By most accounts, the United States appears poised to fall woefully short of meeting new electricity demand over the next five years as data centers and domestic production expand.
Ian Magruder
Ian Magruder is the founder of the Utilize Coalition and previously served as director of marketing integration at Rewiring America, a low-cost electricity advocacy group.
Building new power plants and transmission lines may seem like an obvious solution, but there are other options, says Ian Magruder, founder of the Utilize Coalition, a non-profit organization based in Washington, DC.
Backed by Google, Tesla, HVAC system manufacturer HVAC, and several other companies, the Use Coalition promotes the full use of grid capacity through policy changes and new technologies. Magruder spoke to him IEEE Spectrum about those efforts.
Why does the United States only use part of its grid?
Ian Magruder: Many studies have found that the average utilization rates are between 40 and 55 percent in different areas. And the reason is that we have built our grid to meet peak demand. We have to make sure that on a very hot summer day or a very cold winter morning we have enough energy. But in many parts of the country, we really do reach the peak for a few days a year, and really only for a few hours during those days.
It wasn’t used to be like this. What has changed?
Magruder: Over the last 20 years we have seen the gap between average consumption and high consumption widen. There are various reasons for that. Grid operators are already experiencing significant savings following major power outages and reliability events. And with more renewable generation sources like wind and solar, grid operators are building more capacity. But this also gives us an incredible opportunity to get more out of the grid using new technologies.
What technology is used to solve this problem?
Magruder: Coupling battery storage with power generation is an important part of this, as are other types of distributed energy resources, such as management [electric vehicle] charging and smart thermostats. I would also say that transmission technologies that safely increase the current capacity of power lines, increase efficiency, and improve power lines all play an important role here. Then there is demand shifting, which is when utility customers adjust their energy use to match the grid during peak hours. Some really good work is being done around flexible data centers.
Is underutilization of the grid also happening elsewhere in the world?
Magruder: It is a global phenomenon, but it varies greatly by country. European grids face similar fluctuations as [those in] in the US, and in other places the use is much lower. But Australia and the United Kingdom are moving forward in measuring and controlling consumption with new technologies.
What’s wrong with overbuilding our grids?
Magruder: Especially the cost. Electricity rates have gone up, too [at Utilize Coalition] he thinks it’s because consumption has decreased. A report we released earlier this year shows that a 10 percent increase in grid usage could save Americans more than US$100 billion over the next decade.
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