Thursday

28th Mar 2024

Smart grids line up in fight against climate change

  • A system of devices will increasingly allow customers and utility companies to synchronise supply and demand (Photo: eastpole)

Smart grids are increasingly seen as a crucial weapon in the world's fight against climate change, with the EU among those rallying behind the new technology.

With global energy consumption set to rise dramatically over the next fifteen years, not least as an additional 350 million Chinese citizens move into cities, the need to use electricity more efficiently has never been higher, say industry experts.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"Smart grids are a lot about empowering us to engage with energy," says Scott Lang, CEO of SilverSpring Networks, a California-based company leading the way in developing technology that allows customers to view their electricity usage at any given point, including from individual appliances.

While this enables households to cut bills by using energy-consuming devices at low-rate times of day, it also enables utility companies to cut peak-time demand and avoid costly blackouts.

The need for a better alignment between supply and demand is also being driven by renewable energies and the forecast rise in plug-in electric cars, already in evidence on the roads around Silicon Valley.

"While [American inventor] Thomas Edison's model was very successful at creating centralised power stations a hundred years ago, we still haven't cracked the code on storing electricity," said Mr Lang, whose company seeks to link households and utility companies via a web of external wireless devices, smart meters and software.

During one pilot study using the technology in Oklahoma, electricity customers cut peak usage by 20 percent and made average monthly savings of $37.

The system's reliance on internet technology has sparked fears of hacking and data abuse, but governments around the world appear to be jumping on board.

"Smart grid technologies are needed to allow for a cost-effective evolution towards a decarbonised power system," declared European Commission proposals published on Wednesday (17 November) as part of the bloc's 2020 energy plan.

"[They allow] for the management of vast amounts of renewable on-shore and off-shore energy, while maintaining availability for conventional power generation and power system adequacy," continued the document.

Austria, Belgium, France, Denmark, Germany, Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, Spain and the UK are member states where smart grid projects are already underway.

With so much interest, it is little wonder that IT giant Google is investing in the new technology, recently developing its own Google Power Meter - a free software programme which allows electricity users to monitor their real-time energy use.

The programme is only available to households whose electricity provider has an agreement with Google, currently only First Utility (UK) and Yello Strom (Germany) in Europe.

But there are plans for expansion.

"Today we have about a dozen utility partners around the world and we are looking at how to grow this space and grow the whole ecosystem," said Google energy czar Bill Weihl.

US and EU breaking taboos to restrain Israel

The US abstained and all EU states on the UN Security Council backed a call for an "immediate ceasefire" in Gaza, as Europe prepares to also blacklist extremist Israeli settlers.

EU warns Russia over Moscow terror attacks

Europe has warned Russia not to use the weekend's terror attacks in Moscow as a pretext to escalate its war in Ukraine and crackdown on internal dissent.

EU summit risks failing Gaza once again, Ireland warns

Austrians and Czechs might block an EU statement calling for an Israeli ceasefire, Ireland warned, as leaders met in Brussels amid starvation in Gaza. Israel's conduct of the war meant it had "squandered the support they had", Leo Varadkar said.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. "Swiftly dial back" interest rates, ECB told
  2. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  3. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult
  4. EU unveils plan to create a European cross-border degree
  5. How migrants risk becoming drug addicts along Balkan route
  6. 2024: A Space Odyssey — why the galaxy needs regulating
  7. Syrian mayor in Germany speaks out against AfD
  8. Asian workers pay price for EU ship recycling

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us