Power Hungry: Reinventing The U.S. Electric Grid

npr.org (May 1 2009) Solar , Wind

1. It makes our modern lives possible, but we hardly give it a thought. It's the key to plans for cleaner, greener sources of power, but it is fed by the oldest and dirtiest fuels. The electricity grid is a marvel of reliability, but, in many ways, it's a throwback to century-old technology. And for a future with more computers and gizmos of every kind — and more power from renewable sources — the grid is going to need some major work. Seeing a source of jobs and environmental benefits, politicians are embracing the need for an updated power grid. The stimulus bill signed in February includes $11 billion for improvements. But that's just a drop in the bucket. It will take hundreds of billions more (total estimates are impossible to find), years of work, and new technologies to turn the current grid into the smart grid of the future. (Read Full Article)

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