Smart grid and the intelligent grid is greener grid technology, which benefits environment. This technology efficiently decreases fossil fuel consumption, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission, and other air pollutants. According to analysis, its mechanisms can reduce 12% of national carbon emissions tills 2030. But, it all depends on different unsteady factors, this conclusion may surprisingly become wrong. Scientists from U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have found a solution on it. They recently developed an Emission Quantification tool to uncover such unreasonable results.
This new Emission Quantification tool can precisely calculate emission impacts and energy advantages from smart grid technology. It allows different organizations to calculate environmental effects of smart grid technologies. Organizations can see effects of shifting energy. This energy is use to a different time of day or of adopting additional renewable energy resources.
Working of This Emission Quantification Tool
Through this tool, organizations can evaluate changes in Carbon dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, and Nitrogen oxides. Similarly, it can calculate energy and financial savings that gained by combining smart grid technologies.
After calculation, the tool generates detailed information with previous and later technology adoption comparisons. On a variable’s number, it informs the user. For example, how much energy storage will require providing benefit for a certain operation. Additionally, checks resulting increment or decrements in emission. Calculations depend on upon fixed data sources, including EPA’s AVERT, or Avoided Emissions and Generation Tool. This draws emissions benefits of energy efficiency and renewable energy policies and programs.
Karen Studarus, a power systems engineer at PNNL, said, “Users can instantly and easily cover various schemes by changing type of smart grid technology and other variables. This is for characterizing their particular set of circumstances and location.”
“Our assembled modules is currently used to investigate proposed project’s effects and understand the sometimes unreasonable trade-offs,” he continued.
This free and web-based tool has been designed transparent for basic data and algorithms. Through this, the user is able to easily understand how outcomes from schema were calculated.
Studarus said, “This is a really unexplored domain. Nobody’s done this before. Different organizations require detailed information when it comes to understanding the impacts of smart grid technologies on the environment and the bottom line. This tool allows folks to see more clearly how much faith they should be putting into the numbers.”