The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future

Today, we rely on an electric grid to get energy. However, we rarely think about it. The United States has 3 primary grids: East, West and Texas. The first time most people heard about this was when Texas lost power this winter. Losing power is a challenge. However, the grid also manages that challenge of generating just enough power. Electricity generated must be "used" when it is generated. There is not a giant battery that can store it all. (The biggest battery can store less than an hour of usage for Fairbanks, Alaska) Pumped hydro power can store more electricity by using excess electricity to pump water uphill, then generating electricity as it comes down. Unfortunately, this requires lots of spare land, which tends not to be in great supply.

Luckily for electricity generators, patterns of electricity usage tend to be fairly consistent. Offices turn on during the workday. Houses start using more in the evening. During warm summer days, there will be increased demand from air conditioning. Alas, sometimes things don't go as planned. Some power production may be off. Other events may increase demand.

Fitting renewable energy into the grid can be challenging. Wind comes when it does. A windstorm will bring huge amounts of wind-power online whether or not it is needed. The best location for wind energy tend to be far away from population centers. Extensive high voltage carrying capacity needs to be built out to these locations to transfer the electricity to people. Solar can also be erratic. It does generate a lot during peak daytime heat. However, it turns off in the evening during the peak "home from work" time. It also turns off when clouds come by. 

Wiring solar to the grid also poses challenges. Because of laws, power companies must buy excess electricity from those with home solar panels. The users then buy electricity from the grid when they are not producing. This allows them to have a continuous power supply for almost nothing. Alas, this results in "pure grid" users subsidizing the solar users for their use of the grid. This can result in the "poor" paying higher rates and leads to a utility company "death spiral". Some states (such as Hawaii and Vermont) have restricted new grid tie-ins to help maintain the infrastructure. (Hawaii is an interesting case - electricity is expensive because it is made from shipped in oil. Many people have added solar to save money.)

The grid happened somewhat by accident. At one time, there were many small power producers. The country could have easily evolved to have thousand of micro-grids. Instead, we ended up with an interconnected grid with a power companies of different sizes all with monopoly service areas. They became staid utilities with guaranteed profits. Then the government rewrote the rules. There were a number of unintended outcomes (Enron), but evolution has kicked into gear with a greater preponderance of renewable energy.

What will the future hold? More and more people are producing their own electricity. However, they are almost all connected to the grid. Will we be able to keep it reliably running?