Continuing advancements in the development of greater computing power, networking technology, inexpensive sensors and software systems for analytics and tracking have increased the potential for building an interconnected, "smart" infrastructure in the United States. By linking together utilities, transportation systems, power supply facilities and distribution networks, a smart system can monitor interrelated operations across a range of fields and identify problems at an early stage.

Supporters claim that converting to a smart infrastructure model would enhance efficiency by reducing waste and productivity loss, ultimately saving money through better management of resources. The possibilities are vast, as are the number of elements that would need to be coordinated in order to reap the full benefits of a streamlined nationwide smart infrastructure.

"Today, the electronics industry has moved from merely automating the office and factory floor, or providing mobile, on-the-go computing and communicating power to a burgeoning world, but to hook up the entire transport and electrical energy grid to the Internet," Forbes.com states.

Technology is the driving factor in the smart infrastructure approach, and some experts claim that existing trends in technological development will lead to systems being integrated on a much larger scale than they are today.

"Just as every item of equipment and person in the U.S. military has a discrete Internet address, which can be monitored real-time through satellite networks that can reach everywhere on the planet, such will eventually be the case for every transit point, electric power station and commercial [site] on the planet," Forbes predicts.

The utility sector, particularly electrical generation and supply, is an area of significant focus in infrastructure planning, with the concept of a "smart grid" gaining attention as a possible alternative to the existing power distribution system. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's The Smart Grid: An Introduction, current constraints in the electrical transmission and distribution system cost American businesses more than $100 billion on average each year due to outages or reduced power quality.

Projected increases in power usage are expected to compound the problem. According to the DOE's report, appliances, equipment, computerized systems and automated manufacturing presently account for 40 percent of the nation's electrical load, and the proportion is expected to increase to over 60 percent by 2015.

"For a smarter grid to benefit society, it must reduce utilities' capital and/or operating expenses today — or reduce costs in the future. It is estimated that Smart Grid enhancements will ease congestion and increase utilization (of full capacity), sending 50 percent to 300 percent more electricity through existing energy corridors," the report states.

As smart grid innovations, such as distributed generation systems that supply energy close to the load being served, automated sensors to monitor power usage fluctuations and communication devices linking facilities with distribution points, become more widespread, the market for these technologies is likely to expand.

Although it can be difficult to gauge the total extent of smart infrastructure technology, Chuck Newton, CEO of Newton-Evans Research Co. Inc., gave Automation World an estimate of $1 billion for the value of smart grid products in the electrical industry in 2009. Newton also predicted that the value will grow by 7 percent to 12 percent annually as the smart infrastructure market expands in the near-future.

"Computer-enhanced infrastructure promises to be a lucrative market. And the outlook has seemingly improved in the economic downturn, as governments around the world embrace stimulus spending that relies heavily on public works projects, both high-tech and low," the New York Times reports.

According to economics blog Seeking Alpha, $3.3 billion in stimulus funding was set aside for the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program, which was distributed for commercial use to businesses involved in smart grid work.

The DOE recently announced an additional $144 million for smart grid initiatives, with $100 million earmarked for smart grid workforce training and $44 million for state public utility commissions that review and evaluate proposed electricity projects.

However, despite the prospect of a growing market for smart infrastructure technology and the allocation of government funds for smart grid-related projects, the industry and its real-world applications are still at an early stage, with a great deal of speculation remaining.

"Just how large the market will be and how quickly it will develop remain uncertain," the Times cautions. "The early smart-infrastructure ventures often seem like applied science projects, encouraging but small scale. It is not clear whether they will work outside the laboratory, where they must turn a profit or justify higher taxes or user fees. Much of the early Internet investment, after all, came to grief."

Resources

This New Chip Cycle
by Rick Whittington
Forbes.com, Oct. 13, 2009

The Smart Grid: An Introduction
U.S. Department of Energy, 2008

Smart Grid Stimulus Funds to Provide Market Boost
by Wes Iverson
Automation World, September 2009

Bringing Efficiency to the Infrastructure
by Steve Lohr
The New York Times, April 29, 2009

Smart Grid Stimulus Applications: $2.85B and Counting
by Jeff St. John
Seeking Alpha, Aug. 7, 2009

...$144 Million in Recovery Act Funding to Transition to the Smart Grid
U.S. Department of Energy, Sept. 21, 2009