Median Wind’s network of wind turbine generators forms a smart grid for the efficient transmission of wind power as well as the re-distribution of externally generated power. Existing grid systems cannot respond effectively to changing demand and do not adequately reach many potential new sources of power generation. Median Wind’s smart grid supports both needs by serving as the backbone of a new nationwide network for power transmission that contains intelligent systems for monitoring and guiding the flow of electricity.

Each mile of Median Wind highway can generate 489,000 watts of clean electricity, but the integrated smart grid of the system can accommodate higher transmission loads. This means the Median Wind system can transmit large amounts of power from outside sources, like solar, geothermal, and even conventional power plants.

Median Wind substations connect to the existing electricity grid periodically along the length of highway, and digital technology provides monitoring and switching functions to carry excess local power away or bring in needed power from up the line. For example when clouds appear over a solar power facility and output drops, the local community would instantly receive an influx of electricity from distant power producers via the Median Wind smart grid.

One study found that transmission congestion currently costs consumers in the eastern United States $16.5 billion per year in higher electricity prices alone. And the 2003 blackout in the Northeast United States and Canada caused an estimated $7-10 billion in economic losses. Economic circumstances alone compel the United States to modernize its infrastructure with a smart grid.

Our smart grid system has the added advantage of transmitting all this new power without overhead high-voltage lines requiring new land acquisition or risking public opposition. By running the transmission lines in the median barrier, they remain safely hidden from view on existing public property.

Smart grids improve the efficiency, reliability, and reach of our electricity system. With a Median Wind smart grid, we can rely on additional new sources of alternative energy that may be distant from population centers or have unpredictable generation patterns.