Portland State University (PSU) has been awarded a $1m engine development grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for a smart grid project.

Over a two-year period, the project will identify obstacles to smart grid growth and develop plans to overcome them through academic research, entrepreneurship, workforce training, strategic government investments and business collaborations.

Sequins, which stands for Smart, EQUitable, INteroperable and Secure, will coordinate major players in the Pacific north-west to make a truly smart electrical grid a reality. If successful, the Sequins planning phase can result in up to $160m in NSF implementation funding for regional businesses, entrepreneurs, academic institutions and others, with the goal of transforming the Pacific north-west into a global smart grid leader.

Throughout the work, the focus will be on energy equity, so everyone in the region, regardless of location and income, benefits from the investments and the job opportunities this project will create.

The project is part of the NSF’s first new division in 35 years, the Directorate for Technology, Innovation & Partnerships, which is aspiring to change the way grant money is allocated so it actually reaches and serves local communities.

The planning effort is led by Robert Bass, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at PSU’s Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science.

“This planning grant from the National Science Foundation will bring together over thirty stakeholders from across the Pacific north-west,” Bass said. “The partners will develop a strategic plan to promote the development of an innovative smart grid technology ecosystem that delivers prosperity and energy equity to our region.”

Other members of the team from Maseeh include Antonie Jetter, associate dean for research, and Tong Zhang, assistant dean of inclusive innovation; PSU’s Birol Yesilada, professor of Hatfield School of Government; and Melissa Appleyard, associate dean of graduate programmes in the PSU School of Business.

The PSU team is leading a collaboration between five universities including Oregon State University and the University of Oregon, two national laboratories, six private companies and industry organisations, and federal, state and local government institutions.

Many households in the Pacific north-west are already familiar with smart grids: their smart meters and thermostats exchange information with utilities, and many consumers opt in to load-management programmes. These programmes incentivise customers to reduce their energy use when the grid needs extra energy, for example on hot days when everyone turns on air conditioners.

Utility companies can automatically turn up customers’ thermostats by a few degrees for a short period and compensate those customers for the adjustment.

The next generation of smart grids will automatically adjust load and supply, taking energy from home batteries and electric vehicles during peak demand and recharging them when there is excess supply. If enough people participate and if their energy contributions are organised and managed in novel ways with effective incentives, peaks and valleys in demand can be evened out without bringing more power plants online. The cost savings of a fully functional smart grid could save consumers $50bn a year.

Smart grids offer an important defence against climate change: smart devices improve energy efficiency, and data and automation help keep grids stable, even if the share of renewable energy increases. They thus address short-term disruptions to solar and wind power, such as when clouds obscure the sun or winds die down. Smart grid technologies provide data and automation that can maintain grid stability with a much higher share of clean energy.

There are still no large-scale smart grid implementations, and many obstacles remain. These include data privacy and protection from cyber attacks, finding the skilled workforce to implement the technology, offering a more diverse range of smart products, and ensuring all smart devices can safely communicate with interoperable standards. PSU’s project aims to catalyse an innovation ecosystem to address these difficulties.