Smart grid the spur for change

Guido Jouret says governments around the world are keen to get behind the development of the smart grid. Photo / Supplied

Forget the billion people around the world currently connected to the internet, or even the four billion who have mobile phones.

According to Guido Jouret, chief technology officer for the emerging technologies group at IT company Cisco: "There's an even bigger network waiting to be born".

The mega network he's talking about is commonly called the smart grid and the idea is one day it will form the links that enable your power company to cut your electricity bill by turning off your fridge when it's cold enough and charging your electric car during off-peak hours.

It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but technologists such as Jouret say parts of the smart grid are being built today and huge sums are being thrown at its development.

He says governments around the world will pour at least US$20 billion ($27 billion) a year for each of the next five years into smart grid projects.

"This is the biggest infrastructure deployment we have ever seen and we are starting to see governments around the globe step up," Jouret told a Cisco conference last month.

The spend-up is the result of a "perfect storm" crisis hitting the world electricity network. Existing infrastructure is reaching, or has passed, its life expectancy. The workforce that installed much of the current network in the 1960s and 1970s are about to retire, taking with them their invaluable knowledge.

At the same time, while demand for electricity is rocketing, there is pressure to meet that growing need from renewable means and enhance our efforts to conserve energy - hence the concept of an "energy internet".

"Our homes, our appliances, our solar panels, our windmills, all of these need to get connected to exchange information to be able to match, in real time, supply and demand," Jouret said.

"But to do that, the smart cars - the batteries on wheels - need to talk to a smart grid. They have to know when it's okay to charge."

It's not surprising Jouret finds the concept exciting. As a company whose main business is network connection equipment, the prospect of a multibillion-dollar new business opportunity in the form of a smart grid infrastructure build-out is enticing.

But what's in it for the planet?

Jouret said while global energy demand is growing, consumption is lumpy, and the spikes in usage mean most providers experience peak demand conditions for only about 200 hours a year.

The rest of the time, he says, there is enough idle capacity in the network to supply the electricity required to charge 70 per cent of the world's car fleet if those vehicles were running on electric power.

Clearly converting a theoretical possibility such as this to a green reality will be complex, but the notion of the smart grid should resonate with New Zealanders.

We certainly have an electricity network crying out for upgrading. We also have a strong interest in enhancing our sustainability credentials and we have an interest - and a $1.5 billion government commitment - to expand our national internet infrastructure.