“The estimated annual cost to society of the outdated U.S. grid is $206 billion per year.”

How We Use Energy

Chapter Thirteen

The Super Grid

p. 274 the National Academy of Engineering described it as
George Constable and Bob Somerville, A Century of Innovation: Twenty Engineering Achievements That Transformed Our Lives (Joseph Henry Press, 2003).

National Academy of Engineering, “Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century,” last accessed November 3, 2009. Available at http://www.greatachievements.org/
p. 274 in early 2009 when President Obama formally proposed
Peter Slevin and Steven Mufson, “Stimulus Dollars Energize Efforts to Smarten Up the Electric Power Grid,” The Washington Post, March 10, 2009. Available at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030902712.html
p. 274 The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) for the U.S. Department of Energy proposed
National Energy Technology Laboratory, A Vision for the Modern Grid (U.S. DOE, March 2007): 4. Available at http://www.netl.doe.gov/moderngrid/docs/A%20Vision%20for%20the%20Modern%20Grid_Final_v1_0.pdf
p. 277 according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Kristina Hamachi LaCommare and Joseph H. Eto, Cost of Power Interruptions to Electricity Consumers in the United States (U.S.) (Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, February 2006). Available at http://www.netl.doe.gov/moderngrid/docs/Cost_of_Power_Interruptions_to_Electricity_Consumers_in_the_.pdf
p. 277 In 2007 NETL estimated that the annual cost to society
National Energy Technology Laboratory, Modern Grid Benefits (U.S. DOE, August 2007). Available at http://www.netl.doe.gov/moderngrid/docs/Modern%20Grid%20Benefits_Final_v1_0.pdf
p. 277 The Galvin Electricity Initiative... concluded
Galvin Electricity Initiative, The Path to Perfect Power: The Perfect Power System (Galvin Electricity Initiative, 2007): 3. Available at http://www.galvinpower.org/galvinpower.pdf
p. 277 High-voltage DC current (HVDC) is actually somewhat more efficient
Gerhard Knies, “DESERTEC Concept – Clean Power From Deserts to the World” (Solutions Summit, April 30, 2008).
p. 277 approximately 98 percent of transmission worldwide
Bo Normark, “Efficient Grids: Key to the Development of Renewable Energy” (Solutions Summit, April 30, 2008).
p. 277 One advantage of HVDC lines
Gerhard Knies, “DESERTEC Concept – Clean Power From Deserts to the World” (Solutions Summit, April 30, 2008).
p. 277 Transmission systems at even higher and more efficient voltage levels already exist
Gerhard Knies, “DESERTEC Concept – Clean Power From Deserts to the World” (Solutions Summit, April 30, 2008).

Bo Normark, “Efficient Grids: Key to the Development of Renewable Energy” (Solutions Summit, April 30, 2008).
p. 277 China, which has announced its intention
“China steps up in building UHV power line,” China Daily, February 7, 2009. Available at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-02/07/content_7454327.htm
p. 277 In Europe, many policy makers are now moving forward
DESERTEC Foundation, Clean Power From Deserts: The DESERTEC Concept for Energy, Water and Climate Security (Protext Verlag, Bonn, February 2009). Available at http://www.desertec.org/en/concept/summary/
p. 278 The European and North African Super Grid [Graphic]
DESERTEC Foundation, Clean Power From Deserts: The DESERTEC Concept for Energy, Water and Climate Security (Protext Verlag, Bonn, February 2009). Available at http://www.desertec.org/en/concept/summary/
p. 279 the average age of a substation transformer is 42 years
Galvin Electricity Initiative, “The Electric Power System Is Unreliable,” last accessed November 3, 2009. Available at http://www.galvinpower.org/resources/galvin.php?id=26
p. 279 The highest voltage used in the United States today
Michael Heyeck, “Interstate Electric Transmission: Enabler for Clean Energy” (Solutions Summit, April 30, 2008).
p. 279 According to a study by the Electric Power Research Institute
National Energy Technology Laboratory, A Vision for the Modern Grid (U.S. DOE, March 2007): 16. Available at http://www.netl.doe.gov/moderngrid/docs/A%20Vision%20for%20the%20Modern%20Grid_Final_v1_0.pdf
p. 279 would reduce peak-load losses by more than 10 gigawatts
Michael Heyeck, “Interstate Electric Transmission: Enabler for Clean Energy” (Solutions Summit, April 30, 2008).
p. 280 the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in the Pacific Northwest... next three years
Joe Brugger, “Wind power throws a curve at the BPA,” The Oregonian, July 21, 2009. Available at http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/07/wind_power_throws_a_curve_at_t.html

Bonneville Power Administration, Climate Change: BPA's Initial Roadmap (December 2008). Available at http://www.bpa.gov/corporate/pubs/Climate_Change_2008_Initial_Roadmap_final.pdf
p. 280 in as little as two milliseconds
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 280 even the fastest gas turbine generator requires at least 15 seconds
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 280 the difference between the amount of electricity used during the hours of peak demand
Mark MacCracken, “Energy Storage: A Critical Technology for Renewables and High Performance Buildings,” presentation provided to author, May 26, 2009.
p. 280 Solving Wind's Intermittency [Graphic]
Tomio Tamakoshi, “Recent Sodium Sulfur Battery Applications in Japan,” ESA 2001 Annual Meeting (presentation, Chattanooga, TN, April 26-27, 2001): slide 14. Available at http://www.bpa.gov/Energy/n/Tech/energyweb/docs/Energy%20Storage/NGK-Presentation.pdf
p. 281 are now usually met by revving up gas-fired
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 281 One analyst compared the inefficiency of this technique to the amount of gasoline someone wastes
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 281 Chris Shelton, the vice chairman of the Electricity Storage Association, refers to
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 281 One study of the CO2 reductions that could be acheived
Richard Fioravanti and Johan Enslin, Emissions Comparison for a 20 MW Flywheel-based Frequency Regulation Power Plant: Final Report with Updated Data (KEMA Inc., May 18, 2007). Available at http://beaconpower.com/files/KEMA_Report_Emissions_Comparisons_July_%202007.pdf
p. 281 energy use is growing at a rate of 1.5 to 2 percent annually
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 281 peak load demand is growing at a rate of 5 to 7 percent annually
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 281 the average use of electricity was approximately 67 percent... 50 percent of the peak
Mark MacCracken, “Energy Storage: A Critical Technology for Renewables and High Performance Buildings,” presentation provided to author, May 26, 2009.
p. 281 The Department of Energy reports that on a nationwide basis
U.S. Department of Energy, The Smart Grid: An Introduction (U.S. DOE, September 2008): 19. Available at http://www.oe.energy.gov/DocumentsandMedia/DOE_SG_Book_Single_Pages(1).pdf
p. 281 Electricity Demand Is Variable [Graphic]
Pacific Gas & Electric, reprinted in Jonathan Marshall, “The Invisible Energy Resource,” Pacific Gas & Electric, next100.com, November 10, 2008. Available at http://www.next100.com/2008/11/the-invisible-energy-resource.php
p. 283 First introduced in America in 1929
Bradford Roberts, “Performance, Purpose, and Promise of Different Storage Technologies,” IEEE Power & Energy Magazine, July/August 2009. Available at http://www.electricitystorage.org/images/uploads/docs/captureGrid.pdf
p. 283 recovering between 70 and 80 percent of the electricity used
Electricity Storage Association, “Pumped Hydro,” last updated April 2009. Available at http://www.electricitystorage.org/site/technologies/pumped_hydro/
p. 283 More than 150 pumped-hydro sites are now operating
Richard Baxter, Energy Storage: A Nontechnical Guide (Tulsa, OK, PennWell Corporation, 2006): 64.
p. 283 99 percent of the world's total storage capacity
Daniel Wolf, Sascha Berthold, T. Smolinka, J. Tuebke, P. Bretschneider, P. Radgen, and Ch. Doetsch, “Electrical energy storageâ state of the art technologies, fields of use and costs for large scale application,” Electricity Storage Association 2008 Meeting (May 20-22, 2008).
p. 283 which accounted for 40 percent of American electricity production in the early 1900s
U.S. Department of the Interior, “The History of Hydropower Development in the United States,” last updated August 12, 2009. Available at http://www.usbr.gov/power/edu/history.html
p. 283 There are only two large-scale compressed-air systems
U.S. Department of Energy, “Compressed Air Energy Storage,” last updated May 17, 2006. Available at http://www.eere.energy.gov/de/compressed_air.html
p. 284 which are reducing costs by 50 percent every 18 to 24 months
Michael Kanellos, “Bye-bye hard drive, hello flash,” CNet News, January 4, 2006. Available at http://news.cnet.com/Bye-bye-hard-drive,-hello-flash/2100-1006_3-6005849.html
p. 285 invented in 1859
“Lead-acid batteries,” The Economist, January 14, 2009. Available at http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/tm/displayStory.cfm?story_id=E1_TNJNQDPT
p. 285 still the most commonly used rechargeable batteries
Advanced Storage Battery Market: from Hybrid/Electric Vehicles to Cell Phones (Report Linker, March 2009). Available at http://www.reportlinker.com/p0109232/Advanced-Rechargeable-Battery-Market-Emerging-Technologies-and-Trends-Worldwide.html
p. 285 Originally developed by Ford Motor Company
Paul Davidson, “New battery packs powerful punch,” USA Today, July 5, 2007. Available at http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/environment/2007-07-04-sodium-battery_N.htm.
p. 285 which has already deployed them at almost 100 locations
Naoto Fukuyama, “Energy Storage in Japan” (presentation, Tokyo Electric Power Company, June 9, 2008). Available at http://rd.edf.com/fichiers/fckeditor/File/EDF%20RD/Printemps2008/9juin/NFukuyamaTEPCOStockage9juin2008.pdf

Tokyo Electric Power Company and NGK Insulators, Ltd., “Sodium-sulfur (NAS) Battery for Large-capacity Power Storage,” last accessed November 3, 2009. Available at http://www.jase-w.eccj.or.jp/technologies/pdf/electricity/E-4.pdf
p. 285 including nine megawatts of capacity currently operating in three U.S. utilities
NGK Insulators, Ltd., “NGK's Sodium Sulfur (NAS) Battery: The Vendor's Perspective on Barriers & Issues Encountered in U.S. Deployment,” Presentation to the California Energy Commission, April 2, 2009. Available at http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009_energypolicy/documents/2009-04-02_workshop/presentations/2_2%20NGK-NAS%20-%20Harold%20Gotschall.pdf
p. 285 $2,500 per kilowatt
Paul Davidson, “New battery packs powerful punch,” USA Today, July 5, 2007. Available at http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/environment/2007-07-04-sodium-battery_N.htm
p. 285 only one company in the world makes it
Patrick Rial, “Sodium-Sulfur Battery Powers NGK's Unique Wind Energy,” Bloomberg, April 10, 2008. Available at http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&refer=home&sid=abv9kUMdZueY

Electricity Storage Association, “NAS Batteries,” last updated April 2009. Available at http://www.electricitystorage.org/site/technologies/nas_batteries/
p. 285 Utilities in Abu Dhabi and France have already purchased
Ali Nourai, interview with author, July 28, 2009.
p. 285 General Electric is now preparing to introduce a technology
GE Global Research, “GE's 'Plug in' to Hybrid and Battery Techologies,” Battery Technology Symposium 2008, last accessed November 3, 2009. Available at http://www.ge.com/battery/plugin.html
p. 286 many are working to essentially stack these car batteries
Ali Nourai, “Community Energy Storage (CES): 'A Game Changer' " (EPRI Webcast, July 7, 2009). Available at http://aeptechcenter.com/ces/docs/StandardizingCES-EPRIJuly7-09.pdf

More info at: http://aeptechcenter.com/ces/
p. 286 the average vehicle is used for transportation only 4 percent of the time
Pat S. Hu and Timothy R. Reuscher, Summary of Travel Trends: 2001 National Household Travel Survey (U.S. Department of Transportation, December 2004): 30. Available at http://nhts.ornl.gov/2001/pub/STT.pdf
p. 286 Toyota's Prius, still employs a nickel-metal hydride battery
Toyota, “Toyota Prius - 2010 Performance & Specifications,” last accessed November 3, 2009. Available at http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/specs.html
p. 286 both the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid and the new all-electric Prius
Martin LaMonica, “GM: Chevy Volt battery tech on track,” CNet News, March 18, 2009. Available at http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10199252-54.html

“Toyota's Bid for a Better Battery,” Business Week, March 5, 2007. Available at http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_10/b4024075.htm
p. 286 The Great Wall Motor Company, in China, is one of a few
Great Wall Motor Company, “Great Wall Motor Shows Off Three Major Product Categories at the Shanghai Auto Show,” press release, April 22, 2009. Available at http://www.gwm.com.cn/eng/html/news/news/090422h.htm
p. 286 Nissan Motor Company announced in 2009
Coco Masters, “Nissan's New Leaf: An Electric Car and Charging Stations Too,” Time, August 4, 2009. Available at http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1914296,00.html
p. 286 And the Tesla, an American all-electric vehicle already on the market
Gene Berdichevsky, Kurt Kelty, JB Straubel, and Erik Toomre, “The Tesla Roadster Battery System” (Tesla Motors, August 16, 2006). Available at http://www.teslamotors.com/display_data/TeslaRoadsterBatterySystem.pdf
p. 287 The AES Corporation is installing a 12 megawatt system
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 287 Chile is the second largest source of lithium
Simon Romero, “In Bolivia, Untapped Bounty Meets Nationalism,” The New York Times, February 2, 2009. Available at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/world/americas/03lithium.html
p. 287 This is sometimes referred to as “shedding load”
Chris Shelton, interview with author, July 29, 2009.
p. 287 American Electric Power (AEP) is using lithium-ion batteries... shift to plug-in electric vehicles
Ali Nourai, “Community Energy Storage (CES): 'A Game Changer' " (EPRI Webcast, July 7, 2009). Available at http://aeptechcenter.com/ces/docs/StandardizingCES-EPRIJuly7-09.pdf

More info at: http://aeptechcenter.com/ces/
p. 288 Ali Nourai... service of storage
Ali Nourai, interview with author, July 28, 2009.
p. 288 utilities are now attempting to persuade
Ali Nourai, interview with author, July 28, 2009.
p. 288 American Electric Power reports that renewable sources of electricity generation
Ali Nourai, interview with author, July 28, 2009.
p. 288 California, New Jersey, and Arizona have been leaders
Jason Coughlin and Karlynn Cory, Solar Photovoltaic Financing: Residential Sector Deployment (NREL, March 2009). Available at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy09osti/44853.pdf
p. 289 And in Germany... produced in 2008
“Politics may make future of solar energy 'small',” Alibaba.com, July 9, 2009. Available at http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/energy/100132983-1-politics-may-make-future-solar.html
p. 289 Some analysts have predicted that up to half of all households
Ali Nourai, interview with author, July 28, 2009.
p. 289 Harish Hande... I can afford
Harish Hande, interview with author, 2009.
p. 292 The National Renewable Energy Laboratory describes the new architecture of distributed energy as
National Renewable Energy Laboratory, “The Value of Electricity When It's Not Available,” Renewable Energy: Clean, Secure, Reliable (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, May 2003): 4. Available at http://www.netl.doe.gov/moderngrid/docs/The_Value_of_Electricity_When_It%27s_Not_Available.pdf
p. 292 By making large quantities of ice at night
For example, see CALMAC, “Off-Peak Cooling – ICEBANK,” last accessed November 3, 2009. Available at http://www.calmac.com/products/icebank.asp
p. 292 The new highly efficient Bank of America Tower in New York City
Mark MacCracken, interview with author, June 8, 2009.
p. 292 The developer of the system, Mark MacCracken, says
Mark MacCracken, interview with author, June 8, 2009.
p. 295 Some regulators... in their rate bases
Alison Silverstein, interview with author, August 30, 2009.
p. 295 In Texas, sales of the NGK battery were blocked
NGK Insulators, Ltd., “NGK's Sodium Sulfur (NAS) Battery: The Vendor's Perspective on Barriers & Issues Encountered in U.S. Deployment,” Presentation to the California Energy Commission, April 2, 2009. Available at http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009_energypolicy/documents/2009-04-02_workshop/presentations/2_2%20NGK-NAS%20-%20Harold%20Gotschall.pdf
p. 295 In California, the company was told
NGK Insulators, Ltd., “NGK's Sodium Sulfur (NAS) Battery: The Vendor's Perspective on Barriers & Issues Encountered in U.S. Deployment,” Presentation to the California Energy Commission, April 2, 2009. Available at http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009_energypolicy/documents/2009-04-02_workshop/presentations/2_2%20NGK-NAS%20-%20Harold%20Gotschall.pdf
p. 295 was following a ruling by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
NGK Insulators, Ltd., “NGK's Sodium Sulfur (NAS) Battery: The Vendor's Perspective on Barriers & Issues Encountered in U.S. Deployment,” Presentation to the California Energy Commission, April 2, 2009. Available at http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009_energypolicy/documents/2009-04-02_workshop/presentations/2_2%20NGK-NAS%20-%20Harold%20Gotschall.pdf
p. 295 concluded that the regulators were placing at risk
NGK Insulators, Ltd., “NGK's Sodium Sulfur (NAS) Battery: The Vendor's Perspective on Barriers & Issues Encountered in U.S. Deployment,” Presentation to the California Energy Commission, April 2, 2009. Available at http://www.energy.ca.gov/2009_energypolicy/documents/2009-04-02_workshop/presentations/2_2%20NGK-NAS%20-%20Harold%20Gotschall.pdf
p. 296 In the words of energy expert Bruce Radford
Bruce Radford, “Greening the Grid: Understanding the Federal Transmission Permitting Regime under EPACT 2005, Plus What It Means for Renewable Energy” (Solutions Summit, (from transcript), New York, April 30, 2008).
p. 296 Alison Silverstein, former senior energy policy adviser at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, says
Alison Silverstein, “Transmission Issues” (Solutions Summit (from transcript), New York, April 30, 2008).