In a few weeks, Washington’s second largest city will play host to the National Smart Grid Conference, which organizers bill as “unprecedented” effort to “develop national and regional recommendations to guide the $11-plus billion dollar federal smart grid investment, our nation’s new energy policies and regional demonstration projects.” Among the speakers are Senator Maria Cantwell, Commissioner Phil Moeller from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Steve Wright from the Bonneville Power Administration, and officials from a number of western states.
Modernizing our electric grid is one of the most important things we can do to save energy. Our current system is old, inefficient, and wasteful – it was built for another era. A new smart grid will make it possible to deliver clean electricity to homes and businesses across America, freeing us of our addiction to fossil fuels and allowing us to finally harness the power of our prairie winds and desert sun.
It’s exciting to see this conference kick off here in Washington. We wish organizers every success and we hope the event accelerates efforts to repower America.