The Bonneville Power Administration had an unusual problem that may not be so unusual in the future.
Too much power, who would think that would be a problem for a power authority that had recently lost a bid to build a giant natural gas power plant due the protests of those who would have been breathing the smoke, the residents of the Fraser Valley east of Vancouver.
When they lost that battle BPA started turning to alternative energy, specifically wind power, and these wind farms, fueled by stronger than normal spring winds were pumping out close to there maximum power. But with the heavy rains this spring, the reservoir at the Bonneville dam became so full they were asking other power plants to shut down, as well as doing everything they could to divert the excess power to other markets like California rather than just dump the excess water over the spillway.
The good news, is many of these greenhouse gas producing thermal plants were shut down for a short period, but because of the lack of enough power lines and control systems, BPA was not able get maximum value from all the power they were generating, they were forced to almost give away some of the excess because it also costs money to shut down other power plants on short notice as they have fixed costs that can not be turned off and on like a switch.
With a smart grid, the water levels and wind capacity could have been predicted and the extra power transmitted to where it could do the most good, both reducing green house gases and maximizing the return on investment by allowing thermal plants time to plan for a shut down. This is why it is called a smart grid. By expanding capacity, linking the grid both north south and east west to cities and industrial plants, then adding intelligence through weather and usage monitoring, utilities will be able to work together to get the most out of free renewable wind, rain and sunshine.
The smart grid is the missing link in our clean, green renewable energy future and can not be ignored. Without it we will not get the all the benefits and payback for renewable energy investments. With the smart grid a synergy is created that leads to other benefits as well. With the push for electric cars and more rail and transit systems we will need more power and the smart grid will mean they can be powered with green renewable energy instead of dirty old coal, which still provides 19% of Canada's electricity and 50% of America's. Bonneville Power's recent experience shows the value of the smart grid in all future plans to expand and clean up our power supply.
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