‘Smart grid’ in Fort Collins is a power pioneer
By Michael Kelly 
| August 5, 2009 | 5:01 AM
“Going green” has become a driving force in our world, as evidenced by the popularity of hybrid cars and the efforts of cities to cut down on carbon emissions.
We’re also changing how we consume and deliver electricity, and Fort Collins is leading the way with FortZED, a zero-energy district designed to generate as much power as it uses. The program, with the backing of the Department of Energy, went into effect last Oct. 1.
“We’re in the first year of the three-year project,” said Dr. Wade Troxell, associate dean of research in the college of engineering at Colorado State University. “The second year is the implementation, third year is testing.”
According to its Web site, FortZED.com, the program:
- Has more than 7,000 residential and commercial customers
- Has eight distribution feeders (transmitting electricity from the generation station to the customer)
- Represents 10 percent to 15 percent of Fort Collins Utilities’ distribution system.
What makes this possible? The “smart grid.”
A smart grid has more energy-efficient power lines that carry electricity longer distances without sacrificing voltage. Power comes from a variety of sources, including solar and wind, and the system allows customers to monitor the electricity they use in their homes.
The idea is to find a greener system to replace the nation’s current grid, which is outdated and prone to problems such as the Northeast blackout in 2003 that caused more than 50 million people to lose power.
FortZED encompasses part of the city, including Old Town and the main campus of CSU. The cost is estimated to be $11 million, with the DOE providing $6.3 million and public and private partners funding the rest. The project recently was awarded $4.8 million in federal stimulus funding.
“There are nine participants we consider partners that are really engaged,” said Dennis Sumner, senior electrical engineer for the city of Fort Collins. “We do have a group of highly engaged partners to make this work. That, in my mind, is a big part for this smart grid project to work.”
One aspect of FortZED is Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration. According to the DOE, RDSI “focuses on integrating renewable energy, distributed generation, energy storage, thermally activated technologies and demand response into the electric distribution and transmission system. This integration is aimed toward managing peak loads.”
The immediate goal is to reduce peak demand by 20 percent to 30 percent. Peak demand is when energy consumption is at its highest, about 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
One benefit of a smart grid is that energy can be produced within the community during off-peak hours and then used during peak hours. This reduces the need for power generation.
“The most expensive form of electricity is to meet that peak demand, and the peak demand changes day to day, when it occurs and how much,” Troxell said.
With the smart grid, businesses and residents can share the energy they produce through wind or solar power. This means the energy they don’t use can be sent out for use by other consumers. In a smart grid, electrons can flow both ways, whereas in the current grid, they can flow only from the power source to the consumer.
Troxell, who is helping manage FortZED efforts at CSU, said the power-sharing requires a meter that measures not only use, but the amount of energy supplied to the grid.
FortZED’s testing phase is scheduled to begin Oct. 1, 2010. Sumner said that progress is a little behind schedule and that an extension from the DOE “doesn’t look like it will be a problem.”
Eventually, FortZED could prove to be an early investment in a bigger future, one that sees consumers giving back as much as they’re taking.
“The idea is to create a zero-energy district in Fort Collins,” Sumner said. “People ask, ‘Are you really going to make this island that’s going to operate independently of the utility system?’ That’s the overarching theme of FortZED.”
colorado state university, electricity, energy, environment, fort collins, fortzed, green, smart grid
