Smart Grid in the Eye of the Beholder

The Platts Smart Grid Policy and Implementation Forum kicked off this morning with a keynote address from Dr. Alicia Jackson, the Science Policy Adviser to the Chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, Senator Jeff Bingaman.

The smart grid is unique on Capitol Hill compared to other issues in that it has sustained broad and bipartisan support from members of Congress. According to Dr. Jackson, this is true because each member has a different view on how to meet our future clean energy goals. “The smart grid is in the eye of the beholder,” said Jackson to a crowd of energy industry veterans looking towards the future of the grid.

We really need to think about the next step in the whole process…to make sure that [our current] investments capture the full potential of the smart grid.

With the smart grid as a key enabler of future energy goals such as more renewable energy and demand side reduction, we are bound to see attention paid towards clean energy integration. However, Dr Jackson does not anticipate that we will see much direct federal legislation in relation to the smart grid over the next few years. Rather, due to the intertwined nature of our cumulative clean energy goals, smart grid provisions will inevitably be incorporated.

Dr. Jackson’s work on the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources includes smart grid, distributed generation, manufacturing and industrial competitiveness, federal energy research and development, and advanced energy storage technologies. GetSolar will continue to cover issues discussed at the Platts conference over the next few days, so check back here for more smart grid and distributed solar news.