Abstract
Overview:
Any smart grid is a telecommunications network for the utility and the
communities it serves. 4G technologies provide any power utility with the most
cost effective technology in monitoring the grid from power production to
power consumption. Not only will a 4G smart grid read meters, they will also
provide a range of cost saving services to the utility and the community as a
whole. Mind Commerce' s new research 4G and WiMAX for the Smart Grid:
Enabling Access, Applications and Affordability proposes WiMAX as a Last
Mile or “Access” solution to provide a range of smart grid solutions or
“Applications” which, when compared with other smart grid technologies such as
Broadband over Power Line (BPL) come in at less than half the cost per
household reached offering industry leading “Affordability” figures.
The research indicates that given the dilemma of US Department of energy
awarding billions of dollars in smart grid grants while standards making
bodies dither in providing the industry with standards, the power industry
should look to the latest and greatest standards in telecommunications
(Internet Protocol and 4G technologies such as WiMAX) to take advantage of
federal dollars available for smart grid deployments while saving money on
operating expenses. In addition, the deployment of a 4G network would enable
the utility to offer wholesale and retail telecommunications services
contributing new revenue streams for the utility while shortening the Return
on Investment (ROI).
Any utility manager studying their smart grid options is no doubt concerned
about the security of any smart grid network (foreign agents have been known
to attempt to hack some parts of the US power grid), Quality of Service (QoS)
issues, reliability of the technology and the potential for harmful
interference to take down their smart grid network. This publication tackles
those objections head-on in easy-to-understand language addressing both Last
Mile and Middle Mile portions of a 4G smart grid network.
Most importantly, the paper analyses a BPL deployment in Boulder, Colorado
where the power utility deployed a BPL-based smart grid at a cost of $1,000
per household reached. The research finds that a more powerful, mobile, 4G,
standards-based network could have been deployed at a cost of $440 per
household reached. The financial analysis offers a worksheet for power
utilities to determine return on investment.
With its exhaustive analysis of 4G and smart grid, there is no other research
currently available as comprehensive as 4G and WiMAX for the Smart Grid:
Enabling Access, Applications and Affordability.
Key Findings:
- 4G Smart Grid can be deployed at half the cost of broadband over Power
Line (BPL) via an off-the-shelf solution
- Incremental revenue streams can be enjoyed via wholesaling
telecommunications services supported by 4G smart grid applications
- 4G smart grid solutions provide utilities with cost savings on internal
operations (mobile work force applications, etc)
- Ubiquitous broadband services can be realized through the deployment of 4G
in the power utilities' market providing greater efficiencies for smart grid
subsidies
Target Audience:
- Power utilities companies
- Renewable energy companies
- Telecommunications service providers
- Telecommunications vendors seeking entry to the smart grid market
- Government regulatory authorities
- Power sector vendors
- Telecommunications and utility investors
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