Abstract
While the revolution in telecommunications has been driven by rapid technical change, this paper argues that technology has thus far played a more modest role in the revolution now sweeping the electric power industry. However, it argues that there are a number of new technologies now on the horizon that could have profound impacts on the future structure and operation of the electric power industry. How these technologies will evolve is unclear. Some could push the system toward greater centralization, some could lead to dramatic decentralization, and some could result in much greater coupling between the gas and the electric networks. The evolution of the networked energy system is likely to be highly path dependent. Because of shrinking research budgets, and the relatively short time constant of markets, there is a risk that the full social benefits of these new technologies will not be realized. The paper closes with a proposal for a new mechanism to produce the investments in basic technology research that will be needed to develop these promising technologies in a timely fashion to allow informed social choices.
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Morgan, M.G. (1998). The Role of Research and New Technology in a Restructured Networked Energy System. In: Designing Competitive Electricity Markets. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, vol 13. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5547-6_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5547-6_10
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