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UWI TODAY
– SUNDAY 5TH OCTOBER, 2014
ENERGY
RESEARCH
Now, more than ever,
we love and need our devices. From
mundane appliances such as refrigerators and air conditioning
units, to the latest, imagination-capturing products of the
technology revolution, our machines do far more than enhance
modern life, theymake it possible. But as our reliance on devices
continues to grow, it puts an ever-increasing strain on our power
generation resources.
In its
2013 Key World Energy Statistics
, the International
Energy Agency shows that global energy consumption rose
from 4,674 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) in 1973 to
8,918 Mtoe in 2013. Power grids (the energy infrastructure that
generates power and distributes it to the society) not only have
to cope with this inexhaustible demand from industrial and
domestic consumers, they are not equipped for the functionality
provided by “smart” machines, devices that use information
and communication technology (ICTs). We already have smart
phones, smart refrigerators and smart televisions.Technologists
are busily developing smart everything else.
The term for this shift towards ICT-enabled devices is “the
Internet of Things.” It is one of the most popular trends in the
technology industry – one for which traditional power grids
are not prepared.
“The electrical grids that we are using now are based on
100-year-old systems. Nothing much has been changed and
they cannot cater for the needs of the 21st century,” says Dr
Davinder Sharma, Lecturer of Electronics in the Department of
Physics at the Faculty of Science and Technology at The UWI’s
St Augustine Campus.
Dr Sharma is lead researcher on a university project to
look into the potential for smart grid development in the
Caribbean. The four-member UWI research teamhas embarked
on a three-year project focused specifically on capacity
building and research for the establishment of a smart grid
in Trinidad and Tobago. Working with various government
ministries and the State agency providers of electrical power
and telecommunications, the team is laying the groundwork
for what could in ten years become the Caribbean’s first smart
grid.
What does this mean? If implemented, not only can the
improved technology lower utility costs, improve reliability
and lessen the environmental impact of the electricity grid,
it will fundamentally change the relationship between power
providers and consumers. At its heart, the technology revolution
is about communication and a smart grid can replace the
traditional unidirectional contact of generator to user with one
in which both are users and sellers.
“Conventional electrical grids are built for a one-way flow
of information,” Dr Sharma explains. “It flows from the power
station to us. With a smart grid the consumer can participate
in energy trading. We can install our own renewable energy
systems. We can create our own solar farms and we can send
energy back to the grid. And the grid will pay us for it.”
Inotherwords, smart grids can create energy entrepreneurs
(as in the US, UK and India). How seriously is this being taken?
In 2013, the Government of India made the commitment to
invest approximately US$10 billion to transform its power
infrastructure to smart grids. In the US, policymakers have set
a goal of 100 percent consumer participation in smart grid
technology by 2035.
Trinidad, smart location for smart grid research
The UWI project, entitled,“Capacity Building and Research
on Smart Grid Technology in the Caribbean Region,” began in
May 2013. The summary states:
“Today, 80.6 percent of the world’s energy needs are
dependent on fossil fuels which are depleting at a very fast
rate. Countries all over the world are charting new ways to
produce, distribute, deliver and use electricity…A new concept
called Smart Grid is emerging…Most of the Caribbean islands
are also dependent on fossil fuel-based sources for electricity
generation.With the increase in demand and cost of electricity,
these islands will soon have to find alternative economically
sustainable sources of energy.”
Paradoxically, with its wealth in oil and natural gas, this is
not the case in Trinidad and Tobago. Yet T&T is well-placed to
host smart grid research and eventually establish a smart grid.
“This is a small country. It is easier to implement a smart
grid in a small, controlled place,”says Dr Sharma.“Added to this,
Getting Smart
Team Explores
Caribbean’s
Smart Grid
Potential
Customer
B y J O E L H E N R Y
“Smart grids aren’t the easiest sell in an oil and
gas rich country…. But fossil fuels are not forever.
What could happen in 20 or 30 years?
We have to think about the future.”
Dr. Sanjay Bahadoorsingh Dr. Patrick Hosein
Dr. Davinder Sharma
Dr. Ajay Joshi
