- Program 2009-10
Smart Grid Technology - Enabling the Economy, Protecting the Environment
Date:
Time:
Venue:
New York University Law School, Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, Room 204 (between MacDougal and Sullivan Sts)
According to the US DOE Office of Electrical Distribution, the US electricity grid is "aging, inefficient, and congested, and incapable of meeting the future energy needs of the Information Economy without operational changes and substantial capital investment over the next several decades."
Leading states like California and Texas have been working towards modernizing their electricity system, and to that end, the 2009 economic stimulus bill
earmarked $4 billion in its clean technology provisions. In order to transform the electric power business, information technologies must be deployed such as
those that have transformed telecommunications, another "network" industry.
While the transformation process has begun, there exist technological limitations and market barriers to complete integration. The panelists will discuss the
technological, political and economic changes that need to happen for a complete modernization of the US electric system.
Moderator:
Ashley C. Brown, Executive Director, Harvard Electricity Policy Group, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard UniversityPanelists:
Dr. Martin Fleming, Vice President, Corporate Strategy, IBM Corp.; Katherine Hamilton, President, GridWise Alliance; David Gmach, Director NYC Public Affairs, Con Edison.
