NPR’s Morning Edition has been looking at the future of the grid recently in a new 10-part series called “Power Hungry: Reinventing the US Electric Grid.” They also developed some cool web-specific content on the topic, like this interactive map of the US that shows existing and planned transmission lines, power plants, and renewable capacity. While the whole series is worth checking out, here are the must-listen “episodes” if you’re interested in the smart grid:
The Boston Sunday Globe had a great article on an uptick in interest in community wind projects here in the Bay State — highlighted by a vignette on an abbey of nuns who are choosing to site a wind turbine on their land in order to harness a “gift of creation” to serve 75% of their electricity needs.
Public perception of wind’s acceptance in Massachusetts has been driven largely by the Cape Wind project, the hotly contested 130-turbine offshore farm that would sit between Cape Cod and Nantucket. But as this article points out - community wind might be just the ticket for this densely populated region with decent wind resources, a green-leaning populace, and high electricity prices.
The latest BusinessWeek has a brief article on femtocells - the toaster-sized device you’ll soon be able to buy from your cell phone provider to improve coverage in your house. A device that improves reception in homes should be especially appealing to those who want to join the 20% of homes that have already made the switch away from landlines. Political pollsters may not appreciate a shift en masse to cell phone-only households, but as one of the 20% that has already converted I can say I’ll never go back.
This article on femtocells got me thinking about the parallels between the growth of cell phones and the developing smart grid. There certainly are many similarities. In fact, femtocells are solving a very similar problem for cell phone companies that distributed rooftop solar panels will for electric utilities.
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