Costs, efficiencies, and carbon: analyzing solar photovoltaics and the smart grid as sustainable energy solutions

The electrical grid in the United States cannot continue to meet the ever-increasing economic, electrical, and environmental demands. Demand has far outgrown its carrying capacity. It is therefore in urgent need of expansion and/or modernization. Its inability to handle natural disasters, and even minor incidents, has impacted essential services and millions of families. Therefore, action must be taken to improve its resilience and reliability. This paper aims to find the most cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally sustainable way to enhance a grid by examining three approaches: adopting a smart grid, implementing a solar photovoltaic with battery storage, or combining both approaches, using a natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) system as the baseline. Similar trends were found using Austin, Texas, and Sammamish, Washington, as case studies. Of the three scenarios evaluated, the smart grid performed the best overall; however, it was not the best performing choice in every category. For construction cost, an NGCC was the best option, and for operation and maintenance and yearly residential bills, the smart grid was the least expensive. The smart grid also proved to be the most energy-efficient solution. A solar photovoltaic with battery storage integrated within a smart grid was the most environmentally friendly option, with the lowest annual carbon footprint.