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Current News
PJM Implements Changes In Compensation For Demand Response
April 4, 2012
The changes mean that PJM is the first grid operator to comply with FERC Order 745 on demand response compensation, which was issued in March 2011. PJM also has proposed price responsive demand, which would enable retail consumers to respond directly to wholesale electricity prices through state rate options and advanced meters.
[ more ]
MISO Look-Ahead Tool to Improve Efficiencies, Reduce Costs
April 4, 2012
The LAC Tool is designed to more efficiently plan near-term resource commitments in the Real-Time Market. By conservative estimates, the tool is expected to save upwards of $2 million per year to the region, which covers 11 states and Manitoba, Canada.
[ more ]
Report Examines Intersection of Smart Buildings and Smart Grid
April 4, 2012
In most developed countries, industrial and commercial buildings consume 40% of all generated electrical power. According to a new report from Memoori Research, there are several reasons why the integration of smart buildings and the smart grid represents a growing business opportunity for utilities. Among them: the vast majority of these buildings are already fitted with fully automatic DDC controls, and virtual power plant technology provides the opportunity to aggregate their supply and demand.
[ view website ]
Tsunami Leads to Major Smart Grid Focus in Japan
April 3, 2012
According to a recent report from Zpryme Research, Japan intends to invest approximately $1.7 trillion in modernizing its electrical network over the next 18 years (to 2030), the majority of which will go toward new technology and smart grid. Additionally, Japan's Diet passed a clean energy bill in August 2011 (effective July 2012), which includes a European-style, feed-in-tariff plan requiring utilities to purchase a certain percentage of renewable energy at fixed prices. These developments point to huge opportunities for power transmission suppliers, manufacturers, IT Consultants, and smart grid integrators alike.
[ download report ]
Wabash Valley Power Implements Siemens Demand Response Management System
April 2, 2012
The DRMS calculates baseline load curves via data collected from roughly 400 substations across 26 member distribution cooperatives. This is designed to allow WVPA to schedule load shed events in several ways and validate that the load shed has occurred, while tracking actual kW of load shed ranging from a single program participant to distribution substations and up to as many substations as necessary.
[ more ]
$100 Billion: True Value of the Smart Grid Market by 2020, According to NRG Experts
March 30, 2012
The UK-based market research firm finds that an estimated $2 trillion of total investment will be needed to achieve full smart grid penetration, and that energy costs will increase as much as 400% by 2020, if the move to a smart grid is not made.
[ visit website ]
Echelon Enables Microgrids In India and South Africa
March 29, 2012
The model microgrid deployments are at Palm Meadows in Hyderabad, India, and Clearwater Mall in Johannesburg, South Africa. Palm Meadows is an 86-acre integrated gated community with 335 homes and residential services. Clearwater Mall in Johannesburg is a retail building with more than 240 stores.
[ more ]
Smart Meter Shipments Strong in 2011, But Deployments Slowed in the Fourth Quarter
March 29, 2012
According to a new tracker report from Pike Research, overall smart meter shipments in the last three months of the year slipped nearly 8% from 3Q 2011. Global smart meter shipments reached 17.8 million in 4Q 2011, with China accounting for 12.3 million of these.
[ more ]
California ISO Board Green Lights Grid Upgrades
March 28, 2012
The plan affirms, for a second year, that previously approved major transmission projects remain
sufficient to meet California's goal of using renewable resources to supply 33 percent of power use by
2020. ISO analysis shows approving additional green transmission at this point could potentially lead to
overbuilding and stranded investments.
[ more ]
Powerit Solutions Moves Industrial Energy Platform Toward the Cloud
March 28, 2012
When launched, the hosted platform is intended to help Spara enhance customer energy optimization and provide advanced analytics and reporting. Spara will be designed to connect users automatically to the latest utility rate schedules and programs as well as aggregator demand response programs.
[ more ]
Echelon and Holley Metering Create Joint Venture For Smart Grid Solutions in China
March 27, 2012
The partnership is intended to leverage Echelon's Silicon Valley energy control networking innovation center and its experience in highly reliable power line control and communications hardware and software platforms for smart grid applications, and Holley Metering's breadth of metering solutions, low cost manufacturing competencies and extensive customer relationships. The joint venture is majority owned by Echelon. Echelon and Holley Metering will both contribute cash and resources into the new company.
[ more ]
IBM and Telvent Selected to Help Test Hydro One's Distribution Power Grid
March 27, 2012
Hydro One will use the Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) from Telvent, which is designed to provide functionality for planning, operation and analysis of its distribution system. The goal is to allow Hydro One to more accurately manage and plan their grid investments. IBM will serve as overall system integrator for the project.
[ more ]
GainSpan Partners with People Power to Develop Cloud Connectivity Solutions
March 27, 2012
The solution, targeting residential and business customers, is intended to enable system designers to easily connect smart energy devices to the cloud via Wi-Fi. Sensors and actuators connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi will be remotely monitored and controlled from a smartphone connected wirelessly to the cloud via 3G.
[ more ]
NRG Energy to Build Electric Vehicle Fast-Charging Infrastructure in California
March 26, 2012
The fee-based charging network will consist of at least 200 publicly available fast-charging stations -- installed in the San Francisco Bay area, the San Joaquin Valley, the Los Angeles Basin and San Diego County -- which are designed to add 50 miles of range in less than 15 minutes of charging. Additionally, NRG's EV infrastructure commitment will include the wiring for at least 10,000 individual charging stations located at homes, offices, multifamily communities, schools and hospitals located across the State.
[ more ]
NERC Grid Exercise Increases Cybersecurity Readiness; Identifies Enhancements to Improve Security
March 26, 2012
More than 75 organizations, including utilities and U.S. and Canadian governments,
participated in the exercise, which was designed to validate the readiness of the
industry to respond to a cyber incident, strengthen the crisis response functions of
utilities, and provide input for internal security program improvements.
[ more ]
Survey Shows Healthy Consumer Interest in Home Energy Management and Smart Appliances
March 23, 2012
The survey by Pike Research found that 47% of consumers would be "extremely" or "very" interested in home energy management products and services that would allow them to monitor and control energy usage in their home. 45% stated they would be interested in connected smart appliances that would help them manage their electricity consumption more efficiently.
[ more ]
Major Utilities and Energy Suppliers Commit To Supporting Green Button
March 22, 2012
Energy companies making new commitments to supporting the Green Button initiative include American Electric Power, Austin Energy, Baltimore Gas and Electric, CenterPoint Energy, Commonwealth Edison, NSTAR, PECO, Reliant, and Virginia Dominion Power.
[ more ]
Smart Grid at Santa Rita Jail in California Completed
March 22, 2012
The microgrid is designed to enable Alameda County county's Santa Rita Jail to sustain power should its connection to the utility grid be interrupted. The $11.7 million project is also intended to save the county approximately $100,000 per year in energy costs, and is seen by officials as a first-of-its-kind smart grid.
[ more ]
Fitch: U.S. Utility Sector Investment in Smart Meters Driven By Public Policy
March 22, 2012
Fitch Ratings expects smart meters will play a growing role in federal and state regulatory and political policymaking, future retail rate design and system reliability standards, according to a report published today. The firm notes that the total number of smart meters rose 53% to 70.4 million units in 2010 compared to 45.9 million in 2008. Investor-owned utilities (IOUs) accounted for 76% of all AMI smart meters deployed.
[ view report - registration required ]
Construction of Smart Substations to Take Center Stage in China
March 21, 2012
The bidding volume for smart substations in China experienced significantly accelerated growth in 2011. Up to the sixth bidding, 162 out of 582 substations for centralized bidding were smart ones, accounting for 28%. 75 smart substations were built in 2011, and more than 300 are expected to be built in 2012.
[ more ]
Burlington Electric Department Proceeds with Siemens for Smart Grid Project
March 21, 2012
The first phase of the BED smart grid project kicked off in mid-2011 with requirements-gathering workshops to help frame the integration work. The second phase will include meter-to-cash functionality, advanced billing functionality, and the ability to improve operational efficiencies through reduced truck rolls and better outage management.
[ more ]
IDT Introduces Advanced Single-phase Power Metering SoC for Smart Grid Applications
March 20, 2012
The metering device is the latest member of IDT's product family and is designed to offer the industry's widest dynamic range of 5000:1, enabling meter manufacturers to merge various meter types into one, thus simplifying the design and manufacturing process for meter makers and reducing the storage and management complexity for utilities.
[ more ]
China's Smart Cities Offer $153 Billion Opportunity
March 20, 2012
The bulk of the spending on smart cities will be on telecommunications because of the need to build robust infrastructure to support the proliferation of data transmission. From 2011 to 2015, Lux Research estimates the investment on data transmission at $96 billion, or more than 60% of the total investment.
[ more ]
Sensus and Harris Computer Systems Collaborate On Suite of Utility Enterprise Software
March 20, 2012
Sensus has announced it is partnering with utility software provider Harris Computer Systems to integrate its advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and distribution automation solutions with Harris' utility software solutions. The collaboration is intended to enable the delivery of smart grid solutions to new and existing utility customers.
[ more ]
Iberdrola Awards One Million Smart Meters For Its Projects In Spain
March 20, 2012
As part of the STAR project for the roll-out of smart grids, Iberdrola will be investing some Euro 2,000 million in its electricity grid by 2018. The company has selected seven manufacturers to supply the new devices, which it will be installing in various autonomous regions -- ZIV, Landis&GYR, Sagemcom, Sogecam, Orbis, Elster and GE.
[ more ]
European Parliament Calls For Binding 2030 Renewables Target
March 19, 2012
"The Parliament's vote sends a strong message to the European Council as it prepares its response to the European Commission's Energy Roadmap 2050", commented Stephane Bourgeois, Head of Regulatory Affairs at the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA).
[ more ]
Smart Grid Market Focus to Shift From Deployment to Applications in 2012
March 19, 2012
According to a white paper from Pike Research, the year 2012 represents a turning point for the sector, where the smart grid must prove its value, both in operational and financial terms, to the full range of stakeholders. In the next phase of smart grid development and deployment, the question is: What will we do with the massive infrastructure that has been deployed and all the data it will generate?
[ more ]
Advanced Grid Concepts and Intelligent Technology Pivotal to Achieving EU 20-20-20 Targets
March 19, 2012
Despite awareness of smart grids being relatively low in the EU, deployment can be seen on a large scale. The significant difference between the deployment of smart grid technology in Europe and developing nations is the risk-taking attitude towards utilities in the former.
[ more ]
DoE Awards Siemens $1.6 Million Research Grant to Develop Electrical Vehicle Charging Infrastructure
March 15, 2012
The research funding is intended to provide manufacturers a financial incentive to set aside 'winner-take-all' competitive imperatives and set a clearer path to align commercial EV charging technology development that supports integration with the power grid and ultimately provides substantial benefits to consumers. Collaborating with Siemens in the overall development effort are Duke Energy and Ford Motor Company.
[ more ]
Renesas Electronics, Ariane Controls and Grid2Home Announce Smart-Charging Communication Solution for Plug-In HEVs and EVs
March 15, 2012
For vehicle authentication and billing purposes during the electric vehicle charging process, communication must be established with the utility company. The platform is designed to enable the EV supply equipment (EVSE) to can act as a translator, moving the smart energy messages to the home area network to the meter.
[ more ]
Offshore Wind Study Recommends Ocean Substations Be Added in Atlantic
March 15, 2012
One offshore substation platform with two 230,000-volt power lines is appropriate to transmit to shore every 500-700 megawatts of wind-generated electricity constructed off the coast of Virginia, a study done at Dominion Virginia Power's request recommends.
[ more ]
IEEE Announces Five New Standards and a Standards-Development Project for the Smart Grid
March 12, 2012
The new standards and standards projects recently approved by the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) Standards Board are intended to establish critical new dimensions in the IEEE portfolio of more than 100 active standards or standards in development relevant to the smart grid.
[ more ]
President Obama Launches EV-Everywhere Challenge
March 12, 2012
The initiative, which will bring together DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program, the Office of Science, and ARPA-E, will aim to make electric vehicles affordable to the average American family by specifically targeting technological and cost improvements in batteries, electric motors, power electronics, light-weight structures, and fast charging technology.
[ more ]
Researchers Focus on New Smart Grid Models and Tools for Low-Cost Green Islands
March 12, 2012
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and their collaborators in Portugal have developed a real-world database for electric power grids of Flores and San Miguel, two of nine volcanic islands that sit in the middle of the North Atlantic some 900 miles west of Lisbon, Portugal. Using this database, the team has modeled and assessed the potential of residential and commercial electricity users to participate in a load management program needed to make the most out of inexpensive, clean wind energy.
[ more ]
SDG&E Launches Smart Grid Privacy Initiative
March 9, 2012
Key components of SDG&E's efforts to incorporate privacy into its smart grid include 1) incorporating privacy end-to-end throughout the entire life cycle of any personal information, 2) ensuring privacy is the default stance of all programs, and 3) embedding privacy requirements into smart grid designs and overall project framework.
[ more ]
Online Conference To Examine Demand Response Advances and Future Potential
March 9, 2012
Representatives from Itron, Brattle Group, Ventryx and other companies are scheduled to discuss issues such as AutoDR advances and applications, integrated demand management strategies, implementation case studies, and future opportunities for the demand response sector. The event is organized by The Smart Grid Observer and is set for Thursday, April 26, 2012.
[ more ]
Smart Grid Heat Map Profiles Smart Meter Penetration Across Europe
March 8, 2012
Sentec has produced a heat map based on 2011 data from IMS Research on the rollout to date and their predictions for 2015. According to the map, Italy and the Nordics are currently leading with over 94% and 70% of meters installed respectively, due in large part to early investment ($3bn by 2006) in smart meter technology by Enel in Italy and the first policy of regulation-driven rollout of smart meters in Sweden. IMS' predictions for 2015 show France (49%), Spain & Portugal (73%) and the UK & Ireland (65%) catching up.
[ more ]
EnerNex Opens Smart Grid Labs Testing Facility
March 8, 2012
The lab was constructed complete with utility poles, feeder and substation equipment, ruggedized utility communications gear, advanced metering systems from head end to Field Area Networks (FAN) to meter to Home Area Networks (HAN), building automation networks, and consumer-targeted smart grid devices (eg., TV displays, smart thermostats, tabletop HMI displays, smart kitchen appliances, and smart washer/dryer).
[ more ]
Demand Response and Renewables Integration To Drive Growth of Short-Term Power Markets
March 8, 2012
"To date, market mechanisms and rule changes have been effective at optimizing grid resources," says Pike Research analyst Eric Bloom. "While it is not clear when these mechanisms will no longer be able to contain price fluctuations, the amount of wind and solar expected to come online will certainly raise the probability of pricing volatility. As the structure and product offerings in short-term power markets become more complex, the need for additional trading services increases."
[ more ]
Falbygdens Energi AB, Sweco, and Lavastorm Analytics Form Smart Grid Partnership
March 8, 2012
The partnership has already produced results for one business case test, showing that a combination of smart meters, real-time data visualization, dynamic pricing, and load management reduces peak power use by consumers by 10 percent, and the cost of running the power network for the utility by five percent.
[ more ]
Worldwide Smart Meter Shipments to Surpass 140 Million Units Annually by 2016
March 7, 2012
While IDC Energy Insights expects developing markets to drive smart meter growth through 2016, the revival of the Canadian market and an uptick in shipments to Central and Eastern Europe were the primary drivers in the closing quarter of 2011.
[ more ]
SmartSynch Announces Team for Consumers Energy Deployment
March 7, 2012
Members of the team include GE Energy, who will provide the meter hardware; Grid Net, who will provide the networking and metering software used by the utility; Qualcomm, who will provide the mobile broadband chipsets that enable cellular connectivity in the SmartMeters; and Verizon Wireless, who will provide the communications network.
[ more ]
Power Matters Alliance Opens for Business
March 7, 2012
Power Matters Alliance was created with the intention of remaking consumers' daily interaction with power wireless, energy efficient and smart. Adopting concepts from the Internet, PMA is focused on smart power management, the promotion of energy efficiency practices, and the creation of an advanced wireless power ecosystem.
[ more ]
Ameren Illinois Submits Blueprint for Grid Modernization
March 6, 2012
The plan identifies the six program categories on which the 10-year, $625 million infrastructure initiative will focus. These are: infrastructure improvements, distribution automation, AMI, training facilities, distribution system optimization, and distribution system management.
[ more ]
Report Evaluates Need to Adopt Distribution Management Systems in the North American Market
March 5, 2012
In the report, IDC Energy Insights provides an opinion on which vendors are well-positioned today through current capabilities and which are best positioned to gain market share over the next three to five years. Vendors evaluated include: Alstom, GE, Oracle, Siemens, Telvent (acquired by Schneider Electric), and Ventyx (an ABB company).
[ more ]
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