Did You Know?

The electric power infrastructure – "the grid" – that has served us so well in the past is in desperate need of modernization.  It is overtaxed and grows in complexity and scale every day.  As demand has increased, new electrical lines have simply been added without much attention paid to efficiency. The whole system is like is like a big plate of spaghetti.

A modernized electricity network addresses energy efficiency, energy reliability and the environmental impacts of increased energy use.  Transformation of the grid is comparable to the development of the internet and will allow a flow of information from power plants to consumer preferences to individual appliances.  This enables the near instantaneous balance of energy supply and demand.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has released $4.5 billion on smart grid research or research into emerging technology for how states generate and consume electric energy.  Several North Carolina companies, including Duke Energy and Progress Energy, are taking a visible leadership role in this national initiative to jumpstart smart grid deployment.  For example, Duke Energy has opened the “Envision Center” at Advanced Energy on NC State University’s Centennial Campus - an interactive demonstration of smart-grid and the expected positive impacts on houses, businesses and communities in North Carolina.

North Carolina State University and Keystone Development also recently kicked off construction of a 72,000 sq. ft. building on N.C. State’s Centennial Campus to house the national headquarters of the FREEDM Systems Center, the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center focused on renewable energy integration and smart-grid science technology.  When construction is complete, the Center is slated to be a Green Energy Hub driving research education and economic development.