What Is the Smart Grid?
Updating the aging electricity grid may save money, energy and greenhouse gas emissions
The Start-Up Pains of a Smarter Electricity Grid
The smart grid will save energy and money, but implementation may prove costly
![Behind the Light Switch: What Will a Smart Grid Look Like? [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/F814530C-EA3D-4B2D-94EBA1E3B0A6CB6C_agenda.jpg?w=380&h=213&fit=crop)
Behind the Light Switch: What Will a Smart Grid Look Like? [Slide Show]
A nut-and-bolts, transformer-and-cable view of the power grid as it gets smarter
A Spin on Efficiency: Generating Tomorrow's Electricity from Better Turbines
Improving turbines, which lie at the core of a modern power grid, is all about standing up to the heat
Securing the Smart Grid
The grid's flow of data is supposed to improve energy delivery but must be protected from hackers' prying eyes
U.S. Electrical Grid Undergoes Massive Transition to Connect to Renewables
Utilities are spending billions to make the grid more reliable, efficient, and green
The Future of Alternative Energy
Geothermal, solar thermal, and even nuclear power could provide alternatives to today's carbon-based fuel sources
The Future of Nuclear Power
The U.S.--and the world--is gearing up to build a potentially massive fleet of new nuclear reactors, in part to fight climate change. But can nuclear power handle the load?
![First Look at Carbon Capture and Storage in a West Virginia Coal-Fired Power Plant [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/83407D7A-19B3-40FD-884CD51EC8C23406_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
First Look at Carbon Capture and Storage in a West Virginia Coal-Fired Power Plant [Slide Show]
The world's first power facility to capture and store a portion of its carbon dioxide has begun operating in Appalachia
Who will manage the smart energy grid when it finally arrives?
The new economic stimulus package set aside $11 billion in federal funding for creation of a so-called "smart grid." But it's not clear what this national electricity delivery system will look like, how it will function or who will manage the information required to make the grid intelligent.
Hacked or hyped?: Have foreign cyber spies infiltrated the U.S. electricity grid?
The W all Street Journal , citing unnamed current and former national security officials, reports that spies from China, Russia and other countries have hacked into the U.S.
The Green Road to Prosperity
Federal investment in entrepreneurs will create jobs, boost the economy and raise energy security
The 2003 Northeast Blackout--Five Years Later
Tougher regulatory measures are in place, but we're still a long way from a "smart" power grid
Measuring Up: New NIST Director, Plus Big Budget Put Measurement Science in Public Eye
With $610 million in economic stimulus money added to his budget, Patrick Gallagher is preparing the nation's standards and measures agency for prime time
![100 Percent Renewable? One Danish Island Experiments with Clean Power [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/5ED2ED38-A7CD-4F47-954725218DFAA04D_agenda.jpg?w=275&h=154&fit=crop)
100 Percent Renewable? One Danish Island Experiments with Clean Power [Slide Show]
One small island in Denmark is technically 100 percent powered by sustainable sources of energy. Could the experiment succeed anywhere else?
Accelerating an energy transformation in the auto industry
CAMBRIDGE, MASS.—By 2030, the people of the world will be driving as many as two billion cars—up from 700 million today—according to John Viera, director of sustainable business strategies for Ford Motor Company.
Want to lower your electric bill? Google wants to help
If you're still clutching your chest over that last sky-high electric bill and wondering how to keep it down next month, you'll be heartened to hear that help may be on the way from the company behind the world's largest search engine.
Waste Not, Want Not: Energy via the Smart Grid
Simply using instead of losing energy, the U.S.--and the world--could power its way out of crisis. David Biello reports
Carmakers and Utilities Charge Ahead on Making Electric Cars "Smart"
The standard for plugging electric cars and hybrids into utility meters remains undefined
World's largest machine--the electric grid--is old and outdated
The U.S. electric grid is so old and outdated it can't handle the influx of wind power and other intermittent renewable resources. Integrating such sources requires adapting a system that is finely tuned to balance the amount of electricity being used with the amount of electricity being generated with fickle winds.
Preventing Blackouts
A smarter power grid that automatically responds to problems could reduce the rising number of debilitating blackouts