Today, at the Copernicus Institute symposium on "Making science work for sustainability," I quickly learned about smart grids in the smart grids parallel track. "What are smart grids?" was the question moderator Frits Verheij (DNV-GL) kicked off the day with. "A buzz word? An industrial technology push? Or the solution to saving the planet?" Eva Niesten (Utrecht University) did not have the answer. Her review of the literature concluded that there's "consensus that there's no consensus" on the definition of a smart grid. Technology patents with a smart grid label are currently exploding, Floortje Alkemade (Utrecht University) found. And business models are still predominantly theoretical. In simulations by Wilfried van Sark (Utrecht University), smart grids can provide great flexibility services. And Elwin ter Horst (Smart Grid Value4All) showed how smart grid pilot projects yield promising results in the real world but run into technological, economic and institutional barriers.
From these presentations, a picture of the smart grid as an emerging concept emerged. Exciting times! A lot of experimenting is going on, which is bound to bring forth the elements and architecture that will define the smart grids concept. In the mean time, however, Ronnie Belmans, executive director of the Global Smart Grid Federation, which was established to "bring together Smart Grid initiatives from around the world," had jumped ahead and pleaded for "standardization" and "interoperability." Would that not be a bit too fast, Mr. Belmans? Would it not kill the explorative phase smart grid development is still in, which this day so clearly showed, rushing into a lock-in in inferior technology?
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