Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
energy systems. The concurrent demands of climate change mitigation and adaptation,
new technological capabilities, and shifting societal needs mean that the strategies,
technologies, and expectations of utilities, regulators, and customers will also evolve. The
tools and strategies that have been used to ensure that the electricity system is reliable
and affordable in past decades are unlikely to be the same as those required to meet new
expectations of electricity systems in the coming decades. As we look forward, it seems
clear that closely interconnected social and technical changes in electricity systems will
continue to develop in complicated and uncertain ways.
We conclude by returning to the Indian parable of the elephant and the blind men that
experience in seeing the whole truth, or the whole system, or the whole elephant. Each
blind man was only able to apply his limited experience touching one part of the elephant's
body (either the tusk, the trunk, the tail, the legs, or the underbelly) to extrapolate and
envision the entire animal. We suggest that this same principle holds true with regard to
how societal actors are currently engaged with smart grid development. Actors view smart
grid from their unique perspective and use this as a base from which to extrapolate and
envision a particular smart grid pathway and the future of the electricity system. Given
the sociotechnical complexity and dynamic context of smart grid futures, no individual
can see the whole system and its potential. Only by appreciating the multiplicity of smart
grid perspectives can we successfully engage with the many dimensions of electricity
system change in ways that enable us to collaboratively move toward a more positive and
sustainable future.
References
AWEA. (2014) Iowa Wind Energy. American Wind Energy Association.
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Belanger, N. (2014)
A Canadian Smart Grid in Transition: A Case Study of Heat for Less
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Waterloo, Canada: University of Waterloo.
Bentham, J. (1995)
The Panopticon Writings
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Brummitt, C. D., P. D. H. Hines, I. Dobson, C. Moore, and R. M. D'Souza. (2013)
Transdisciplinary Electric Power Grid Science.
Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences
, 110(30), 12159.
www.pnas.org/content/110/30/12159.full.pdf+html
Chaban, M. (2014, May 26) Turbines Popping Up on New York Roofs, Along with
Questions of Efficiency.
New York Times
.
www.nytimes.com/2014/05/27/nyregion/
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