While mid-February brought some unusual cold to much of the U.S., Texas was frigid. Dallas reached its third-coldest temperature on record at minus-2 degrees. Austin had its largest two-day snowfall since 1949. Natural gas lines froze, as did wind turbines. When Texans cranked up their heaters, the electric grid couldn't keep up; millions lost power and at least 40 people died, although that figure is likely an undercount. Some blame the state’s go-it-alone approach to its grid, while others point to lack of regulation. Still a larger question remains: Why do traditional electric grids fail?
On today’s Brainstorm, hosts Michal Lev-Ram and Brian O’Keefe examine what's needed to modernize the electric grid, to make it smarter and more reliable. According to Emmanuel Lagarrigue, Chief Innovation Officer of Schneider Electric, the “smart grids” of tomorrow will rely on a network of solar panels hosted by businesses and homeowners, connected by software and made efficient through artificial intelligence.
Dr. Elta Kolo, Grid Edge Research Content Lead at Wood Mackenzie says we are entering something of a grid-renaissance as technologies scale, thanks - at least in part - to venture capital and investments from energy majors like Shell and BP.
And finally Michael Putt, Director of Smart Grid Innovation at Florida Power and Light ,describes how the utility is already implementing smart-grid technology and seeing impressive results.
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Why We Need a Smarter Electric Grid | Brainstorm podcast - Listen or read transcript on Metacast
