At Gridweek Lee Krevat of San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) gave an overview of the smart grid program at SDG&E. A major driver for all California electric power utilities is renewable energy. SDG&E's goal is by 2020 to have deployed advanced grid technologies that will enable a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. One of the most important contributors to this objective is supplying 33% of energy demand from renewable energy sources.
The smart grid program at SDG&E involves smart grid investment in nine different programs,
- Customer empowerment
- Renewable energy
- Electric vehicles
- Security
- Reliability and safety
- Operational efficiency
- Smart grid RD&D
- Integrated and cross-cutting systems
- Workforce development
SG&E's 10 year road map for smart grid deployment, which is updated frequently, is the utility’s vision for a smart energy future and is designed to help customers and the vendor community see where SDG&E is going as it deploys smart grid technology.
San Diego is an interesting area, because SDG&E consumers are already doing what folks in many other parts of the country can expect to be doing sometime in the future. All consumers already have a smart meter. One in a hundred consumers are already generating electricity with photovoltaic technology. There are already a thousand electric vehicles on San Diego roads.
SDG&E has been doing smart grid-related activities since 2006 and has amassed substantial data on the costs and benefits of different aspect of the smart grid. Its conclusion is that the benefits outweigh the costs.
Subscribe
Comments