Essays on Smart Grid

Introduction

Ever since the infamous attack on the World Trade Center which occurred last September 2001, terrorism is a real, pertinent, and primary cause of concern as of late. Many establishments, particularly airports, are very tantamount on upholding security so as to avoid any more terrorist attacks occurring on a wide scale such as what happened at the World Trade Center. In spite of these countermeasures, terrorist attacks are still a genuine threat at large. Despite best efforts, many countries are still experiencing terrorist attacks every now and then, thereby putting the safety of many people in danger. On a ...

Background

Advances in modern technology have seen innovation in the energy industry that seeks to make energy cheaper as well as environmental friendly. One of the ways of achieving energy efficiency and environmental protection is the implementation of the smart grid. The smart grid has the capability of modernizing the transmission of electricity which benefits both energy suppliers and consumers. Because it is emerging technology, the benefits of the smart grid have not been widely documented. Saving energy saves the environment and the adoption of any means that achieve this fit is critical to a more cleaner and renewable energy ...

According to the data collected in 2013, the world energy consumption was segregated into various power sources such as 31.1% from oil reserves, 28.9% from coals, 21.4% from natural gases, 10.2% from biomass and wastes, 4.8% from nuclear sources, 2.4% from hydro energy and remaining 1.2% from other renewable sources. The most common form of energy used in industrial and household purpose was oil, coal and natural gas (Lawton, 2014). These resources such as coal, oil, and natural gas are natural reserves which are depleting due to extensive extraction over time. Coal is one of the most burned and ...

Technological platforms should be systems created with accurate systems well defined to perform given tasks. The success of any system should be based on excellent protection from attacks from within and outside the company. However, despite the protection that the managers may try to instill to the company, there would be chances for more attack to the system. Therefore, there are exclusive needs to protect the system of an organization from excessive malicious attack. There is need for considering all necessary measures that could be useful in protecting the systems. All possible techniques need to be pursued. Every form ...

- Introduction Data security is very important in safeguarding private, personal or business information. Personal data like credit card information should be well protected from access by unauthorized individuals or hackers. Any company that deals with credit card transactions via computer network should therefore employ reliable security measures if they are to maintain trust by their customers. This paper gives an overview of network security fundamentals, threats and issues with a detailed network security recommendations. It is followed by summary with reference to one medium-sized start-up company that processes credit card transactions on a daily basis (Tipton & Krause, 2012; Gajrani ...

Introduction

Process control is the process where technologies is required to be implement and design control systems in the process industries. The main objective of the process control is to maintain and bring about the conditions of the process at optimal values. It includes computer simulation and optimization, physical and empirical modeling, automation of hardware and software, control structure design and many others. Process industries are the process where material and energy streams interact and transform each other. It includes continuous sequential processes that refer to process units, enterprises, and whole plants. Additionally, process components are also prevalent in other ...

Operational strategy of Google with Google Glass is exceptionally brilliant as well as unique. As estimated by experts, although Glass will take a while to shape up to emerge as the next generation ‘iPad’, the company is aware that connected eye gear and eye wear hold tremendous potential for ushering in a new age of wearable computing to be able to control household devices. In other words, Google Glass takes home automation to the next level. Google Glass was being chiefly employed for outdoor applications. But now with intelligent integration, many devices in a home can be automated and used on voice ...

Smart grid computing is a technology which has been integrated into electricity utility processing. It is used to get information regardingthe use of electricity. For a long time, electricity staff have been sent to the field to collect data regarding the use of electricity. This information includesthe voltage used, any broken equipment, and how the equipment has been used. The systems for smart grid computing are made possible with the use of two way communicationand a computer processor that makes an electricity network, which makes communication possible. This technology has been implemented from the power plants, wind farms, and to the consumers. ...

Introduction: A brief history on the evolution of grid technologies.

The Smart Grid is the backbone of all major innovations, policies and regulations included in the power grid since its creation in the 1880’s. The power grid is an electric network of power sub-stations, transmission lines, transformers, and other equipment and facilities used by power suppliers to deliver electricity from the power generation plant to homes and commercial entities. When power grids started being built for electricity distribution, the demand for devices to measure consumption rose. The need for these devices was to help electricity suppliers in distribution, pricing and monitoring of their services. However, the path ...

Commentary 1

The answer given for the first answer is correct. This is because the movement of oil via pipelines is cheaper and more efficient as compared to using trucks for the same. There have been improvements in the transportation of oil via pipelines through the implementation of 57 new safety requirements to prevent leakages and explosions. According to the Association of Oil Pipe Lines (AOPL) (2013) pipelines are the most feasible and safest way to transport the enormous quantities of oil that America requires each day to keep it going. The replacement of pipelines with trucks and trains would be ...

Smart grids in the electricity sector are seen to be effective and reliable solution to the challenges that often face the industry. The electricity industry, over the past decades, has faced numerous challenges ranging from energy inefficiency, lack of privacy, to insecurity. The sector has seen increase in the number of electricity users, arrival of prosumers in the economy, energy efficiency becoming a necessity, and improvement in the supply of security across the globe. Information Technology solutions and equipment manufacturers are awaiting governments to invest on smart grids, as it is a sure way of realizing success in the energy sector ( ...

Introduction

According to , Cyber Security is the protection of electronic information communication systems against confidentiality, integrity and availability issues. This paper will answer two questions about cyber security.

Question 2: Vulnerable area: smart grid

A smart grid is a digital technology that delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers for purpose of saving energy, reducing cost and increasing reliability and transparency. Threats occur in smart grid due to its complexity, large number of users, and time‐sensitive operations. According to these threats include; malware spreading whereby, an attacker develops malware and spreads it to infect smart meters, secondly, is access through database links where recorded activities in a database ...

Introduction

The electric grid in the United States has been built way back in the 1890s (“What is the Smart Grid,” 2012). At present, it has been a by product of technological advancements which consist of more than 1 million megawatts of generating capacity passing through about 300,000 miles of transmission lines (“What is the Smart Grid,” 2012). With the utilization of new technologies, today’s grid is geared to a more stretched capacity which can manage the more complicated electric needs of the twenty first century consumers. It is called a “smart” grid since it is digitalized and made up of ...

Introduction

The electric grid in the United States has been built way back in the 1890s. At present, it has been a by product of technological advancements which consist of more than 1 million megawatts of generating capacity passing through about 300,000 miles of transmission lines (“What is the Smart Grid,” 2012). With the utilization of new technologies, today’s grid is geared to a more stretched capacity which can manage the more complicated electric needs of the twenty first century consumers. Hence, the smart grid is developed in order to address the present demands of the modern society. This ...

Abstract

The smart grid system makes use of digital information technology to transmit and distribute power. Hence, the operations of this system rely on the complex computer networks coupled with communication technologies that are available in the global information technology network domain. This is the leading cause of the vulnerabilities of the smart grid system. This paper will focus on the vulnerabilities of the system that are evident in SCADA, substation security, communication networks and wireless networks security. While proponents of the system tout its ability to increase efficiency, it cannot be denied that the smart grid system is ...