Full Title: The Networked Energy Web: The Convergence of Energy Efficiency, Smart Grid, and Distributed Power Generation as the Next Frontier of the ICT Revolution
Author(s): Bracken Hendricks and Adam James
Publisher(s): Center for American Progress
Publication Date: August 1, 2012
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Description (excerpt):
In a new Center for American Progress report released today called “The Networked Energy Web,” we argue that this upheaval in the energy sector can best be understood as the next wave of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution. Just as previous waves of technological change in wireless communications or digital data management brought with them fundamentally different engineering approaches, new business models, and ultimately dramatically changed industry structures, so too a new wave of growth, restructuring, and reinvestment are coming as our 19th century energy infrastructure collides with 21st century information management tools. In this paper we offer a framework for understanding the fundamental differences between coming energy networks and our historical electricity grid, and we show how this network will unleash dramatic new efficiencies for the economy and important benefits for consumers.