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{{Short description|Proposed US-wide electricity transmission system}}
{{Update|date=August 2022}}
'''Unified National Smart Grid''' as well as '''Unified Solar''' is a proposal for a nationally [[Wide area synchronous grid|interconnected grid]] relying on a backbone of [[electric power transmission]] lines linking the US' local grids that have been upgraded to [[smart grid]]s. Europe's analogous project is sometimes referred to as the [[SuperSmart Grid]].<ref name=repower1>{{cite web|url=http://www.repoweramerica.org/elements/unified-national-smart-grid/ |title=Unified National Smart Grid |publisher=[[Repower America]] |access-date=2008-11-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081112091929/http://www.repoweramerica.org/elements/unified-national-smart-grid/ |archive-date=November 12, 2008 }}</ref>
==Technical features==
High capacity transmission such as current technology 800 kV [[high voltage direct current]] lines would span the country, linking to local [[Electric utility|electric utilities]] and distantly located bulk [[Electricity generation|power generation]] facilities. The national backbone would be intelligent in a manner similar to local smart grid clusters. As local electricity networks are upgraded to [[smart grid]]s, interactions with the national backbone can become more coordinated. Examples given of the kinds of coordination are that [[hydropower]] from the northwest can be dispatched if wind is expected to temporarily subside in the [[The Dakotas|Dakotas]]. Discretionary air conditioning in California can be turned on if strong winds are blowing in Texas.
Long distance interconnections are not new. The 1400 km [[Pacific DC Intertie]] between Los Angeles and the Pacific northwest was proposed in the 1930s and initiated by President [[John F. Kennedy]] in the 60s. The [[Pacific DC Intertie|Pacific Intertie]] carries up to 3.1 GW on two 500 kV overhead lines. The 1200 km [[Quebec - New England Transmission|Quebec to New England HVDC]] line with 2 GW of capacity was constructed in the 1980s. A 5 GW 800 kV system was constructed along the southern provinces of China at a cost of €300 million in 2010.<ref>{{cite news
| url=http://tdworld.com/overhead_transmission/siemens-hvdc-transmission-china/
| title=China to Construct High-Voltage Transmission System Between Yunnan, Guangdong
| author=Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution
| work=Transmission & Distribution World
| date=2006-06-11
| access-date=2008-11-17
| archive-date=2011-09-28
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928184925/http://tdworld.com/overhead_transmission/siemens-hvdc-transmission-china/
| url-status=live
}}</ref>
The Unified Smart Grid proposal is more than a collection of point to point interconnections between regional systems with some communications intelligence. The topology conceptually has many smart grid access points that could form a [[Virtual power plant|virtual power generation]] cluster, a local electric utility system, or a [[grid energy storage]] facility.
==Advocacy==
According to advocates, a national system would do for the US energy economy what [[Dwight Eisenhower]]'s [[Interstate Highway System]] did for efficient distribution of products. According to scientists such as [[James E. Hansen]], construction of such a national grid is essential to any strategy to combat [[global warming]].<ref>{{cite web
| url=http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/TwentyYearsLater_20080623.pdf
| author=James E. Hansen
| author-link=James E. Hansen
| title=Global Warming Twenty Years Later: Tipping Points Near
| work=Testimony to [[United States House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming|House Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming]]
| date=2008-06-23
| publisher=[[Columbia University]]
| access-date=2008-11-17
| archive-date=2019-04-27
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190427110014/http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/TwentyYearsLater_20080623.pdf
| url-status=live
}}</ref> According to [[United States energy independence|energy independence]] advocates such as [[T. Boone Pickens]], it is essential for the U.S. economy and its strategic energy interests.
The "Unified Smart Grid" is promoted by [[Alliance for Climate Protection]] ([[Repower America]] program)<ref name="repower1" /> and [[Al Gore]]. Gore's cost estimate is $400 billion<ref>{{cite news
| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&em
| title=Op-Ed: The Climate for Change
| author=Al Gore
| work=New York Times
| date=2008-11-09
| page=2
| access-date=2008-11-17
| archive-date=2017-02-20
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170220015145/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/09/opinion/09gore.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&em
| url-status=live
}}</ref> and would be recovered by transmission tariffs. The need for a national bulk transmission grid is detailed in [[T. Boone Pickens]]'s [[Pickens plan|energy independence plan]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}}
==See also==
{{Portal|Energy|Renewable energy}}
* [[List of energy storage projects]]
* [[Pickens plan]]
* [[Smart grid]]
* [[SuperSmart Grid]]
* [[Super grid]]
* [[V2G]]
* [[Wide area synchronous grid]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Electricity grid modernization}}
{{Electricity generation}}
[[Category:Electric power transmission systems in the United States]]
[[Category:Proposed electric power transmission systems]]
[[Category:Proposed electric power infrastructure in the United States]]
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