Unified National Smart Grid as well as Unified Solar is a proposal for a nationally interconnected grid relying on a backbone of electric power transmission lines linking the US' local grids that have been upgraded to smart grids. Europe's analogous project is sometimes referred to as the SuperSmart Grid.

Technical features

High capacity transmission such as current technology 800 kV

high voltage direct current A high-voltage direct current (HVDC) electric power transmission system (also called a power superhighway or an electrical superhighway) uses direct current (DC) for electric power transmission, in contrast with the more common alternating curre ...

lines would span the country, linking to local

electric utilities An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major p ...

and distantly located bulk power generation facilities. The national backbone would be intelligent in a manner similar to local smart grid clusters. As local electricity networks are upgraded to smart grids, interactions with the national backbone can become more coordinated. Examples given of the kinds of coordination are that

hydropower Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a w ...

from the northwest can be dispatched if wind is expected to temporarily subside in the Dakotas. Discretionary air conditioning in California can be turned on if strong winds are blowing in Texas. Long distance interconnections are not new. The 1400 km

Pacific DC Intertie The Pacific DC Intertie (also called Path 65) is an electric power transmission line that transmits electricity from the Pacific Northwest to the Los Angeles area using high voltage direct current (HVDC). The line capacity is 3.1 gigawatts, whi ...

between Los Angeles and the Pacific northwest was proposed in the 1930s and initiated by President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

in the 60s. The Pacific Intertie carries up to 3.1 GW on two 500 kV overhead lines. The 1200 km Quebec to New England HVDC line with 2 GW of capacity was constructed in the 1980s. A 5 GW 800 kV system was constructed along the southern provinces of China at a cost of €300 million in 2010. The Unified Smart Grid proposal is more than a collection of point to point interconnections between regional systems with some communications intelligence. The topology conceptually has many smart grid access points that could form a virtual power generation cluster, a local electric utility system, or a grid energy storage facility.

Advocacy

According to advocates, a national system would do for the US energy economy what Dwight Eisenhower's

Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...

did for efficient distribution of products. According to scientists such as James E. Hansen, construction of such a national grid is essential to any strategy to combat

global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

. According to

energy independence Energy independence is independence or autarky regarding energy resources, energy supply and/or energy generation by the energy industry. Energy dependence, in general, refers to mankind's general dependence on either primary or secondary ene ...

advocates such as T. Boone Pickens, it is essential for the U.S. economy and its strategic energy interests. The "Unified Smart Grid" is promoted by Alliance for Climate Protection ( Repower America program) and

Al Gore Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic no ...

. Gore's cost estimate is $400 billion and would be recovered by transmission tariffs. The need for a national bulk transmission grid is detailed in T. Boone Pickens's energy independence plan.

References

{{Electricity generation Electric power transmission systems in the United States Proposed electric power transmission systems Proposed electric power infrastructure in the United States

Technical features

Advocacy

See also

References