Smart Grids Workshop

Posted by Terry on 16 July 2010 | 189 Comments

Tags: Smart Grid, Demand Management

I was priveldged to listen to IEEE Fello and Distingushed Lecturer Dr Bruno Meyer deliver 4 workshop presentations on the Smart Grid. This was the last of an Australia/New Zealand four city roadshow by Dr Meyer (Deputy Director Key Accounts, RTE France) and took place at the Electric Power Engineering Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch New Zealand.

Dr Meyer coverd the folowing four topics with humour and enthusiasm;

1. Smart Grids (And are they so dumb today anyhow?)
2. Smart Grids Demand Side Management and Distribution, where it all started
3. Smart Grids Demand Side Management and Transmission
4. What will the future be like?

There is real fear regarding grid age and its effect on distributed generation (reversing the normal flow on electricity) as well as its capability to handle more and more load and so a myriad of techniques and features are emerging (have emerged) to help with this problem as well as trying to kerb our determination to use as much of the Earths resources as possible. This hodge podge of activities around generation, transmission, distribution and consumer use appear to be the basis of this slipery thing called the "Smart Grid". What I took from the presentations is that there is no real clear picture about how this will evolve, but evolve it will and fast. The Smart Grid (whatever that is) defines a new game with new business models, new technology and new players. Incumbents will be replaced and probably they will come from the fast moving and innovative Information technology sector. Already the big (Cisco) and not so big (Cortexo!) are working in this space wirth thousands of others, trying to define the benefits.

Clearly interoperability is they key, new systems must talk to older legacy systems (nothing new for IT systems) but they must also talk to each other. It is pointless for a VHS/Beta or Windows/Mac type standards clash unless data and control can easily flow from one system or provider to the other. In the home smart appliances must appear on the same platform, portal or In Home Display (IHD) as microgeneration devices. Consumers want one view of home energy use as well as any generation. Utilities should be able to shave peaks and fill troughs with one instruction through common platforms, reducing demand and well as instigating local generation. Above all the consumer must be in control of the information the houshold is willing to share as well as receiving some reward for his contribution.

We think we are on the right track here at Cortexo, we have an open platform that can connect to generation (microCHP, PV, Solar Thermal etc) as well as smart appliances and in home devices such as smart plugs. We provide portal access but are happy to work with others who can provide richer user interfaces or IHD's and we can accept smart application components to cary out specific third party (partner)  instructions as well as our own very smart modules.

Open, interoperable and extensible, thats the Cortexo Platform vision