house paints will turn any structure into a solar collector and even personal items like backpacks or jackets will serve to wirelessly recharge our personal devices.
- Next generation renewables (like wave & tidal power, cellulosic ethanol, enhanced geothermal, and radical new designs in wind generators) will radically expand our opportunities to capitolize on natural renewable resources like the forces of the sun and moon.
- We will recapture energy that we expend in amazing new ways. From today's "combined heat and power" approaches and regenerative braking found on today's hybrid cars we will discover new ways of recapturing our energy expenditures (see the piezo effect video above for an example). Much like the machines in the movie The Matrix, we will find ways to create power from everyday human behavior (think of how much energy your local gym could supply by turning every exercise bike into a generator!).
- The power system in every building will no longer be one-way. Plugs will have the ability to deliver power or receive it. Every building will be set up to take power from the grid or feed power onto the grid when it is generating a surplus.
- Other technological advances will pave the way for the grid I'm describing. High temperature superconductivity will allow us to generate electricity where it's abundant and deliver it anywhere in the country with almost zero loss due to resistance. Nanotechnology will allow us to greatly increase the efficiency of heat transfer, making power systems more efficient. New composite materials will allow us to build bigger, stronger, lighter planes and wind turbines. Battery storage advances will mean an end to dirty internal combustion engines and a birth to electric cars that can go further, faster, safer than cars of today. These technologies (plus dozens I don't know about) will change the way electric power moves about in our society.

All this is fantastic, but we cannot count on all of this to happen naturally (no matter how much the Bush administration tells you it will). Developing these technologies will require considerable additional funding for Federal and state research, development, and deployment programs. It will require an end to oil & gas subsidies and long-term market support for renewables. It will require public education to show people what role they can play in transforming our energy behavior. It will require an effort as broad as Amercia's resolve in the two World Wars. It will require an urgency and focus equivalent to the Manhattan or Apollo projects. It will require consistency and dedication. It does not require that we wreck our economy - on the contrary, by becoming a leader in energy technologies, America can benefit from the global shift that will take place in this sector.

I don't need to outline the consequences of doing nothing. If you've been paying attention, you already know. I gues you could say I am gravely concerned about our direction but extremely enthusiastic about our potential.