Promises and Pitfalls of Smart Grid - Smart Grid (R) Evolution: Electric Power Struggles - page 23

Energy Independence for Improved Geopolitical Security
Another critical smart grid promise of enhanced security relates to increased energy
independence. In the United States, Germany, Japan, and many other nations, the political
awareness of a smarter grid is embedded in the perceived benefits of national energy
self-sufficiency. The geopolitics of energy are complex, costly, and contentious. While
most countries rely on global energy markets for their oil, natural gas, coal, uranium, or
electricity,theeconomicandpoliticalvulnerabilities ofenergydependenceareincreasingly
evident. Smart grid is part of energy system reforms to enhance energy independence.
In the United States, for example, the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA)
of 2007 highlights the perceived value of achieving national energy independence
(Congressional Research Service 2007 ; U.S. Department of Energy 2008 ; U.S.
Government Printing Office 2008 ). In spite of increasing domestic oil production, the
United States spends roughly $30 billion a month on oil imports. The electrification of
the transportation sector could help to move the United States toward greater energy
independenceandsecurity.Thesmartgridpromiseofenergyindependenceextendsbeyond
the United States. The Danish government has committed to achieving energy
independence by 2050, and smart grid development is central to its strategy. Because
Denmark has no native fossil fuel resources, energy independence requires linkages to a
Nordic power grid and independence from fossil fuels. Lykke Friis, the Danish Minister
of Climate and Energy, refers to the nation's energy strategy as “a declaration of energy
independence” (Danish Government 2013 ) . Chapter 7 provides more details on the
operation of Bornholm's microgrid and its contribution to EU energy goals. In Germany,
increased integration of local renewables could reduce dependence on Russian natural gas.
Smart grid promises to be part of a strategy that allows the United States to develop
independence from the vagaries of political regimes in the traditional petroleum-producing
nations. “American energy independence means freedom to produce our own electricity
and freedom to sell it at fair market rates” (Hertzog 2013 ). Smart grid promoters point
out that this independence does not stop at the national level, but can also be taken to the
individual consumer. Collier explains, for example, that smart grid simultaneously enables
U.S. energy independence at the national level and enables individual U.S. consumers
to function independently of regional and national grids (Collier 2013 ) . Steven Wade,
an economist for the U.S. Energy Information Administration, explained that, as part of
the shift wherein “we as a society are valuing energy independence more,” smart grid is
becoming increasingly attractive (Matthews 2013 ). Section 2.2.4 discusses the promises of
consumer engagement and autonomy in more detail.