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7.8: The Electrical Grid, Battery Challenges, and Energy Conservation

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    Electricity Grid

    Over the past century and a half electricity has emerged as a popular and versatile energy carrier. Today, electricity is exploited not only for its diverse end uses such as lighting, motion, refrigeration, communication and computation, but also as a primary carrier of energy. Electricity is one of two backbones of the modern energy system (liquid transportation fuels are the other), carrying high density energy over short and long distances for diverse uses. In 2009, electricity consumed the largest share of the United States’ primary energy, 38 percent, with transportation a close second at 37 percent. These two sectors also accounted for the largest shares of U.S. carbon emissions, 38 percent for electricity and 33 percent for transportation.

    By far most electricity is generated by combustion of fossil fuels to turn steam or gas turbines. This is the least efficient step in the energy chain, converting only 36 percent of the chemical energy in the fuel to electric energy, when averaged over the present gas and coal generation mix. It also produces all the carbon emissions of the electricity chain. Beyond production, electricity is a remarkably clean and efficient carrier. Conversion from rotary motion of the turbine and generator to electricity, the delivery of electricity through the power grid, and the conversion to motion in motors for use in industry, transportation and refrigeration can be more than 90 percent efficient. None of these steps produces greenhouse gas emissions. It is the post-production versatility, cleanliness, and efficiency of electricity that make it a prime energy carrier for the future. Electricity generation, based on relatively plentiful domestic coal and gas, is free of immediate fuel security concerns. The advent of electric cars promises to increase electricity demand and reduce dependency on foreign oil, while the growth of renewable wind and solar generation reduces carbon emissions. The primary sustainability challenges for electricity as an energy carrier are at the production step: efficiency and emission of carbon dioxide and toxins.

    The Electricity Grid: Capacity and Reliability

    Beyond production, electricity faces challenges of capacity, reliability, and implementing storage and transmission required to accommodate the remoteness and variability of renewables. The largest capacity challenges are in urban areas, where 79 percent of the United States and 50 percent of the world population live. The high population density of urban areas requires a correspondingly high energy and electric power density. In the United States, 33 percent of electric power is used in the top 22 metro areas, and electricity demand is projected to grow 31 percent by 2035. This creates an "urban power bottleneck" where underground cables become saturated, hampering economic growth and the efficiencies of scale in transportation, energy use and greenhouse gas emission that come with high population density. Saturation of existing cable infrastructure requires installation of substantial new capacity, an expensive proposition for digging new underground cable tunnels.

    The reliability of the electricity grid presents a second challenge. The United States’ grid has grown continuously from origins in the early 20th Century; much of its infrastructure is based on technology and design philosophy dating from the 1950s and 1960s, when the major challenge was extending electrification to new rural and urban areas. Outside urban areas, the grid is mainly above ground, exposing it to weather and temperature extremes that cause most power outages. The response to outages is frustratingly slow and traditional – utilities are often first alerted to outages by telephoned customer complaints, and response requires sending crews to identify and repair damage, much the same as we did 50 years ago. The United States’ grid reliability is significantly lower than for newer grids in Europe and Japan, where the typical customer experiences ten to 20 times less outage time than in the United States. Reliability is especially important in the digital age, when an interruption of even a fraction of a cycle can shut down a digitally controlled data center or fabrication line, requiring hours or days to restart.

    Reliability issues can be addressed by implementing a smart grid with two-way communication between utility companies and customers that continuously monitors power delivery, the operational state of the delivery system, and implements demand response measures adjusting power delivered to individual customers in accordance with a previously established unique customer protocol. Such a system requires installing digital sensors that monitor power flows in the delivery system, digital decision and control technology and digital communication capability like that already standard for communication via the Internet. For customers with on-site solar generation capability, the smart grid would monitor and control selling excess power from the customer to the utility.

    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\) illustrates the two-way communication features of the smart grid. The conventional grid in the upper panel sends power one way, from the generating station to the customer, recording how much power leaves the generator and arrives at the customer. In the smart grid, the power flow is continuously monitored, not only at the generator and the customer, but also at each connection point in between. Information on the real time power flow is sent over the Internet or another special network to the utility and to the customer, allowing real time decisions on adding generation to meet changes in load, opening circuit breakers to reroute power in case of an outage, reducing power delivered to the customer during peak periods to avoid outages (often called "demand response"), and tracking reverse power flows for customers with their own solar or other generation capacity. The conventional power grid was designed in the middle of the last century to meet the simple need of delivering power in one direction. Incorporating modern Internet-style communications and control features could bring the electricity grid to a qualitatively new level of capability and performance required to accommodate local generation and deliver higher reliability.

    Smart Grid
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Smart Grid The addition of real-time monitoring and communicating capability like that used on the Internet would add 'smart' operation of the electricity grid. Source: National Institute of Standards and Technology

    Smart components incorporated throughout the grid would be able to detect overload currents and open breakers to interrupt them quickly and automatically to avoid unnecessary damage and triggering a domino effect cascade of outages over wide areas as happened in the Northeast Blackout of 2003. For maximum effectiveness, such smart systems require fast automatic response on millisecond time scales commensurate with the cycle time of the grid. Even simple digital communication meets this requirement, but many of the grid components themselves cannot respond so quickly. Conventional mechanical circuit breakers, for example, take many seconds to open and much longer to close. Such long times increase the risk of dangerous overload currents damaging the grid or propagating cascades. Along with digital communications, new breaker technology, such as that based on fast, self-healing superconducting fault current limiters, is needed to bring power grid operation into the modern era.

    Integrating Renewable Electricity on the Grid

    Accommodating renewable electricity generation by wind and solar plants is among the most urgent challenges facing the grid. Leadership in promoting renewable electricity has moved from the federal to the state governments, many of which have legislated Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) that require 20 percent of state electricity generation to be renewable by 2020. 30 states and the District of Columbia have such requirements, the most aggressive being California with 33 percent renewable electricity required by 2020 and New York with 30 percent by 2015. To put this legal requirement in perspective, wind and solar now account for about 1.6 percent of U.S. electricity production; approximately a factor of ten short of the RPS requirements. (Crabtree & Misewich, 2010).

    The grid faces major challenges to accommodate the variability of wind and solar electricity. Without significant storage capacity, the grid must precisely balance generation to demand in real time. At present, the variability of demand controls the balancing process: demand varies by as much as a factor of two from night to day as people go through their daily routines. This predictable variability is accommodated by switching reserve generation sources in and out in response to demand variations. With renewable generation, variation can be up to 70 percent for solar electricity due to passing clouds and 100 percent for wind due to calm days, much larger than the variability of demand. At the present level of 1.6 percent wind and solar penetration, the relatively small variation in generation can be accommodated by switching in and out conventional resources to make up for wind and solar fluctuations. At the 20 percent penetration required by state Renewable Portfolio Standards, accommodating the variation in generation requires a significant increase in the conventional reserve capacity. At high penetration levels, each addition of wind or solar capacity requires a nearly equal addition of conventional capacity to provide generation when the renewables are quiescent. This double installation to insure reliability increases the cost of renewable electricity and reduces its effectiveness in lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

    A major complication of renewable variation is its unpredictability. Unlike demand variability, which is reliably high in the afternoon and low at night, renewable generation depends on weather and does not follow any pattern. Anticipating weather-driven wind and solar generation variability requires more sophisticated forecasts with higher accuracy and greater confidence levels than are now available. Because today's forecasts often miss the actual performance target, additional conventional reserves must be held at the ready to cover the risk of inaccuracies, adding another increase to the cost of renewable electricity. Storage of renewable electricity offers a viable route to meeting the variable generation challenge. 

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    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Renewable Resource Location vs. Demand Location Wind and solar electricity resources are located far from population centers, requiring a dramatic improvement in long-distance electricity transmission – an "interstate highway system for electricity." Source: Integrating Renewable Electricity on the Grid, Report of the Panel on Pubic Affairs, American Physical Society (2010).

    The final challenge for accommodating renewables is long distance transmission (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). Although long distance delivery is possible where special high voltage transmission lines have been located, the capacity and number of such lines is limited. The situation is much like automobile transportation before the interstate highway system was built in the 1950s. It was possible to drive coast to coast, but the driving time was long and uncertain and the route indirect. To use renewable electricity resources effectively, we must create a kind of interstate highway system for electricity.

    Combined Heat and Power

    Electricity in the United States is generated, for the most part, from central station power plants at a conversion efficiency of roughly 30 to 35 percent. Meaning, for every 100 units of fuel energy into a simple cycle central station electric power plant, we get only 30 to 35 units of electricity. The remainder of the energy in the fuel is lost to the atmosphere in the form of heat.

    The thermal requirements of our buildings and facilities are generally provided on-site through the use of a boiler or furnace. The efficiencies of this equipment have improved over the years and now it is common to have boilers and furnaces in commercial and industrial facilities with efficiencies of 80 percent and higher. Meaning, for every 100 units of fuel energy into the boiler/furnace, we get about 80 units of useful thermal energy.

    Commercial and industrial facilities that utilize the conventional energy system found in the United States (electricity supplied from the electric grid and thermal energy produced on-site through the use of a boiler/furnace) will often times experience overall fuel efficiencies of between 40 to 55 percent (actual efficiency depends on the facilities heat to power ratio). 

    Combined Heat and Power (known also as CHP or “cogeneration”) is an integrated system located at or near the building/facility that generates utility grade electricity which satisfies at least a portion of the electrical load of the facility, and captures and recycles the waste heat from the electric generating equipment to provide useful thermal energy to the facility. 

    CHP implies that heat and electricity are produced simultaneously in one process. Use of combined heat and power helps to improve the overall efficiency of electricity and heat production as these systems combine electricity production technologies with heat recovery equipment. Increasing the conversion efficiency of power generation through the use of CHP helps to reduce the environmental impact of power generation. These systems can reach fuel use efficiencies of as high as 75 to 85 percent (versus the conventional energy system at approximately 40 to 55 percent).

    A well designed, installed and operated CHP system provides benefits for the facility owner (end user), the electric utility, and society in general. The high efficiency attained by the CHP system provides the end user with lower overall energy costs, improved electric reliability, improved electric power quality, and improved energy security. In areas where the electric utility distribution grid is in need of expansion and/or upgrades, CHP systems can provide the electric utility with a means of deferring costly modifications to the grid.

    Although the electricity generated on-site by the end user displaces the electricity purchased from the local electric utility and is seen as lost revenue by many utilities, energy efficiency and lower utility costs are in the best interest of the utility customer and should be considered as a reasonable customer option by forward-looking customer oriented utilities. Finally, society in general benefits from the high efficiencies realized by CHP systems. The high efficiencies translate to less air pollutants (lower greenhouse gas and NOx emissions) than produced from central station electric power plants.

    Electricity as an Alternative Fuel Source

    Electric cars represent an alternative to oil for transportation. Electric vehicles are run by an electric motor, as in a fuel cell car, up to four times as efficient as a gasoline engine. The electric motor is far simpler than a gasoline engine, having only one moving part, a shaft rotating inside a stationary housing and surrounded by a coil of copper wire. Electricity comes from a battery, whose storage capacity, like that of hydrogen materials, is too small to enable long distance driving. Developing higher energy density batteries for vehicles is a major challenge for the electric car industry. The battery must be charged before driving, which can be done from the grid using excess capacity available at night, or during the day from special solar charging stations that do not add additional load to the grid. Because charging typically takes hours, a potentially attractive alternative is switching the battery out in a matter of minutes for a freshly charged one at special swapping stations. A large fleet of electric cars in the United States would require significant additional electricity, as much as 130 GW if the entire passenger and light truck fleet were converted to electricity, or 30 percent of average United States electricity usage in 2008.

    The energy usage of electric cars is about a factor of four less than for gasoline cars, consistent with the higher efficiency of electric motors over internal combustion engines. Although gasoline cars vary significantly in their energy efficiency, a "typical" middle of the road value for a five-passenger car is 80kWh/100km. A typical electric car (such as the Think Ox from Norway, the Chevy Volt operating in its electric mode, or the Nissan Leaf) uses ~ 20 kWh/100km. While the energy cost of electric cars at the point of use is significantly less, one must consider the cost at the point of production, the electricity generating plant. If the vehicle's electricity comes from coal with a conversion efficiency of 33 percent, the primary energy cost is 60 kWh/100km, approaching but still smaller than that of the gasoline car. If electricity is generated by combined cycle natural gas turbines with 60 percent efficiency, the primary energy cost is 33 kWh/100km, less than half the primary energy cost for gasoline cars. These comparisons are presented in Table below.

    Comparison of energy use for gasoline driven and battery driven cars, for the cases of inefficient coal generation (33%) and efficient combined cycle natural gas generation (60%) of electricity. Source: George Crabtree.
      Gasoline Engine 5 passenger car Battery Electric Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt (battery mode), Think Ox
    Energy use at point of use 80 kWh/100km 20 kWh/100km
    Energy use at point of production: Coal at 33% efficiency   60 kWh/100km
    Combined Cycle Natural Gas at 60% efficiency   33 kWh/100km
    Comparison of carbon emissions from gasoline driven and battery driven cars, for the cases of high emission coal generation (2.1 lb CO2/kWh), lower emission natural gas (1.3 lbCO2/kWh) and very low emission nuclear, hydro, wind or solar electricity.Source: George Crabtree.
      Gasoline Engine 5 passenger car Battery Electric Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt (battery mode), Think Ox
    CO2 Emissions at point of use 41 lbs ~ 0
    CO2 Emissions at point of production Coal@2.1 lb CO2/kWh   42 lbs
    Gas@1.3 lb CO2/kWh   25 lbs
    Nuclear, hydro, wind or solar   < 1 lb

    The carbon footprint of electric cars requires a similar calculation. For coal-fired electricity producing 2.1 lb CO2/kWh, driving 100km produces 42 lbs (19 kgs) of carbon dioxide; for gas-fired electricity producing 1.3 lb CO2/kWh, 100km of driving produces 26 lbs (11.7 kgs) of carbon dioxide. If electricity is produced by nuclear or renewable energy such as wind, solar or hydroelectric, no carbon dioxide is produced. For a "typical" gasoline car, 100km of driving produces 41 lbs (18.5 kgs) of carbon dioxide. Thus the carbon footprint of a "typical" electric car is, at worst equal, to that of a gasoline car and, at best, zero. Table Comparisons of Carbon Emissions summarizes the carbon footprint comparisons.

    Hybrid Transportation

    Unlike electric cars, hybrid vehicles rely only on gasoline for their power. Hybrids do, however, have a supplemental electric motor and drive system that operates only when the gasoline engine performance is weak or needs a boost: on starting from a stop, passing, or climbing hills. Conventional gasoline cars have only a single engine that must propel the car under all conditions; it must, therefore, be sized to the largest task. Under normal driving conditions the engine is larger and less efficient than it needs to be. The hybrid solves this dilemma by providing two drive trains, a gasoline engine for normal driving and an electric motor for high power needs when starting, climbing hills and passing. The engine and motor are tailored to their respective tasks, enabling each to be designed for maximum efficiency. As the electric motor is overall much more efficient, its use can raise fuel economy significantly.

    The battery in hybrid cars has two functions: it drives the electric motor and also collects electrical energy from regenerative braking, converted from kinetic energy at the wheels by small generators. Regenerative braking is effective in start-stop driving, increasing efficiency up to 20 percent. Unlike gasoline engines, electric motors use no energy while standing still; hybrids therefore shut off the gasoline engine when the car comes to a stop to save the idling energy. Gasoline engines are notoriously inefficient at low speeds (hence the need for low gear ratios), so the electric motor accelerates the hybrid to ~15 mph (24 kph) before the gasoline engine restarts. Shutting the gasoline engine off while stopped increases efficiency as much as 17 percent. The energy saving features of hybrids typically lower their energy requirements from 80 kWh/100km to 50-60 kWh/100km, a significant savings. It is important to note, however, that despite a supplementary electric motor drive system, all of a hybrid's energy comes from gasoline and none from the electricity grid.

    The plug-in hybrid differs from conventional hybrids in tapping both gasoline and the electricity grid for its energy. Most plug-in hybrids are designed to run on electricity first and on gasoline second; the gasoline engine kicks in only when the battery runs out. The plug-in hybrid is thus an electric car with a supplemental gasoline engine, the opposite of the conventional hybrid cars described above. The value of the plug-in hybrid is that it solves the "driving range anxiety" of the consumer: there are no worries about getting home safely from a trip that turns out to be longer than expected. The disadvantage of the plug-in hybrid is the additional supplemental gasoline engine technology, which adds cost and complexity to the automobile.

    The Battery Challenge

    To achieve reasonable driving range, electric cars and plug-in hybrids need large batteries, one of their greatest design challenges and a potentially significant consumer barrier to widespread sales. Even with the largest practical batteries, driving range on electricity is limited, perhaps to ~100km. Designing higher energy density batteries is currently a major focus of energy research, with advances in Li-ion battery technology expected to bring significant improvements. The second potential barrier to public acceptance of electric vehicles is charging time, up to eight hours from a standard household outlet. This may suit overnight charging at home, but could be a problem for trips beyond the battery's range – with a gasoline car the driver simply fills up in a few minutes and is on his way. Novel infrastructure solutions such as battery swapping stations for long trips are under consideration.

    From a sustainability perspective, the comparison of gasoline, electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars is interesting. Hybrid cars take all their energy from gasoline and represent the least difference from gasoline cars. Their supplementary electric drive systems reduce gasoline usage by 30-40 percent, thus promoting conservation of a finite resource and reducing reliance on foreign oil. Electric cars, however, get all of their energy from grid electricity, a domestic energy source, completely eliminating reliance on foreign oil and use of finite oil resources. Their sustainability value is therefore higher than hybrids. Plug-in hybrids have the same potential as all electric vehicles, provided their gasoline engines are used sparingly. In terms of carbon emissions, the sustainability value of electric vehicles depends entirely on the electricity source: neutral for coal, positive for gas and highly positive for nuclear or renewable hydro, wind or solar. From an energy perspective, electric cars use a factor of four less energy than gasoline cars at the point of use, but this advantage is partially compromised by inefficiencies at the point of electricity generation. Even inefficient coal-fired electricity leaves an advantage for electric cars, and efficient gas-fired combined cycle electricity leaves electric cars more than a factor of two more energy efficient than gasoline cars.  However, none of these comparisons take into account differences in the emissions and environmental impact of mining materials for construction of the different types of cars and their batteries.

    Energy Conservation

    Energy conservation refers to reducing energy waste and increasing efficiency. Energy conservation can involve behavior changes as well as technologies. Some examples of energy conservation have no financial impact. These include turn off and unplugging electronics when not in use, turning down the water heater, and driving efficiently (figure \(\PageIndex{3}\)). Additionally, opening blinds on south-facing windows in the morning during the winter takes advantage of a passive solar technology. Relying on the sun for heating and lighting reduces the use of electricity. 

    Dashboard of a Ford Fusion shows a plant on the right

    Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): A plant on the dashboard of this Ford Fusion (right) indicates if the driver's behavior promotes fuel efficiency. In this picture, there is only one leaf on the plant, indicating low efficiency. Some ways to drive efficiently include following the speed limit and adjusting your speed gradually. Image by ogilvyprworldwide (CC-BY).

    Other examples of energy conservation require some financial investment, but they quickly pay for themselves with savings on an energy bill. An energy audit is a first step to investigate inefficiencies in one's home. This helps homeowners identify where their home is losing energy, and which problem areas and fixes they should prioritize to save energy and money. For example, an energy audit may reveal places in the home where hot escaping in the winter or entering in the summer. An energy auditor might recommend installing insulation to better seal the home as well as to insulate the hot water heater and pipes. Investing in most high-efficiency appliances also pays for itself relatively quickly (figure \(\PageIndex{4}\)). 

    The energy star logo says "energy" in cursive next to a star

    Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): Energy Star appliances use energy efficiently. Image by MoneyBlogNewz (CC-BY)

    This video provides a walkthrough of an energy audit.

    Finally, some strategies for energy conservation require sizeable financial investment. They can eventually pay for themselves over extended periods of time. Once example are double-paned, low emissivity (low e) windows (figure \(\PageIndex{5}\)). The two layers of glass trap air between them, which serves as insulation. Additionally, the glass is coated with very small metal dots that allow light to pass through, but infrared (heat) energy is reflected back. If it is hotter outside, heat is emitted back outside; if warmer inside, heat will be emitted back inside. Energy-efficient air conditioners, geothermal heat pumps, and on-demand (tankless) water heaters (figure \(\PageIndex{6}\)) are also examples of energy-conserving technologies that require sizeable investment.

    A window with two layers. A red line representing heat bounces off, but a yellow line representing light passes through.

    Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Anatomy of an efficient window. A double-paned, low emissivity window allows light from the sun to pass through, but tiny metal dots (not visible) reflect heat (labeled "Low-E and/or solar control coating"). The double panes trap air between them, an insulator (labeled "gas fill"). Spacers are between the glass and the sash, which surrounds the glass. The sash can move out of the frame when the window is open, and weatherstipping prevents air from leaking between the sash and the frame. The stop on the outside prevents the sash swinging outward, and the stool extends perpendicular to the wall outside of the stop. Under it is a backer rod, filling the space between the stool and the wall beneath it. The frame consists of the horizontal sill and vertical jamb. The apron/flange is the trim just below the frame. Image modified from U.S. Department of Energy (public domain).

    Tankless water heater diagram shows heating unit and pipes connecting to sink

    Figure \(\PageIndex{6}\): An tankless water heater (electric demand water heater). Because hot water is not stored, there is no opportunity for it to cool and need to be reheated. This conserves energy. The heating unit is installed in close proximity to hot water use. It is suppled by a power source (110 or 220 volts). Hot and cold water lines run from the heating unit (which contains heating elements) to the sink. Image by U.S. Department of Energy (public domain).

    References

    Crabtree, G. & Misewich, J. (Co-Chairs). (2010). Integrating Renewable Electricity on the Grid, American Physical Society. American Physical Society, Washington D.C. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://www.aps.org/policy/reports/popa-reports/upload/integratingelec.pdf

    Owen, D. (2009). Green MetropolisWhy Living Smaller, Living Closer, And Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability. New York: Riverhead Books.

    U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2010). Annual Energy Review 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2011 from http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/pdf/aer.pdf

    Contributions and Attribution

    Modified by Kyle Whittinghill and Melissa Ha from the following sources