The Energy Trilemma and the Smart Grid: Implications Beyond the United States

Benjamin Sovacool Jeannie Oliver

Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies from Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University

Abstract: This article argues that smart grid technologies enable policy-makers and communities to successfully manage enduring energy policy concerns. It defines what ‘smart’ energy technologies, grids and policies mean, and then evaluates how the smart grid can enable policy-makers to respond to an emerging energy ‘trilemma’. Drawing on case studies from the United States, the article suggests that the automated communications enabled by smart grid technologies significantly benefit each dimension of the energy trilemma: economic, social and environmental. However, successful smart grid implementation requires smart communication beyond technology. Failure to engage with customers through targeted communication, or to adequately address customers' privacy concerns, risks alienating customers, threatening the value of the smart grid investment. This article concludes that, with smart communication, both technical and human, the smart grid is an important step towards a sustainable energy future for stakeholders well beyond the United States.

Keywords: smart grid; energy trilemma; energy security; sustainable development; communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 15 pages
Date: 2017-02-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Published in Asia & the Pacific Policy Studies, Feb 2017, pages 70-84

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