Greater Pittsburgh researchers are thinking about how alternative energy sources and advances in energy technology will change the way we use and distribute electricity. The traditional electric power grid is ‘one way only’ with power generated at centralized points and distributed to consumers.

In the not too distant future, the grid may include batteries to balance energy supply over demand cycles, consumers who are also energy producers putting energy back on the grid, and intelligent buildings that manage energy supply and demand in real –time to achieve efficiency and conservation.

Putting alternative energy sources on the grid will introduce new challenges in balancing baseload and fluctuations in supply.

Our academic and private research institutions are developing the business and software models needed to transition to the electricity grid of tomorrow, and companies in the region make the components that will be critical to transmission and grid management.

Carnegie Mellon University recently announced the launch of the Smart Grid Research Center and is one of two US universities partnering with Semiconductor Research Corp. in a $5 million energy distribution research initiative.