Watch the video of Itron AMR deployment at Consolidated Edison in New York
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Itron’s Automatic Meter Reading Technology Featured on BusinessWeek TV
BusinessWeek Weekend is a subsidiary of BusinessWeek Magazine, a highly respected national publication.
Automatic meter reading (AMR) technology has been discovered by the mainstream media!
BusinessWeek Weekend, a syndicated national television program, recently featured a short segment on AMR, filming the AMR deployment at Consolidated Edison in New York. The segment features Itron’s technology. The feature clearly acknowledges Itron’s dominance in the AMR market.
The segment is a reflection of how more mainstream media is showing interest in the energy and water industry and how associated technologies can improve energy delivery and customer service. With the new energy bill, more mainstream media will likely focus attention on energy and water technologies.
The full story focuses on the high cost of energy this year and how people can save on their heating bills. Although the anchor of the segment described AMR as a “new” technology, nevertheless, it is exciting to see “invisible” technologies that help utilities work more efficiently and cost-effectively hit the mainstream market as news.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Ambient Corp.(ABTG) urges collaboration in smart grids
Ambient urges collaboration in smart grids !!!
Jun 30, 2009 2:48 PM, By Sarah Reedy
Smart grid communications provider teams up with meter manufacturing Itron for complete smart grid offering
Ambient Corporation announced today it has signed a memorandum of understanding with meter manufacturer Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) to integrate Itron’s smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) services with its smart grid communications platform. The combination of the two companies will offer a complete suite of smart grid functionality for the utility industry, but it’s just one of many partnerships that Ambient has planned, according to President and Chief Executive Officer John Joyce.
“The way I see this is that Ambient has been working on this communication backbone, which is a non-proprietary, high-bandwidth network that enables advanced metering, so we have in the past worked with other advanced metering companies, and we look forward to working with others as well,” Joyce said.
Ambient’s latest agreement with Itron will integrate Itron’s AMI application for the smart grid, called OpenWay, with Ambient’s standard-based smart grid equipment and technology to connect legacy equipment and advanced smart energy apps to the nation’s power grid. Itron’s AMI is currently in use in both consumer and commercial deployments for energy and water utilities. The company serves 8,000 utilities worldwide with products ranging from electricity, gas, water and heat meters to data collection and communications systems to AMI and automated meter reading (AMR).
As many utilities with AMI already in place look to build out smart grid capabilities, they have experienced pushback from their state regulators on the stranded assets they already made available to their customer base, Joyce said. Partnering with Ambient will enable Itron to pull those older meters already in place onto the smart grid platform, thus not leaving them stranded, and give utilities and their states the opportunity to move from advanced metering to smart grids, he said.
According to Joyce, state regulators are looking for the utilities to submit proposals for obtaining regulatory approval to do smart-grid pilots in anticipation of federal funding. That being said, not all utilities are waiting for the stimulus funds. For example, Ambient works with gas and electricity provider Duke Energy, which has already received approval from the state of Ohio to go beyond pilots and build out its smart grid platform. He anticipates that the stimulus funds will only further drive utilities to move from smart metering to entire smart-grid launches.
“You might have many utilities planning on receiving those funds before proceeding, but there is a great deal of interest,” Joyce said. “There is no doubt the stimulus package will help to support the buildout of smart-grid platforms, and many state utilities and regulators are looking to how that will play out in the next few months.”
Ambient’s technologies today run over Verizon Wireless’s cellular network, and the company entered into a joint marketing agreement with the carrier last year. Even as VZW’s markets the smart grid to its customers, however, Joyce said Ambient is also open to partnering with other telcos and IT companies like Google, Cisco and Microsoft, as they look to get a piece of the smart-grid opportunity.
Recently, AT&T has partnered with smart-meter provider SmartSynch and last week inked a deal with utility company Cooper Power Systems, while Qwest Communications partnered with Current Communications to sell smart grids to utilities. In general, Joyce said smart grids are a market that, by necessity, will be driven by many more partnerships and industry collaboration.
“Verizon obviously has a very wide network as they are advancing their technology, but there are going to be some utilities that prefer to work with other carriers,” Joyce said. “Just as we desire to work with more than one metering company, we look to work with more than one carrier. We see that as all complementary and important for the industry. Collaboration, especially at this stage, is very, very important.”
Jun 30, 2009 2:48 PM, By Sarah Reedy
Smart grid communications provider teams up with meter manufacturing Itron for complete smart grid offering
Ambient Corporation announced today it has signed a memorandum of understanding with meter manufacturer Itron (NASDAQ: ITRI) to integrate Itron’s smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) services with its smart grid communications platform. The combination of the two companies will offer a complete suite of smart grid functionality for the utility industry, but it’s just one of many partnerships that Ambient has planned, according to President and Chief Executive Officer John Joyce.
“The way I see this is that Ambient has been working on this communication backbone, which is a non-proprietary, high-bandwidth network that enables advanced metering, so we have in the past worked with other advanced metering companies, and we look forward to working with others as well,” Joyce said.
Ambient’s latest agreement with Itron will integrate Itron’s AMI application for the smart grid, called OpenWay, with Ambient’s standard-based smart grid equipment and technology to connect legacy equipment and advanced smart energy apps to the nation’s power grid. Itron’s AMI is currently in use in both consumer and commercial deployments for energy and water utilities. The company serves 8,000 utilities worldwide with products ranging from electricity, gas, water and heat meters to data collection and communications systems to AMI and automated meter reading (AMR).
As many utilities with AMI already in place look to build out smart grid capabilities, they have experienced pushback from their state regulators on the stranded assets they already made available to their customer base, Joyce said. Partnering with Ambient will enable Itron to pull those older meters already in place onto the smart grid platform, thus not leaving them stranded, and give utilities and their states the opportunity to move from advanced metering to smart grids, he said.
According to Joyce, state regulators are looking for the utilities to submit proposals for obtaining regulatory approval to do smart-grid pilots in anticipation of federal funding. That being said, not all utilities are waiting for the stimulus funds. For example, Ambient works with gas and electricity provider Duke Energy, which has already received approval from the state of Ohio to go beyond pilots and build out its smart grid platform. He anticipates that the stimulus funds will only further drive utilities to move from smart metering to entire smart-grid launches.
“You might have many utilities planning on receiving those funds before proceeding, but there is a great deal of interest,” Joyce said. “There is no doubt the stimulus package will help to support the buildout of smart-grid platforms, and many state utilities and regulators are looking to how that will play out in the next few months.”
Ambient’s technologies today run over Verizon Wireless’s cellular network, and the company entered into a joint marketing agreement with the carrier last year. Even as VZW’s markets the smart grid to its customers, however, Joyce said Ambient is also open to partnering with other telcos and IT companies like Google, Cisco and Microsoft, as they look to get a piece of the smart-grid opportunity.
Recently, AT&T has partnered with smart-meter provider SmartSynch and last week inked a deal with utility company Cooper Power Systems, while Qwest Communications partnered with Current Communications to sell smart grids to utilities. In general, Joyce said smart grids are a market that, by necessity, will be driven by many more partnerships and industry collaboration.
“Verizon obviously has a very wide network as they are advancing their technology, but there are going to be some utilities that prefer to work with other carriers,” Joyce said. “Just as we desire to work with more than one metering company, we look to work with more than one carrier. We see that as all complementary and important for the industry. Collaboration, especially at this stage, is very, very important.”
Itron and Ambient Partner to Increase Smart Grid Functionality for Both Companies
LIBERTY LAKE, Wash. - June 30, 2009 - Itron Inc. (NASDAQ: ITRI) announced today it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ambient Corporation for integration of Itron smart grid and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) solutions, and components, with Ambient Smart Grid® communications platform. The partnership enables a comprehensive and complete suite of smart grid functionality that Itron and Ambient will jointly market to utility customers.
Under terms of the agreement the companies will closely integrate Itron's leading advanced metering application for the smart grid, OpenWay®, with Ambient Smart Grid communications technology to seamlessly connect legacy equipment as well as advanced smart energy applications to the nation's power grid.
Itron North America senior vice president and chief operating officer Philip Mezey said, "This is further proof that the OpenWay architecture is adaptable to multiple networks in support of smart grid deployments. Building the smart grid requires unprecedented collaboration. Our partnership with Ambient will help both our companies extend smart grid benefits to more energy users."
The agreement covers multiple technologies from both companies, including Itron ERT® technology, used for automated meter reading (AMR); as well as Itron Fixed Network and OpenWay RFLAN communications. The partnership leverages Ambient's X-3000 node and AmbientNMS®, key components of Ambient Smart Grid solutions, and network capabilities utilizing Verizon Wireless' cellular networks.
John J. Joyce, president and chief executive officer of Ambient, said, "This partnership brings together Itron's core consumer and commercial AMI technologies with Ambient's high-capacity communications network for a complete 'utility to the home' smart grid solution."
Itron is a leading, global solutions provider to energy and water utilities, with more than 14 million OpenWay meters under contract.
Ambient designs, develops, and markets Ambient Smart Grid equipment, technologies and services.
About Itron:
Itron Inc. is a leading technology provider to the global energy and water industries. Our company is the world's leading provider of intelligent metering, data collection and utility software solutions, with nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on our technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Our products include electricity, gas, water and heat meters, data collection and communication systems, including automated meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); meter data management and related software applications; as well as project management, installation, and consulting services. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.
About Ambient Corporation:
Ambient designs, develops and markets Ambient Smart Grid communications technologies and equipment. Using open standards-based technologies along with in-depth industry experience, Ambient provides utilities with solutions for creating smart grid communication platforms and technologies. Headquartered in Newton, MA, Ambient is a publicly traded company (OTCBB: ABTG). More information on Ambient is available at www.ambientcorp.com.
Under terms of the agreement the companies will closely integrate Itron's leading advanced metering application for the smart grid, OpenWay®, with Ambient Smart Grid communications technology to seamlessly connect legacy equipment as well as advanced smart energy applications to the nation's power grid.
Itron North America senior vice president and chief operating officer Philip Mezey said, "This is further proof that the OpenWay architecture is adaptable to multiple networks in support of smart grid deployments. Building the smart grid requires unprecedented collaboration. Our partnership with Ambient will help both our companies extend smart grid benefits to more energy users."
The agreement covers multiple technologies from both companies, including Itron ERT® technology, used for automated meter reading (AMR); as well as Itron Fixed Network and OpenWay RFLAN communications. The partnership leverages Ambient's X-3000 node and AmbientNMS®, key components of Ambient Smart Grid solutions, and network capabilities utilizing Verizon Wireless' cellular networks.
John J. Joyce, president and chief executive officer of Ambient, said, "This partnership brings together Itron's core consumer and commercial AMI technologies with Ambient's high-capacity communications network for a complete 'utility to the home' smart grid solution."
Itron is a leading, global solutions provider to energy and water utilities, with more than 14 million OpenWay meters under contract.
Ambient designs, develops, and markets Ambient Smart Grid equipment, technologies and services.
About Itron:
Itron Inc. is a leading technology provider to the global energy and water industries. Our company is the world's leading provider of intelligent metering, data collection and utility software solutions, with nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on our technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Our products include electricity, gas, water and heat meters, data collection and communication systems, including automated meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); meter data management and related software applications; as well as project management, installation, and consulting services. To know more, start here: www.itron.com.
About Ambient Corporation:
Ambient designs, develops and markets Ambient Smart Grid communications technologies and equipment. Using open standards-based technologies along with in-depth industry experience, Ambient provides utilities with solutions for creating smart grid communication platforms and technologies. Headquartered in Newton, MA, Ambient is a publicly traded company (OTCBB: ABTG). More information on Ambient is available at www.ambientcorp.com.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Department of Energy Sets Funding Criteria for Smart Grid Applicants
By Douglas Streeks, Reporter-Researcher, BroadbandCensus.coom
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2009 – The Department of Energy on Thursday published eligibility criteria for applicants of so-called “smart grid” funding applicants, with up to $3.9 billion available in grants to support the upgrading the electricity grid.
The guidelines, released by Energy’s Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Office, included instructions on who is eligible for funding, how the applicant may use the funds, timelines for funded projects, and functions the projects must be able to perform. Approximately $3.3 billion of the total is to be devoted to the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program; and $615 million for demonstration projects.
“These investments will be used to develop a smart, strong and secure electrical grid that will help integrate renewable resources onto the grid, deliver power more reliably and effectively with less environmental impact, and create new jobs across the country,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.
“By investing in updating the grid now, we will lower utility bills for American families and businesses, lessen our dependence on oil, and help advance a clean energy future for the nation,” he said.
The proposed projects must not last longer than three years and the applicant must provide at least 50 percent sharing for the total project costs, have no conflict of interest and be otherwise eligible for award, the application said.
In an initial announcement issued on Thursday, the department said that eligible applicants should include individual entities or teams of entities and that organizations eligible for both lead and supporting roles include electric power companies, government agencies, universities and colleges, electricity consumers, and private companies. Federal agencies are eligible only for supporting roles and not for funding, the department said.
The grants are for the development, storage, and transmission of digital information relevant to device, grid, or utility operations; sensing and localizing disruptions or changes in power flows on the grid and communicating such information instantaneously and automatically for purposes of enabling automatic protective responses; and dealing effectively with system security threats.
Any application or machine must have the ability to respond to such signals, measurements, or communications automatically; use digital information to operate functionalities on the electric utility grids that were previously electro-mechanical or manual; and use digital controls to manage and modify electricity demand, enable congestion management, assist in voltage control, provide operating reserves, and provide frequency regulation, according to the notice.
Eligible investments for SGIG funds, said the department, may include internal devices that allow appliances covered for purposes of establishing energy conservation standards to engage in smart grid functions and installation of devices or modification of electricity-using equipment to engage in smart grid functions; monitoring and communications devices to enable smart grid functions in transmission and distribution equipment; installation of metering devices, sensors, control devices, etc., to electric utility systems, retail distributors or marketers of electricity that are capable of engaging in smart grid functions; software that enables devices or computers to engage in smart grid functions; equipment that allows smart grid functions to operate and be combined or coordinated among multiple electric utilities and between that region and other regions; enabling distributed electricity generators to be monitored, controlled, or otherwise integrated into grid operations and electricity flows on the grid utilizing smart grid functions as well as distributed electricity generators owned and operated by persons other than electric utilities; and devices that allow electric or hybrid-electric vehicles to engage in smart grid functions.
The final rules reflect the input of more than 600 comments that the department received on the proposal solicitations, the Energy Department said. While the department had previously announced that while the maximum award limits for both programs were being increased, it said it will support projects of all sizes. Under the final solicitations, the maximum award for the Smart Grid Investment Grants will be $200 million; the maximum award for the Smart Grid Demonstrations will be $100 million.
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2009 – The Department of Energy on Thursday published eligibility criteria for applicants of so-called “smart grid” funding applicants, with up to $3.9 billion available in grants to support the upgrading the electricity grid.
The guidelines, released by Energy’s Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Office, included instructions on who is eligible for funding, how the applicant may use the funds, timelines for funded projects, and functions the projects must be able to perform. Approximately $3.3 billion of the total is to be devoted to the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program; and $615 million for demonstration projects.
“These investments will be used to develop a smart, strong and secure electrical grid that will help integrate renewable resources onto the grid, deliver power more reliably and effectively with less environmental impact, and create new jobs across the country,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement.
“By investing in updating the grid now, we will lower utility bills for American families and businesses, lessen our dependence on oil, and help advance a clean energy future for the nation,” he said.
The proposed projects must not last longer than three years and the applicant must provide at least 50 percent sharing for the total project costs, have no conflict of interest and be otherwise eligible for award, the application said.
In an initial announcement issued on Thursday, the department said that eligible applicants should include individual entities or teams of entities and that organizations eligible for both lead and supporting roles include electric power companies, government agencies, universities and colleges, electricity consumers, and private companies. Federal agencies are eligible only for supporting roles and not for funding, the department said.
The grants are for the development, storage, and transmission of digital information relevant to device, grid, or utility operations; sensing and localizing disruptions or changes in power flows on the grid and communicating such information instantaneously and automatically for purposes of enabling automatic protective responses; and dealing effectively with system security threats.
Any application or machine must have the ability to respond to such signals, measurements, or communications automatically; use digital information to operate functionalities on the electric utility grids that were previously electro-mechanical or manual; and use digital controls to manage and modify electricity demand, enable congestion management, assist in voltage control, provide operating reserves, and provide frequency regulation, according to the notice.
Eligible investments for SGIG funds, said the department, may include internal devices that allow appliances covered for purposes of establishing energy conservation standards to engage in smart grid functions and installation of devices or modification of electricity-using equipment to engage in smart grid functions; monitoring and communications devices to enable smart grid functions in transmission and distribution equipment; installation of metering devices, sensors, control devices, etc., to electric utility systems, retail distributors or marketers of electricity that are capable of engaging in smart grid functions; software that enables devices or computers to engage in smart grid functions; equipment that allows smart grid functions to operate and be combined or coordinated among multiple electric utilities and between that region and other regions; enabling distributed electricity generators to be monitored, controlled, or otherwise integrated into grid operations and electricity flows on the grid utilizing smart grid functions as well as distributed electricity generators owned and operated by persons other than electric utilities; and devices that allow electric or hybrid-electric vehicles to engage in smart grid functions.
The final rules reflect the input of more than 600 comments that the department received on the proposal solicitations, the Energy Department said. While the department had previously announced that while the maximum award limits for both programs were being increased, it said it will support projects of all sizes. Under the final solicitations, the maximum award for the Smart Grid Investment Grants will be $200 million; the maximum award for the Smart Grid Demonstrations will be $100 million.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
U.S. to spend $3.9 billion on "smart" power grid: Chu
Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:04pm EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on Thursday $3.9 billion in "smart grid" funding aimed at making power transmission around the country more flexible.
Addressing utility executives at an industry meeting, Chu said the funds would help create a system to allocate electricity more efficiently, whether through improved power lines or by allowing batteries in hybrid cars to feed back into the grid when needed.
"Right now, the way we distribute energy, it's like plumbing, it's down the hill," he told reporters at a news conference after his speech to the Edison Electric Institute conference in San Francisco.
Asked about people objecting to high-voltage power lines being built near their homes as part of a smart grid, Chu said he would appeal to U.S. national interests.
"People didn't like interstate highways in their backyard," he said. "But it was done for the sake of national security, and I would say even more so we will need a transmission distribution system for our national security."
Chu also said in his speech that California would receive $90 million from his department to spend on energy efficiency measures.
(Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on Thursday $3.9 billion in "smart grid" funding aimed at making power transmission around the country more flexible.
Addressing utility executives at an industry meeting, Chu said the funds would help create a system to allocate electricity more efficiently, whether through improved power lines or by allowing batteries in hybrid cars to feed back into the grid when needed.
"Right now, the way we distribute energy, it's like plumbing, it's down the hill," he told reporters at a news conference after his speech to the Edison Electric Institute conference in San Francisco.
Asked about people objecting to high-voltage power lines being built near their homes as part of a smart grid, Chu said he would appeal to U.S. national interests.
"People didn't like interstate highways in their backyard," he said. "But it was done for the sake of national security, and I would say even more so we will need a transmission distribution system for our national security."
Chu also said in his speech that California would receive $90 million from his department to spend on energy efficiency measures.
(Reporting by Braden Reddall; Editing by Marguerita Choy)
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Microsoft wants your Hohm to use the smart grid
Joining its competitor Google, Microsoft is taking a stab at providing an online service that allows users to track their energy use, joining it with a recommendation engine that will provide advice on how to bring that use down.
By John Timmer | Last updated June 24, 2009 6:52 PM CT
Today, Microsoft took the wraps off a new Web service dedicated to managing energy use. Called "Hohm" (presumably, a play on the combination of "home and "Ohm"), the product will take advantage of smart grid data on energy use when it's available. Even when it's not, however, Hohm will allow users to input their own details and share the results of their efficiency efforts, adding a bit of a Web 2.0 sheen to matters. The move comes after a number of other major IT powers, including Google and Cisco, have announced their own efforts in the area, suggesting that a lot of people think this market is about to take off.
The Hohm service itself is a bit of a hybrid of a number of services. From the smart grid perspective, a growing number of hardware makers are producing equipment that uses standardized methods of structuring and reporting data. That allows just about anyone to plug into the data, provided they're willing to work with utilities to obtain it. At the moment, Microsoft has lined up four utilities that will work when the service starts up, but they're certainly going to be working hard to bring more on before then. Two smart meter companies were also in on the announcement, indicating that Microsoft has already started validating the input from some of the existing hardware.
The data, however it's obtained, will be stored using Redmond's cloud offering, Windows Azure. The people behind Hohm have undoubtedly benefited from the experience of those who've built Microsoft's medical records service, which also uses Azure.
Even if your utility isn't offering up data to Microsoft, Hohm will make it possible to both enter your own manually, or set up any metering hardware or smart appliances to report in to Hohm. Microsoft is definitely positioning this as a "you get out of it what you put in" type situation—the more information a user provides, the better monitoring and efficiency suggestions they'll get back out from the service.
Those suggestions will come courtesy of analytical tools that Microsoft has licensed from the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. When concrete information is available, such as monthly power usage and a roster of home appliances, Hohm will offer up specific suggestions for cutting energy use. In the absence of anything specific, data on typical consumption by region will be used instead, although that clearly runs the risk of recommending that you do something that you've previously done.
The last facet is a bit of Web 2.0. Users will apparently have the opportunity to compare notes on different energy saving techniques and discuss matters among themselves. Tying everything together—input from other users, from Berkeley Labs' energy use models, and from the users' own data—will be Bing search technology. Microsoft is definitely eating its own dog food on this one.
At the moment, the company is only accepting requests for accounts in anticipation of the day that Hohm is ready for a closed beta. In February, the company gave enterprises running Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 a free tool dubbed the Environmental Sustainability Dashboard for tracking their environmental impact and energy consumption.
The move by Microsoft is an obvious recognition of a large and largely untapped market. Surveys show that most home users are interested in energy monitoring programs, and that their interest is largely driven by the potential for savings on their monthly bills. Although there are a number of companies already aiming to take a piece of that market—not only Google, but a number of small and innovative companies as well—most of them are limited by the fact that smart grid deployments are only just getting off the ground.
Microsoft is taking a bit of a calculated risk by allowing Hohm to work even in the absence of any hard data. This may give it an advantage over the companies that are waiting for the hardware deployments to catch up. But, in the absence of this data, there's the chance that users will be dissatisfied with the sort of general conservation advice that Hohm offers, and will wind up waiting for smart grid deployments as well.
By John Timmer | Last updated June 24, 2009 6:52 PM CT
Today, Microsoft took the wraps off a new Web service dedicated to managing energy use. Called "Hohm" (presumably, a play on the combination of "home and "Ohm"), the product will take advantage of smart grid data on energy use when it's available. Even when it's not, however, Hohm will allow users to input their own details and share the results of their efficiency efforts, adding a bit of a Web 2.0 sheen to matters. The move comes after a number of other major IT powers, including Google and Cisco, have announced their own efforts in the area, suggesting that a lot of people think this market is about to take off.
The Hohm service itself is a bit of a hybrid of a number of services. From the smart grid perspective, a growing number of hardware makers are producing equipment that uses standardized methods of structuring and reporting data. That allows just about anyone to plug into the data, provided they're willing to work with utilities to obtain it. At the moment, Microsoft has lined up four utilities that will work when the service starts up, but they're certainly going to be working hard to bring more on before then. Two smart meter companies were also in on the announcement, indicating that Microsoft has already started validating the input from some of the existing hardware.
The data, however it's obtained, will be stored using Redmond's cloud offering, Windows Azure. The people behind Hohm have undoubtedly benefited from the experience of those who've built Microsoft's medical records service, which also uses Azure.
Even if your utility isn't offering up data to Microsoft, Hohm will make it possible to both enter your own manually, or set up any metering hardware or smart appliances to report in to Hohm. Microsoft is definitely positioning this as a "you get out of it what you put in" type situation—the more information a user provides, the better monitoring and efficiency suggestions they'll get back out from the service.
Those suggestions will come courtesy of analytical tools that Microsoft has licensed from the DOE's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. When concrete information is available, such as monthly power usage and a roster of home appliances, Hohm will offer up specific suggestions for cutting energy use. In the absence of anything specific, data on typical consumption by region will be used instead, although that clearly runs the risk of recommending that you do something that you've previously done.
The last facet is a bit of Web 2.0. Users will apparently have the opportunity to compare notes on different energy saving techniques and discuss matters among themselves. Tying everything together—input from other users, from Berkeley Labs' energy use models, and from the users' own data—will be Bing search technology. Microsoft is definitely eating its own dog food on this one.
At the moment, the company is only accepting requests for accounts in anticipation of the day that Hohm is ready for a closed beta. In February, the company gave enterprises running Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009 a free tool dubbed the Environmental Sustainability Dashboard for tracking their environmental impact and energy consumption.
The move by Microsoft is an obvious recognition of a large and largely untapped market. Surveys show that most home users are interested in energy monitoring programs, and that their interest is largely driven by the potential for savings on their monthly bills. Although there are a number of companies already aiming to take a piece of that market—not only Google, but a number of small and innovative companies as well—most of them are limited by the fact that smart grid deployments are only just getting off the ground.
Microsoft is taking a bit of a calculated risk by allowing Hohm to work even in the absence of any hard data. This may give it an advantage over the companies that are waiting for the hardware deployments to catch up. But, in the absence of this data, there's the chance that users will be dissatisfied with the sort of general conservation advice that Hohm offers, and will wind up waiting for smart grid deployments as well.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Are We Smart Enough for the Smart Grid?
Are We Smart Enough for the Smart Grid?
Rich Duprey
June 19, 2009
Much of what's charging the Smart Grid investment discussion these days centers on software and devices that convey graphic information to consumers on their energy usage. Like jamming your foot on the accelerator of a new Fusion Hybrid from Ford and watching the green vine on its digital dashboard wilt and shed leaves, the visual feedback on smart meters from running your air conditioner during peak hours can lead to educated behavior modification.
Lovely Rita, meter maid
But the Smart Grid is more than just gee-whiz technology. While Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI), General Electric (NYSE: GE), and even Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) are giving consumers the tools to make better energy choices, just like the Fusion's digital display, there are other equally promising areas not getting the same attention as the meter maids.
To a certain extent, that's the nature of this emerging industry trend. Where solar, ethanol, or similar alt-energy platforms require substantial investments to build out the industry, the Smart Grid allows start-ups to develop software tools and networking devices to collect and organize the data on consumption to become the 10-baggers of the next decade.
Besides, investing in Google means you're also investing in its search-engine prowess. Buying GE also buys you a piece of its lighting, technology, finance, and health-care businesses. These might not be bad plays, but we're looking for Smart Grid investments.
The electric slide
Before we look at what else is out there, maybe we need to back up a bit and define what it is we're talking about.
Right now, the country's electric grid isn't all that smart. In fact, it's really pretty dumb. It was designed to do one thing: send electricity from the utilities into our homes. That was good enough for Grandma, but the U.S. consumes 100 quadrillion BTUs of energy each year, with much of it going to waste.
The promise of the Smart Grid is the development of a two-way communication system enabling utilities and grid operators to better manage and monitor the flow of electricity usage and channel it to where it's most needed. At the same time, consumers can take matters into their own hands -- through smart meters or appliances and electronic devices that can communicate with the grid -- to save money and make better energy decisions.
Between these two endpoints are plenty of opportunities for investors to profit.
Utilities and Grid Operators. The first pieces in the puzzle are the utilities and grid operators. Pacific Gas & Electric is one utility with an ambitious program to install 10.3 million smart meters across its entire grid by 2011. Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Sempra Energy are also implementing programs to meter up their customers.
Smart Grid Networks. You don't need to clog up the Internet or even rebuild it to get the data flowing from one end of the transmission line to the other. Privately held Trilliant and Silver Spring Networks are two companies doing the backhaul work of collecting the data from the smart meter and sending it to the utilities. They're using small communities of communication equipment called mesh networks to send the data back and forth.
Look out, though, because they might find themselves bumping up against Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), which is offering end-to-end, secure communications for the Smart Grid. It promises improved reliability, reduced costs, and lower risk for utilities, and could allow Cisco to emerge as a major contender for attention, even if it is partnering with Silver Spring in Miami.
Demand response aggregators. Paying companies not to use energy during peak periods is a novel approach to scarcity management. Demand response aggregators assist consumers and businesses in remotely reducing their electrical consumption during peak demand periods. In return, utilities and grid operators pay them for the lower demands they place on the system. Two of the larger demand response aggregators are Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) and EnerNOC, though several privately held companies like C-Power and EnergyConnect also act as intermediary agents, enrolling customers and taking responsibility for delivering the financial rewards to them.
Until recently, going after the residential customer didn't offer the same bang for the buck as getting large commercial and industrial clients on board, since individuals aren't as financially motivated to monitor and manage their energy usage. According to a 2008 Nielsen Claritas study, consumers are more likely to enroll in an online bill payment system than to participate in more "complicated online services." Real-time pricing, load management, and time-of-use rates all have very low adoptions rates. Yet as a critical mass of devices and opportunities develop, expect to see the residential user included in more demand response programs.
Energy management software. Whether it's the smart meter or the smart appliance, it's being run by software that establishes communication between the device and the grid operator. Echelon (Nasdaq: ELON), for example, provides homes and businesses with energy-aware devices that can react in real time to conditions existing on the grid.
A smart idea
The Smart Grid encompasses a variety of developing technologies, disciplines, and industries that seem confusing at first blush, but make a lot of sense as you dig further into them. Investors can leverage the public's nascent interest in green tech by plugging into these and other Smart Grid companies. It not only makes sense; it's smart, too.
Rich Duprey
June 19, 2009
Much of what's charging the Smart Grid investment discussion these days centers on software and devices that convey graphic information to consumers on their energy usage. Like jamming your foot on the accelerator of a new Fusion Hybrid from Ford and watching the green vine on its digital dashboard wilt and shed leaves, the visual feedback on smart meters from running your air conditioner during peak hours can lead to educated behavior modification.
Lovely Rita, meter maid
But the Smart Grid is more than just gee-whiz technology. While Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI), General Electric (NYSE: GE), and even Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) are giving consumers the tools to make better energy choices, just like the Fusion's digital display, there are other equally promising areas not getting the same attention as the meter maids.
To a certain extent, that's the nature of this emerging industry trend. Where solar, ethanol, or similar alt-energy platforms require substantial investments to build out the industry, the Smart Grid allows start-ups to develop software tools and networking devices to collect and organize the data on consumption to become the 10-baggers of the next decade.
Besides, investing in Google means you're also investing in its search-engine prowess. Buying GE also buys you a piece of its lighting, technology, finance, and health-care businesses. These might not be bad plays, but we're looking for Smart Grid investments.
The electric slide
Before we look at what else is out there, maybe we need to back up a bit and define what it is we're talking about.
Right now, the country's electric grid isn't all that smart. In fact, it's really pretty dumb. It was designed to do one thing: send electricity from the utilities into our homes. That was good enough for Grandma, but the U.S. consumes 100 quadrillion BTUs of energy each year, with much of it going to waste.
The promise of the Smart Grid is the development of a two-way communication system enabling utilities and grid operators to better manage and monitor the flow of electricity usage and channel it to where it's most needed. At the same time, consumers can take matters into their own hands -- through smart meters or appliances and electronic devices that can communicate with the grid -- to save money and make better energy decisions.
Between these two endpoints are plenty of opportunities for investors to profit.
Utilities and Grid Operators. The first pieces in the puzzle are the utilities and grid operators. Pacific Gas & Electric is one utility with an ambitious program to install 10.3 million smart meters across its entire grid by 2011. Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) and Sempra Energy are also implementing programs to meter up their customers.
Smart Grid Networks. You don't need to clog up the Internet or even rebuild it to get the data flowing from one end of the transmission line to the other. Privately held Trilliant and Silver Spring Networks are two companies doing the backhaul work of collecting the data from the smart meter and sending it to the utilities. They're using small communities of communication equipment called mesh networks to send the data back and forth.
Look out, though, because they might find themselves bumping up against Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), which is offering end-to-end, secure communications for the Smart Grid. It promises improved reliability, reduced costs, and lower risk for utilities, and could allow Cisco to emerge as a major contender for attention, even if it is partnering with Silver Spring in Miami.
Demand response aggregators. Paying companies not to use energy during peak periods is a novel approach to scarcity management. Demand response aggregators assist consumers and businesses in remotely reducing their electrical consumption during peak demand periods. In return, utilities and grid operators pay them for the lower demands they place on the system. Two of the larger demand response aggregators are Comverge (Nasdaq: COMV) and EnerNOC, though several privately held companies like C-Power and EnergyConnect also act as intermediary agents, enrolling customers and taking responsibility for delivering the financial rewards to them.
Until recently, going after the residential customer didn't offer the same bang for the buck as getting large commercial and industrial clients on board, since individuals aren't as financially motivated to monitor and manage their energy usage. According to a 2008 Nielsen Claritas study, consumers are more likely to enroll in an online bill payment system than to participate in more "complicated online services." Real-time pricing, load management, and time-of-use rates all have very low adoptions rates. Yet as a critical mass of devices and opportunities develop, expect to see the residential user included in more demand response programs.
Energy management software. Whether it's the smart meter or the smart appliance, it's being run by software that establishes communication between the device and the grid operator. Echelon (Nasdaq: ELON), for example, provides homes and businesses with energy-aware devices that can react in real time to conditions existing on the grid.
A smart idea
The Smart Grid encompasses a variety of developing technologies, disciplines, and industries that seem confusing at first blush, but make a lot of sense as you dig further into them. Investors can leverage the public's nascent interest in green tech by plugging into these and other Smart Grid companies. It not only makes sense; it's smart, too.
The buzz is building for ‘smart grid’ power system
H. JOSEF HEBERT THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: June 20, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Thomas Alva Edison, meet the Internet. More than a century after Edison invented a reliable light bulb, the nation's electricity distribution system, an aging spider web of power lines, is poised to move into the digital age.
The "smart grid" has become the buzz of the electric power industry, at the White House and among members of Congress. President Barack Obama says it is essential to boost development of wind and solar power, get people to use less energy and tackle climate change.
What smart-grid visionaries see coming are home thermostats and appliances that adjust automatically depending on the cost of power; where a water heater may get juice from a neighbor's rooftop solar panel; and where on a scorching hot day, a plug-in hybrid electric car charges one minute and the next sends electricity back to the grid to head off a brownout.
It is where utilities get instant feedback on a transformer outage, shift easily among energy sources, integrating wind and solar energy with electricity from coal-burning power plants, and go into homes and businesses to automatically adjust power use based on prearranged agreements.
"It's the marriage of information technology and automation technology with the existing electricity network. This is the energy Internet," said Bob Gilligan, vice president for transmission at GE Energy, which is aggressively pursuing smart-grid development. "There are going to be applications 10 years from now that you and I have no idea that we're going to want or need or think are essential to our lives."
Hundreds of technology companies and almost every major electric utility company see smart grid as the future. In Virginia, Dominion plans to install smart meters and equipment throughout its service area over the next few years as part of a $600 million plan.
Such interest got a boost with the availability of $4.5 billion in federal economic recovery money for smart-grid technology.
But smart grid won't be cheap; cost estimates run as high as $75 billion. Who's going to pay the bill? Will consumers get the payback they are promised? Might "smart meters" be too intrusive? Could an end-to-end computerization of the grid increase the risk of cyberattacks?
Today's grid is seen by many as little different from one envisioned by Edison 127 years ago. The hundreds of thousands of miles of power lines that crisscross the country have been compared to a river flowing down a hill: an inefficient one-way movement of electrons from power plant to consumer. There is little way to provide any feedback of information to the power company running the system or those buying the electricity.
"The heart of a smart grid is to make the grid more flexible, to more easily control the flow of electrons, and make it more efficient and reliable," said Greg Scheu, head of the power-production division at ABB North America, a leading grid technology provider.
"The meter is only the beginning," said Alex Huang, director of a grid technology center at North Carolina State University. He said that instead of power flowing from a small number of power plants, the smart grid can usher in a system of distributed energy so electricity "will flow from homes and businesses into the grid, neighborhoods will use local power and not just power flowing from a single source."
There are glimpses of what the future grid might look like.
On the University of Colorado campus in Boulder, the chancellor's home has been turned into a smart-grid showcase as part of a citywide $100 million demonstration project led by Xcel Energy. The home has a laptop-controlled electricity-management system that integrates a rooftop solar panel with grid-supplied power and tracks energy use as well as equipment to charge a plug-in hybrid electric car.
Florida Power & Light is planning to provide smart meters covering 1 million homes and businesses in the Miami area over the next two years in a $200 million project. Smart meters are being distributed by utilities from California to Delaware's Delmarva Peninsula.
"We've got about 70 [smart-grid] pilots all over the country right now," said Mike Oldak, an expert on smart grid at the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities.
Center Point Energy, which serves 2.2 million customers in the metropolitan Houston area, expects to spend $1 billion over the next five years on smart grid. Residential customers are seeing an additional $3.24 a month on their electric bills, but Center Point says that should be more than offset by energy savings.
An Energy Department study projects energy savings of 5 percent to 15 percent from smart grid.
"This pays for itself through efficiency and demand reduction, and if you don't look at it from that perspective, you won't get your money back," said Thomas Standish, group president for regulated operations at Center Power Energy.
The cost and payback have some state regulators worried.
"We need to demonstrate to folks that there's a benefit here before we ask them to pay for this stuff," said Frederick Butler, chairman of New Jersey's utility commission and president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the current grid inhibits greater use of renewable-energy sources such as wind and solar that "will need a system that can dispatch power here, there and everywhere on a very quick basis."
But Chu and others also worry about security. "If you want to create mischief, one very good way to create a great deal of mischief is to actually bring down a smart-grid system. This system has to be incredibly secure."
And there is the issue of intrusion.
"Is the average consumer willing to pay the upfront costs of a new system and then respond appropriately to price signals? Or will people view a utility's ability to reach inside a home to turn down a thermostat as Orwellian?" Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said at a recent hearing on smart grid.
Published: June 20, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Thomas Alva Edison, meet the Internet. More than a century after Edison invented a reliable light bulb, the nation's electricity distribution system, an aging spider web of power lines, is poised to move into the digital age.
The "smart grid" has become the buzz of the electric power industry, at the White House and among members of Congress. President Barack Obama says it is essential to boost development of wind and solar power, get people to use less energy and tackle climate change.
What smart-grid visionaries see coming are home thermostats and appliances that adjust automatically depending on the cost of power; where a water heater may get juice from a neighbor's rooftop solar panel; and where on a scorching hot day, a plug-in hybrid electric car charges one minute and the next sends electricity back to the grid to head off a brownout.
It is where utilities get instant feedback on a transformer outage, shift easily among energy sources, integrating wind and solar energy with electricity from coal-burning power plants, and go into homes and businesses to automatically adjust power use based on prearranged agreements.
"It's the marriage of information technology and automation technology with the existing electricity network. This is the energy Internet," said Bob Gilligan, vice president for transmission at GE Energy, which is aggressively pursuing smart-grid development. "There are going to be applications 10 years from now that you and I have no idea that we're going to want or need or think are essential to our lives."
Hundreds of technology companies and almost every major electric utility company see smart grid as the future. In Virginia, Dominion plans to install smart meters and equipment throughout its service area over the next few years as part of a $600 million plan.
Such interest got a boost with the availability of $4.5 billion in federal economic recovery money for smart-grid technology.
But smart grid won't be cheap; cost estimates run as high as $75 billion. Who's going to pay the bill? Will consumers get the payback they are promised? Might "smart meters" be too intrusive? Could an end-to-end computerization of the grid increase the risk of cyberattacks?
Today's grid is seen by many as little different from one envisioned by Edison 127 years ago. The hundreds of thousands of miles of power lines that crisscross the country have been compared to a river flowing down a hill: an inefficient one-way movement of electrons from power plant to consumer. There is little way to provide any feedback of information to the power company running the system or those buying the electricity.
"The heart of a smart grid is to make the grid more flexible, to more easily control the flow of electrons, and make it more efficient and reliable," said Greg Scheu, head of the power-production division at ABB North America, a leading grid technology provider.
"The meter is only the beginning," said Alex Huang, director of a grid technology center at North Carolina State University. He said that instead of power flowing from a small number of power plants, the smart grid can usher in a system of distributed energy so electricity "will flow from homes and businesses into the grid, neighborhoods will use local power and not just power flowing from a single source."
There are glimpses of what the future grid might look like.
On the University of Colorado campus in Boulder, the chancellor's home has been turned into a smart-grid showcase as part of a citywide $100 million demonstration project led by Xcel Energy. The home has a laptop-controlled electricity-management system that integrates a rooftop solar panel with grid-supplied power and tracks energy use as well as equipment to charge a plug-in hybrid electric car.
Florida Power & Light is planning to provide smart meters covering 1 million homes and businesses in the Miami area over the next two years in a $200 million project. Smart meters are being distributed by utilities from California to Delaware's Delmarva Peninsula.
"We've got about 70 [smart-grid] pilots all over the country right now," said Mike Oldak, an expert on smart grid at the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities.
Center Point Energy, which serves 2.2 million customers in the metropolitan Houston area, expects to spend $1 billion over the next five years on smart grid. Residential customers are seeing an additional $3.24 a month on their electric bills, but Center Point says that should be more than offset by energy savings.
An Energy Department study projects energy savings of 5 percent to 15 percent from smart grid.
"This pays for itself through efficiency and demand reduction, and if you don't look at it from that perspective, you won't get your money back," said Thomas Standish, group president for regulated operations at Center Power Energy.
The cost and payback have some state regulators worried.
"We need to demonstrate to folks that there's a benefit here before we ask them to pay for this stuff," said Frederick Butler, chairman of New Jersey's utility commission and president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the current grid inhibits greater use of renewable-energy sources such as wind and solar that "will need a system that can dispatch power here, there and everywhere on a very quick basis."
But Chu and others also worry about security. "If you want to create mischief, one very good way to create a great deal of mischief is to actually bring down a smart-grid system. This system has to be incredibly secure."
And there is the issue of intrusion.
"Is the average consumer willing to pay the upfront costs of a new system and then respond appropriately to price signals? Or will people view a utility's ability to reach inside a home to turn down a thermostat as Orwellian?" Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said at a recent hearing on smart grid.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
National Institute of Standards and Technology releases report on Smart Grid development
NIST releases report on Smart Grid development
Author: RP news wires
Issue: /
The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology on June 18 released for public review a report* that identifies issues and proposes priorities for developing technical standards and an architecture for a U.S. Smart Grid. The Smart Grid is a planned nationwide network that will use 21st century information technology to deliver electricity efficiently, reliably and securely, while allowing increased use of renewable power sources.
The nearly 300-page report, developed and delivered to NIST by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is available on the NIST Smart Grid Web site.
NIST will accept public comments on the report for 30 days after the publication of an upcoming notice in the Federal Register announcing the report’s availability.
This report is part of the first phase of NIST’s three-phase plan, announced in April, to expedite development of key standards for the Smart Grid.
“Widely adopted interoperability standards will enable integration, effective cooperation, and secure two-way communication among the many networked elements of a smart electric power grid,” said George Arnold, NIST national coordinator for Smart Grid interoperability. “This report is an important step forward in that process.”
Under the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, NIST has “primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems…”
NIST is working closely with the Department of Energy, the lead agency in the federal Smart Grid effort.
Earlier this year, NIST awarded a contract to EPRI for assistance in developing the standards framework. EPRI technical experts have compiled and distilled recommendations from a variety of Smart Grid stakeholders, including technical contributions taken from two EPRI-facilitated, two-day, public workshops. The EPRI report also incorporates contributions from six expert working groups established by NIST in 2008, and a cybersecurity coordination task group established in 2009. Hundreds of people have participated in the road mapping process to date.
NIST will use the EPRI report in drafting the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Framework. The NIST document will describe a high-level architecture, identify an initial set of key standards, and provide a roadmap for developing new or revised standards needed to realize the Smart Grid. Release 1.0 of the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Framework is planned to be available in September.
A third public EPRI-sponsored Smart Grid interoperability-standards workshop will be held in early August to engage standards-development organizations in responding to unaddressed, high-priority needs identified in the draft standards road map.
Ultimately, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) determines whether sufficient consensus has been reached to implement final standards and protocols necessary for Smart Grid functionality and interoperability. NIST’s role is to identify and submit to FERC recommendations for the final product.
As a non-regulatory agency, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.
* Report to NIST on the Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Roadmap (Contract No. SB1341-09-CN-0031 — Deliverable 7) Prepared by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), June 17, 2009.
Author: RP news wires
Issue: /
The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology on June 18 released for public review a report* that identifies issues and proposes priorities for developing technical standards and an architecture for a U.S. Smart Grid. The Smart Grid is a planned nationwide network that will use 21st century information technology to deliver electricity efficiently, reliably and securely, while allowing increased use of renewable power sources.
The nearly 300-page report, developed and delivered to NIST by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is available on the NIST Smart Grid Web site.
NIST will accept public comments on the report for 30 days after the publication of an upcoming notice in the Federal Register announcing the report’s availability.
This report is part of the first phase of NIST’s three-phase plan, announced in April, to expedite development of key standards for the Smart Grid.
“Widely adopted interoperability standards will enable integration, effective cooperation, and secure two-way communication among the many networked elements of a smart electric power grid,” said George Arnold, NIST national coordinator for Smart Grid interoperability. “This report is an important step forward in that process.”
Under the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007, NIST has “primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems…”
NIST is working closely with the Department of Energy, the lead agency in the federal Smart Grid effort.
Earlier this year, NIST awarded a contract to EPRI for assistance in developing the standards framework. EPRI technical experts have compiled and distilled recommendations from a variety of Smart Grid stakeholders, including technical contributions taken from two EPRI-facilitated, two-day, public workshops. The EPRI report also incorporates contributions from six expert working groups established by NIST in 2008, and a cybersecurity coordination task group established in 2009. Hundreds of people have participated in the road mapping process to date.
NIST will use the EPRI report in drafting the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Framework. The NIST document will describe a high-level architecture, identify an initial set of key standards, and provide a roadmap for developing new or revised standards needed to realize the Smart Grid. Release 1.0 of the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Framework is planned to be available in September.
A third public EPRI-sponsored Smart Grid interoperability-standards workshop will be held in early August to engage standards-development organizations in responding to unaddressed, high-priority needs identified in the draft standards road map.
Ultimately, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) determines whether sufficient consensus has been reached to implement final standards and protocols necessary for Smart Grid functionality and interoperability. NIST’s role is to identify and submit to FERC recommendations for the final product.
As a non-regulatory agency, NIST promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.
* Report to NIST on the Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Roadmap (Contract No. SB1341-09-CN-0031 — Deliverable 7) Prepared by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), June 17, 2009.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
DUKE ENERGY Smart Grid: Virtual Power Plant
Virtual Power Plant in Southeast Charlotte, N.C.
Posted by: Paige Layne on: June 8, 2009
The McAlpine Creek area in southeast Charlotte, N.C. — an area bordered by Carmel and Rea Roads and Hwy. 51 — is a test bed for distributed generation resources and smart grid technologies. An electric power substation on Hwy. 51 is flanked by more than 213 solar arrays, and soon a large battery will be installed at the site to store energy generated by the solar panels or at existing power plants when energy is available, but in low demand. Additionally, 100 customers are participating in a residential energy management pilot program that gives them the tools and information needed to develop an “energy profile.” Once their energy profiles are set, participating customers can use the information to manage their air conditioners, water heaters and other appliances to use less energy, save money and help the environment.
The solar panels, battery and energy management systems together create a virtual power plant capable of generating enough energy for 55 homes for one year.
Here’s how it works.
What energy can be.
Posted by: Paige Layne on: June 4, 2009
Duke Energy’s power grid is an engineering marvel that has delivered affordable, reliable electricity to over 4 million homes and businesses in the Southeast and Midwest for more than a century. But with rising costs and a desire to cut emissions, we must find ways to continue to meet our customers’ energy needs while reducing the impact on the environment. To do this, we’re deploying smart grid technologies to create an “energy Internet” capable of digital two-way communications. This digital connection will pave the way for a host of new opportunities, including new energy efficiency programs, the use of more renewable energy and new ways for Duke Energy to work with our customers to use less energy, save money and help the environment.
Todd Arnold, Duke Energy’s senior vice president of smart grid and customer systems, explains how.
“Energy Internet”requires the right communication platform
Posted by: Duke Energy on: May 20, 2009
Having the right communication platform is a critical part of the design and functionality of a smart grid. Duke Energy Vice President and Chief Technology Officer David Mohler explains why Internet Protocol-based open standards is the best approach for our company, customers and the industry.
Posted by: Paige Layne on: June 8, 2009
The McAlpine Creek area in southeast Charlotte, N.C. — an area bordered by Carmel and Rea Roads and Hwy. 51 — is a test bed for distributed generation resources and smart grid technologies. An electric power substation on Hwy. 51 is flanked by more than 213 solar arrays, and soon a large battery will be installed at the site to store energy generated by the solar panels or at existing power plants when energy is available, but in low demand. Additionally, 100 customers are participating in a residential energy management pilot program that gives them the tools and information needed to develop an “energy profile.” Once their energy profiles are set, participating customers can use the information to manage their air conditioners, water heaters and other appliances to use less energy, save money and help the environment.
The solar panels, battery and energy management systems together create a virtual power plant capable of generating enough energy for 55 homes for one year.
Here’s how it works.
What energy can be.
Posted by: Paige Layne on: June 4, 2009
Duke Energy’s power grid is an engineering marvel that has delivered affordable, reliable electricity to over 4 million homes and businesses in the Southeast and Midwest for more than a century. But with rising costs and a desire to cut emissions, we must find ways to continue to meet our customers’ energy needs while reducing the impact on the environment. To do this, we’re deploying smart grid technologies to create an “energy Internet” capable of digital two-way communications. This digital connection will pave the way for a host of new opportunities, including new energy efficiency programs, the use of more renewable energy and new ways for Duke Energy to work with our customers to use less energy, save money and help the environment.
Todd Arnold, Duke Energy’s senior vice president of smart grid and customer systems, explains how.
“Energy Internet”requires the right communication platform
Posted by: Duke Energy on: May 20, 2009
Having the right communication platform is a critical part of the design and functionality of a smart grid. Duke Energy Vice President and Chief Technology Officer David Mohler explains why Internet Protocol-based open standards is the best approach for our company, customers and the industry.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
June 9, 2009 - Ambient Comment on Duke Energy Smart Grid Announcement
June 9, 2009 - Ambient Comment on Duke Energy Smart Grid Announcement
We are excited to send along some updated information today about the smart grid deployment progress at Duke Energy. You may have read today that Duke Energy is working with Cisco Systems to fast track Duke's commitment to Internet protocol-based open standards, which has been at the forefront of Duke's and Ambient's strategy. We believe this strategy compliments and confirms our approach with Duke.
This announcement is only the latest in recent trends to define the open standards-based architecture for smart grids. We believe that Ambient Smart Grid™ is already well positioned to meet most of those requirements and easily adapted to meet any additional requirements.
We continue to work with our existing and potentially new customers and technology partners to develop our system and plan for larger deployments later this year.
We hope to see you at our Annual Meeting on June 19th as well as our upcoming presentations at the UPA's "Plug into Profit '09," GridWeek 2009 and other events.
See http://www.ambientcorp.com/media_news.html
!!!
We are excited to send along some updated information today about the smart grid deployment progress at Duke Energy. You may have read today that Duke Energy is working with Cisco Systems to fast track Duke's commitment to Internet protocol-based open standards, which has been at the forefront of Duke's and Ambient's strategy. We believe this strategy compliments and confirms our approach with Duke.
This announcement is only the latest in recent trends to define the open standards-based architecture for smart grids. We believe that Ambient Smart Grid™ is already well positioned to meet most of those requirements and easily adapted to meet any additional requirements.
We continue to work with our existing and potentially new customers and technology partners to develop our system and plan for larger deployments later this year.
We hope to see you at our Annual Meeting on June 19th as well as our upcoming presentations at the UPA's "Plug into Profit '09," GridWeek 2009 and other events.
See http://www.ambientcorp.com/media_news.html
!!!
Duke hires Cisco Systems for ‘smart-grid’ system
June 9, 2009, 9:34am EDT
Duke hires Cisco Systems for ‘smart-grid’ system
Business Courier of Cincinnati
Duke Energy Corp. has hired Cisco Systems Inc. to develop the utility’s “smart-grid” system.
The three-year agreement is the latest development in Duke Energy’s effort to convert its analog electricity infrastructure into a digital system that reduces energy use and boosts reliability.
The architecture will be based on Internet-protocol standards that will adapt to new communications technology.
“Our goal is to rapidly transform the way electricity is delivered to, and used by, the 11 million people we serve in five states,” says Todd Arnold, senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems at Duke Energy.
In addition, Cisco will work with Duke Energy to develop and install home energy-management devices to help customers control and reduce their electricity consumption.
Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
Charlotte-based Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) includes Duke Energy Carolinas and the former Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. in Ohio, Union Light, Heat and Power in Kentucky and PSI Energy in Indiana.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a California-based designer and manufacturer of networking technology.
FYI: Ambient Announces Development and License Agreement with Cisco Systems, Inc.
Duke hires Cisco Systems for ‘smart-grid’ system
Business Courier of Cincinnati
Duke Energy Corp. has hired Cisco Systems Inc. to develop the utility’s “smart-grid” system.
The three-year agreement is the latest development in Duke Energy’s effort to convert its analog electricity infrastructure into a digital system that reduces energy use and boosts reliability.
The architecture will be based on Internet-protocol standards that will adapt to new communications technology.
“Our goal is to rapidly transform the way electricity is delivered to, and used by, the 11 million people we serve in five states,” says Todd Arnold, senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems at Duke Energy.
In addition, Cisco will work with Duke Energy to develop and install home energy-management devices to help customers control and reduce their electricity consumption.
Financial terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.
Charlotte-based Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) includes Duke Energy Carolinas and the former Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. in Ohio, Union Light, Heat and Power in Kentucky and PSI Energy in Indiana.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO) is a California-based designer and manufacturer of networking technology.
FYI: Ambient Announces Development and License Agreement with Cisco Systems, Inc.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Duke Energy to bring ‘smart grid’ to Indiana
Monday, June 8, 2009, 11:24am EDT
Duke Energy to bring ‘smart grid’ to Indiana
Business Courier of Cincinnati
Duke Energy Corp. said it will build a “smart grid” power delivery system in Indiana, after reaching a settlement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and other groups.
The settlement also included Nucor Steel, the Duke Energy Indiana Industrial Group and the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana Inc.
The $445 million project is subject to approval by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and is expected to take five to six years. Duke said in a news release that it will apply for stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help pay for the project.
The current analog system used by most energy companies delivers power and does little else, said Jim Stanley, president of Duke Energy Indiana.
“Smart grid, with its digital, two-way communication capabilities, will transform how we operate our system – improving customer service, power reliability and the efficiency of our transmission and distribution system,” he said in the release.
The smart grid's benefits that include:
• The ability of consumers to track their energy usage daily and use “smart” appliances as they come on the market. Eventually, consumers would be able to monitor and manage their energy use online, and use other cost- and energy-saving programs.
• A communications system that would allow Duke to detect trouble on power lines before outages develop and move to prevent them.
• Smart meters that reduce the expense of on-site reading, and provide more information to the company. Duke hopes to install 800,000 meters throughout its 69-county service area.
• Other technology to automate the power delivery system and increase its reliability.
The company has about 775,000 customers in Indiana, making it the largest electric supplier in the state.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), based in Charlotte, N.C., includes the former Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., Union Light, Heat and Power in Kentucky and PSI Energy in Indiana. The company also operates Duke Power in the Carolinas.
Duke Energy to bring ‘smart grid’ to Indiana
Business Courier of Cincinnati
Duke Energy Corp. said it will build a “smart grid” power delivery system in Indiana, after reaching a settlement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and other groups.
The settlement also included Nucor Steel, the Duke Energy Indiana Industrial Group and the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana Inc.
The $445 million project is subject to approval by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and is expected to take five to six years. Duke said in a news release that it will apply for stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help pay for the project.
The current analog system used by most energy companies delivers power and does little else, said Jim Stanley, president of Duke Energy Indiana.
“Smart grid, with its digital, two-way communication capabilities, will transform how we operate our system – improving customer service, power reliability and the efficiency of our transmission and distribution system,” he said in the release.
The smart grid's benefits that include:
• The ability of consumers to track their energy usage daily and use “smart” appliances as they come on the market. Eventually, consumers would be able to monitor and manage their energy use online, and use other cost- and energy-saving programs.
• A communications system that would allow Duke to detect trouble on power lines before outages develop and move to prevent them.
• Smart meters that reduce the expense of on-site reading, and provide more information to the company. Duke hopes to install 800,000 meters throughout its 69-county service area.
• Other technology to automate the power delivery system and increase its reliability.
The company has about 775,000 customers in Indiana, making it the largest electric supplier in the state.
Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), based in Charlotte, N.C., includes the former Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co., Union Light, Heat and Power in Kentucky and PSI Energy in Indiana. The company also operates Duke Power in the Carolinas.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
`Smart grid' _ buzz of the electric power industry
`Smart grid' _ buzz of the electric power industry
By H. JOSEF HEBERT – 14 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thomas Alva Edison, meet the Internet.
More than a century after Edison invented a reliable light bulb, the nation's electricity distribution system, an aging spider web of power lines, is poised to move into the digital age.
The "smart grid" has become the buzz of the electric power industry, at the White House and among members of Congress. President Barack Obama says it's essential to boost development wind and solar power, get people to use less energy and tackle climate change.
What smart grid visionaries see coming are home thermostats and individual appliances that adjust automatically based on the cost of power, and water heaters that can draw power from a neighbor's rooftop solar panel. They see a time when, on a scorching hot day, a plug-in hybrid electric car charges one minute and a few moments later sends electricity back into the grid to help avert a brownout.
Also coming are utilities that get instant feedback on a transformer outage or shift easily among energy sources from wind turbines to coal-burning power plants and back to the turbines when the wind begins to blow again.
And, from miles away, power companies will peer into homes and businesses, then automatically lower thermostats or adjust power use, depending on demand and prearranged agreements.
"It's the marriage of information technology and automation technology with the existing electricity network. This is the energy Internet," said Bob Gilligan, vice president for transmission at GE Energy, one of many companies aggressively pursuing smart grid development. "There are going to be applications 10 years from now that you and I have no idea that we're going to want or need or think are essential to our lives."
Hundreds of technology companies, fledgling venture capitalists, longtime corporate icons and almost every major electric utility company want to be part of the grid modernization. Interest only intensified after Obama included $4.5 billion for development of the smart grid in his economic recovery package.
The merger of flowing electrons with the computer-driven information revolution won't be cheap, nor easy. Who's going to pay the bill? Will consumers get the payback they are promised? Might some people view utilities and their "smart meters" as being too intrusive?
Could an end-to-end computerization of the grid — with millions of access portals — increase the risk of cyberattacks by pranksters, or more foreboding, by terrorists looking to shut the system down.
Demonstration projects, including the smart meters installed in thousands of homes, are cropping up across the country. But the smart grid as seen by Gilligan and others probably will take years to develop and could cost $75 billion.
Overall transmission modernization, including new higher capacity lines along with the communications technology, could cost as much as $1 trillion, according to some estimates.
Even agreeing on what a smart grid is can be complicated. It's different things to different people.
Yet to understand the changes being considered means first looking at today's transmission system.
"Sadly, if Edison were alive today, he'd be all too familiar with the current system we rely on. Not that much has changed" in 127 years, said Carol Browner, the White House adviser on energy and climate. At a recent energy conference, she described that system as congested, disjointed and out of date.
Others compare the hundreds of thousands of miles of power lines that crisscross the country to a river flowing down a hill: an inefficient one-way movement of electrons from power plant to consumer. It uses primitive technologies — cables, meters, circuit breakers, fuses and rudimentary monitors. But there is little way to provide any feedback of information to the power company running the system or those buying the electricity.
"The heart of a smart grid is to make the grid more flexible, to more easily control the flow of electrons, and make it more efficient and reliable," said Greg Scheu, head of the power production division at ABB North America, a leading grid technology provider.
At the core, others see the ability for consumers to monitor and control their electricity use and cost with a keystroke on a laptop computer — or through home thermostats and even appliances that talk to the grid directly to adjust electricity use through smart meters.
"The meter is only the beginning. It's the minimal part of smart grid," said Alex Huang, director of a grid technology center at North Carolina State University. With instant communications and monitoring, a smart grid will use technology to change where electricity is generated and how it is distributed.
Instead of power flowing from a small number of sources, down main electronic highways, the smart grid can usher in a system of distributed energy, Huang said. "Electricity will flow from homes and businesses into the grid, neighborhoods will use local power and not just power flowing from a single source," he said. One day, perhaps an electronically controlled automated system will direct power flow.
Technological breakthroughs will be needed to produce the kind of system Huang envisions. But the ability to shove the aging grid into the digital world is here today, say smart grid advocates.
"The hurdles are not technological. They're really policy hurdles," said Michael Jung, director of policy at California-based Silver Spring Networks, one of a number of smart grid technology companies that have emerged in recent years and are working with utilities.
___
In cities such as Boulder, Colo., Seattle, Houston, Miami, and on the Delaware's Delmarva Peninsula, there are glimpses of what the future grid might look like.
On the University of Colorado campus in Boulder, the chancellor's home has been turned into a smart grid showhouse as part of a citywide demonstration project spearheaded by Xcel Energy.
The home has a laptop-controlled electricity management system that integrates a rooftop solar panel with grid-supplied power and that tracks energy use. It also has equipment to charge a plug-in hybrid electric car. Energy consumption in the 7,000-square-foot home has dropped by nearly one-third.
It's part of an experiment in which Xcel is providing many of the residents of Boulder, a college town of 100,000 people, with smart grid technology. Consumers won't have to pay for the upgrades because Xcel and technology vendors are covering the $100 million cost.
In Seattle, the utility is testing how 13 plug-in hybrid electric cars interact with the power grid, using equipment that can send real-time performance information back to a utility to determine when a vehicle needs to be charged. In the future, utilities remotely may prearrange schedules for charging hundreds of thousands of such vehicles.
Florida Power & Light is planning to provide smart meters covering 1 million homes and businesses in the Miami area over the next two years, hoping the federal economic recovery package will cover half the projected $200 million cost. Pepco Holdings Inc. plans to install 250,000 smart electric meters in Delaware and is seeking state go-ahead to do the same in other Mid-Atlantic states in which it operates.
"We've got about 70 (smart grid) pilots all over the country right now," said Mike Oldak an expert on smart grid at the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned power companies.
Oldak said utilities see smart grid as a way to meet future electricity needs with fewer additional power plants. His group estimates that $700 billion in new electricity generation will be needed over the next 20 years, but that energy savings through grid modernization can cut that by $200 billion.
David Rouls of the consulting firm Accenture, which is involved in smart grid projects in the United States and Europe, says he doubts there is a utility that hasn't had a smart meter vendor try to sell them on a pilot project. "Everyone is doing something with this right now. Boards of directors want to understand from their CEOs what is your strategy to address this," Rouls said.
Center Point Energy, which serves 2.2 million customers in the metropolitan Houston area, expects to spend $1 billion over the next five years on smart grid. The company hopes it eventually will pay for itself in efficiency savings — both in how it ships power and how people use it.
The utility has about 20,000 smart meters installed and plans to have all its customers covered by 2015. Houston area residential customers will see an additional $3.24 a month on their electric bills. But Center Point says that should be more than offset by energy savings as people begin to get real-time information about their electricity costs and adjust their energy use.
An Energy Department study projects energy savings of 5 percent to 15 percent from smart grid.
"This pays for itself through efficiency and demand reduction and if you don't look at it from that perspective you won't get your money back," says Thomas Standish, group president for regulated operations at Center Power Energy. "If you don't get more efficiency savings ... this would be the world's most expensive meter reading system."
___
The cost and payback is what worries state regulators. Their job is to make sure utilities put their money into wise investments before they raise electricity rates to pay for them.
Frederick Butler is chairman of New Jersey's utility commission and president of NARUC, the national group that represents those state agencies. He urges caution.
"We need to demonstrate to folks that there's a benefit here before we ask them to pay for this stuff," he said.
"We're telling them you're going to love it," said Butler. He noted that in a rush to bring competition to the retail electricity industry some years ago, "we promised too much and delivered too little. ... We cannot make the same mistake about smart grid."
Garry Brown, chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission and head of NARUC's electricity committee, said state regulators "see the excitement ... and the potential" of smart grid. But He questions asking ratepayers to pony up money at a time of economic hardship and when people already are seeing their electricity costs going up. "Is it, in fact, cost effective?" he asked.
A promise of $4.5 billion in economic recovery money for smart grid development, much of it going to help pay for installing new meters, has produced a rush by utilities and technology companies to start or accelerate projects. Recently, the Energy Department increased the maximum amount a project can get from $20 million to $200 million.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu calls smart grid "an urgent national priority" because a failure to modernize the electric transmission system will stand in the way of developing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar technology. "You will need a system that can dispatch power here, there and everywhere on a very quick basis," Chu said.
But Chu also worries about security, saying that must be a priority if smart grid is to proceed. "If you want to create mischief one very good way to create a great deal of mischief is to actually bring down a smart grid system. This system has to be incredibly secure," he said.
A smart grid "provides a lot more portals for cybermischief to happen," Butler said. "It's going to provide more opportunity for people to monkey around."
Brian Seal, a senior project manager at the Electricity Power Research Institute, said the industry is studying the security risks of expanding the cyberinfrastructure all along the electricity grid. The consensus now is that "the potential benefits far outweigh the risks."
To some, smart grid's biggest benefit will be in providing consumers, for the first time, detailed information on electricity costs and the ability to choose when and how much power to use at any given time.
It is no wonder that Google, the Internet search-engine powerhouse, this year unveiled a Google PowerMeter for the homeowner to track energy use. It is being tested by its employees. Google estimates that over the next four years, half of America's households will have smart meters and might want to have one of the devices.
"This whole area of energy information is of keen interest to Google," said Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google. "People should have access to this data."
But are people gong to be tied to their laptops digesting energy usage and costs?
At a recent Senate hearing on smart grid, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, acknowledged the promises of a smart grid are many, but also questioned public acceptance.
"Is the average consumer willing to pay the upfront costs of a new system and then respond appropriately to price signals?" she asked. "Or will people view a utility's ability to reach inside a home to turn down a thermostat as Orwellian?"
On the Net:
* Interactive smart grid: http://tinyurl.com/o5qeep
The Associated Press
By H. JOSEF HEBERT – 14 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — Thomas Alva Edison, meet the Internet.
More than a century after Edison invented a reliable light bulb, the nation's electricity distribution system, an aging spider web of power lines, is poised to move into the digital age.
The "smart grid" has become the buzz of the electric power industry, at the White House and among members of Congress. President Barack Obama says it's essential to boost development wind and solar power, get people to use less energy and tackle climate change.
What smart grid visionaries see coming are home thermostats and individual appliances that adjust automatically based on the cost of power, and water heaters that can draw power from a neighbor's rooftop solar panel. They see a time when, on a scorching hot day, a plug-in hybrid electric car charges one minute and a few moments later sends electricity back into the grid to help avert a brownout.
Also coming are utilities that get instant feedback on a transformer outage or shift easily among energy sources from wind turbines to coal-burning power plants and back to the turbines when the wind begins to blow again.
And, from miles away, power companies will peer into homes and businesses, then automatically lower thermostats or adjust power use, depending on demand and prearranged agreements.
"It's the marriage of information technology and automation technology with the existing electricity network. This is the energy Internet," said Bob Gilligan, vice president for transmission at GE Energy, one of many companies aggressively pursuing smart grid development. "There are going to be applications 10 years from now that you and I have no idea that we're going to want or need or think are essential to our lives."
Hundreds of technology companies, fledgling venture capitalists, longtime corporate icons and almost every major electric utility company want to be part of the grid modernization. Interest only intensified after Obama included $4.5 billion for development of the smart grid in his economic recovery package.
The merger of flowing electrons with the computer-driven information revolution won't be cheap, nor easy. Who's going to pay the bill? Will consumers get the payback they are promised? Might some people view utilities and their "smart meters" as being too intrusive?
Could an end-to-end computerization of the grid — with millions of access portals — increase the risk of cyberattacks by pranksters, or more foreboding, by terrorists looking to shut the system down.
Demonstration projects, including the smart meters installed in thousands of homes, are cropping up across the country. But the smart grid as seen by Gilligan and others probably will take years to develop and could cost $75 billion.
Overall transmission modernization, including new higher capacity lines along with the communications technology, could cost as much as $1 trillion, according to some estimates.
Even agreeing on what a smart grid is can be complicated. It's different things to different people.
Yet to understand the changes being considered means first looking at today's transmission system.
"Sadly, if Edison were alive today, he'd be all too familiar with the current system we rely on. Not that much has changed" in 127 years, said Carol Browner, the White House adviser on energy and climate. At a recent energy conference, she described that system as congested, disjointed and out of date.
Others compare the hundreds of thousands of miles of power lines that crisscross the country to a river flowing down a hill: an inefficient one-way movement of electrons from power plant to consumer. It uses primitive technologies — cables, meters, circuit breakers, fuses and rudimentary monitors. But there is little way to provide any feedback of information to the power company running the system or those buying the electricity.
"The heart of a smart grid is to make the grid more flexible, to more easily control the flow of electrons, and make it more efficient and reliable," said Greg Scheu, head of the power production division at ABB North America, a leading grid technology provider.
At the core, others see the ability for consumers to monitor and control their electricity use and cost with a keystroke on a laptop computer — or through home thermostats and even appliances that talk to the grid directly to adjust electricity use through smart meters.
"The meter is only the beginning. It's the minimal part of smart grid," said Alex Huang, director of a grid technology center at North Carolina State University. With instant communications and monitoring, a smart grid will use technology to change where electricity is generated and how it is distributed.
Instead of power flowing from a small number of sources, down main electronic highways, the smart grid can usher in a system of distributed energy, Huang said. "Electricity will flow from homes and businesses into the grid, neighborhoods will use local power and not just power flowing from a single source," he said. One day, perhaps an electronically controlled automated system will direct power flow.
Technological breakthroughs will be needed to produce the kind of system Huang envisions. But the ability to shove the aging grid into the digital world is here today, say smart grid advocates.
"The hurdles are not technological. They're really policy hurdles," said Michael Jung, director of policy at California-based Silver Spring Networks, one of a number of smart grid technology companies that have emerged in recent years and are working with utilities.
___
In cities such as Boulder, Colo., Seattle, Houston, Miami, and on the Delaware's Delmarva Peninsula, there are glimpses of what the future grid might look like.
On the University of Colorado campus in Boulder, the chancellor's home has been turned into a smart grid showhouse as part of a citywide demonstration project spearheaded by Xcel Energy.
The home has a laptop-controlled electricity management system that integrates a rooftop solar panel with grid-supplied power and that tracks energy use. It also has equipment to charge a plug-in hybrid electric car. Energy consumption in the 7,000-square-foot home has dropped by nearly one-third.
It's part of an experiment in which Xcel is providing many of the residents of Boulder, a college town of 100,000 people, with smart grid technology. Consumers won't have to pay for the upgrades because Xcel and technology vendors are covering the $100 million cost.
In Seattle, the utility is testing how 13 plug-in hybrid electric cars interact with the power grid, using equipment that can send real-time performance information back to a utility to determine when a vehicle needs to be charged. In the future, utilities remotely may prearrange schedules for charging hundreds of thousands of such vehicles.
Florida Power & Light is planning to provide smart meters covering 1 million homes and businesses in the Miami area over the next two years, hoping the federal economic recovery package will cover half the projected $200 million cost. Pepco Holdings Inc. plans to install 250,000 smart electric meters in Delaware and is seeking state go-ahead to do the same in other Mid-Atlantic states in which it operates.
"We've got about 70 (smart grid) pilots all over the country right now," said Mike Oldak an expert on smart grid at the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned power companies.
Oldak said utilities see smart grid as a way to meet future electricity needs with fewer additional power plants. His group estimates that $700 billion in new electricity generation will be needed over the next 20 years, but that energy savings through grid modernization can cut that by $200 billion.
David Rouls of the consulting firm Accenture, which is involved in smart grid projects in the United States and Europe, says he doubts there is a utility that hasn't had a smart meter vendor try to sell them on a pilot project. "Everyone is doing something with this right now. Boards of directors want to understand from their CEOs what is your strategy to address this," Rouls said.
Center Point Energy, which serves 2.2 million customers in the metropolitan Houston area, expects to spend $1 billion over the next five years on smart grid. The company hopes it eventually will pay for itself in efficiency savings — both in how it ships power and how people use it.
The utility has about 20,000 smart meters installed and plans to have all its customers covered by 2015. Houston area residential customers will see an additional $3.24 a month on their electric bills. But Center Point says that should be more than offset by energy savings as people begin to get real-time information about their electricity costs and adjust their energy use.
An Energy Department study projects energy savings of 5 percent to 15 percent from smart grid.
"This pays for itself through efficiency and demand reduction and if you don't look at it from that perspective you won't get your money back," says Thomas Standish, group president for regulated operations at Center Power Energy. "If you don't get more efficiency savings ... this would be the world's most expensive meter reading system."
___
The cost and payback is what worries state regulators. Their job is to make sure utilities put their money into wise investments before they raise electricity rates to pay for them.
Frederick Butler is chairman of New Jersey's utility commission and president of NARUC, the national group that represents those state agencies. He urges caution.
"We need to demonstrate to folks that there's a benefit here before we ask them to pay for this stuff," he said.
"We're telling them you're going to love it," said Butler. He noted that in a rush to bring competition to the retail electricity industry some years ago, "we promised too much and delivered too little. ... We cannot make the same mistake about smart grid."
Garry Brown, chairman of the New York State Public Service Commission and head of NARUC's electricity committee, said state regulators "see the excitement ... and the potential" of smart grid. But He questions asking ratepayers to pony up money at a time of economic hardship and when people already are seeing their electricity costs going up. "Is it, in fact, cost effective?" he asked.
A promise of $4.5 billion in economic recovery money for smart grid development, much of it going to help pay for installing new meters, has produced a rush by utilities and technology companies to start or accelerate projects. Recently, the Energy Department increased the maximum amount a project can get from $20 million to $200 million.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu calls smart grid "an urgent national priority" because a failure to modernize the electric transmission system will stand in the way of developing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar technology. "You will need a system that can dispatch power here, there and everywhere on a very quick basis," Chu said.
But Chu also worries about security, saying that must be a priority if smart grid is to proceed. "If you want to create mischief one very good way to create a great deal of mischief is to actually bring down a smart grid system. This system has to be incredibly secure," he said.
A smart grid "provides a lot more portals for cybermischief to happen," Butler said. "It's going to provide more opportunity for people to monkey around."
Brian Seal, a senior project manager at the Electricity Power Research Institute, said the industry is studying the security risks of expanding the cyberinfrastructure all along the electricity grid. The consensus now is that "the potential benefits far outweigh the risks."
To some, smart grid's biggest benefit will be in providing consumers, for the first time, detailed information on electricity costs and the ability to choose when and how much power to use at any given time.
It is no wonder that Google, the Internet search-engine powerhouse, this year unveiled a Google PowerMeter for the homeowner to track energy use. It is being tested by its employees. Google estimates that over the next four years, half of America's households will have smart meters and might want to have one of the devices.
"This whole area of energy information is of keen interest to Google," said Dan Reicher, director of climate change and energy initiatives at Google. "People should have access to this data."
But are people gong to be tied to their laptops digesting energy usage and costs?
At a recent Senate hearing on smart grid, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, acknowledged the promises of a smart grid are many, but also questioned public acceptance.
"Is the average consumer willing to pay the upfront costs of a new system and then respond appropriately to price signals?" she asked. "Or will people view a utility's ability to reach inside a home to turn down a thermostat as Orwellian?"
On the Net:
* Interactive smart grid: http://tinyurl.com/o5qeep
The Associated Press
Friday, June 5, 2009
Smart Grids Should Get A Spark From Federal Stimulus Package
J. Bonasia
Investor's Business Daily
On Thursday June 4, 2009, 7:15 pm EDT
Cisco Systems' gear powers much of the Internet, but the company last month made a move to also play a central role in a market it says might be 100 times bigger -- smart grids.
Cisco's not alone. The building of smart grids will be a multitrillion-dollar opportunity for tech companies, industry observers say. The first billions are already starting, thanks in part to the federal stimulus package.
Smart grids combine networked sensors with software to run systems for electricity, transportation, fuel and water.
Inexpensive sensors transmit data over computer networks to do such tasks as reduce energy usage and better move traffic along busy streets.
U.S. utilities alone will spend $1.5 trillion upgrading infrastructure by 2030, says a recent study by research firm the Brattle Group.
Sensors To Permeate Our Lives
Today's powerful, low-cost computer chips and high-speed networks make smart grids feasible. The grid concept is often described as "the Internet of things," said Sam Lucero, an ABI Research analyst.
"Sensors are going into more and more devices that will permeate our lives," Lucero said. "In the next 15 to 20 years, sensors will permeate our infrastructure and monitor the physical environment."
The federal stimulus package includes tens of billions of dollars to upgrade aging infrastructure. At least $4.5 billion is allocated to build smart electric grids and install smart power meters, ABI says. Smart meters monitor how much energy a house or commercial building is using in real time, helping utilities regulate power generation.
Smart meter sales in North America will jump 85% this year, though to a mere $17 million, says ABI. But that's just the start.
Besides Cisco, other big tech companies investing heavily in smart grids include IBM and Intel .
IBM has branded the concept "Smarter Planet." It's designed smart grids for utilities, railroads and transportation systems. Big Blue provides hardware, software and expertise to build grids.
"There's a lot of buzz in the marketplace," said Steve Mills, a senior vice president who heads IBM's software group.
"That's a reflection of more businesses seeing the benefits of these technologies to realize a much more efficient infrastructure," he said.
Smart grids should, for example, let utilities both cut pollution and save money. Smart meters will track how much electricity is being used at households and use that data to make sure power stations, including wind farms and solar installations, are working at peak efficiency.
They'll also use sensors on the grid to immediately detect, and often fix, any problems.
The network gear market for utility smart grids alone should reach $20 billion per year by 2014, says Judy Lin, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's ethernet switching technology group.
Cisco, GE Team Up In Miami
"We feel our role is to be that communications provider because of our experience with the Internet and voice networks, and our focus on energy management," she said.
On May 18, Cisco released a new platform designed to provide utility customers with all the hardware, software and services they need to build and run smart grids. In April, Cisco partnered with General Electric and Florida Power & Light to build a smart grid pilot for the city of Miami. The project aims to give consumers more choice in how they consume and conserve energy, Lin says.
"Both commercial and residential energy management can benefit from smart energy grids," she said.
For its smart grid programs, IBM strives to make the networks "more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent," Allan Schurr, vice president of strategy and development for IBM's global energy and utilities business, told IBD.
In February, he testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Smart utility grids can slash energy costs, increase efficiency and improve the quality of electrical service, Schurr told Congress. In addition, smart grids give consumers more say about their usage patterns.
Consumers Can Take Charge
For instance, he says, utilities should give users a break for running their appliances during off-peak hours.
"The greater availability of sensors means consumers can be more active participants," Schurr told IBD. "Consumers want to manage their energy consumption, from their pool pumps to air conditioners."
Another focus involves smart grids for transportation. Railways, city streets and highways are increasingly plagued by traffic jams and pollution.
IBM has launched projects in China, Taiwan and the Netherlands designed to provide smart railway grids, or systems that more efficiently run the rails.
Demand for urban transportation is rising much faster than the potential supply, says Naveen Lamba, intelligent transportation lead for IBM Global Business Services.
"Congestion is a big driver for smart grids, because this problem is going from bad to worse very rapidly in many developing countries and in the developed world," he said.
For example, Stockholm has implemented IBM smart grids to charge usage fees for daytime auto traffic in downtown centers.
Sensors on cars and affixed to trellises built over streets automatically track when cars are using downtown roads at peak times, and drivers are automatically assessed fees that vary by the time of day.
Smart grids hold similar potential to manage oil pipelines, water systems and telecom networks.
Trillions, Not Billions
Some observers describe a "pervasive Internet" in which machines of the future will continually talk to each other, says Jonathan Berman, an analyst with Harbor Research.
"This involves taking as many devices and objects as possible and connecting them all to the Internet," Berman said. "While there are billions of people, there are trillions of devices."
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is pushing to create technical standards for smart grids.
Intel foresees microprocessors embedded into wind turbines and solar arrays, to provide real-time monitoring.
A host of other big tech vendors also are angling for a piece of the smart grid market. They include Oracle (NasdaqGS:ORCL - News), EMC , Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ - News), Microsoft and Google (NasdaqGS:GOOG - News).
Smart grids also are a nice fit for industrial giants such as General Electric's GE Energy and metering firms such as Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI - News) and Schlumberger .
Other big grid players include Hitachi , Siemens and Eaton . Energy service companies, utilities and telecom carriers are getting active as well.
"We're dealing with limited resources for water, transportation and electricity," Lamba said. "Smart grids provide a way to minimize the growing gap between supply and demand."
Investor's Business Daily
On Thursday June 4, 2009, 7:15 pm EDT
Cisco Systems' gear powers much of the Internet, but the company last month made a move to also play a central role in a market it says might be 100 times bigger -- smart grids.
Cisco's not alone. The building of smart grids will be a multitrillion-dollar opportunity for tech companies, industry observers say. The first billions are already starting, thanks in part to the federal stimulus package.
Smart grids combine networked sensors with software to run systems for electricity, transportation, fuel and water.
Inexpensive sensors transmit data over computer networks to do such tasks as reduce energy usage and better move traffic along busy streets.
U.S. utilities alone will spend $1.5 trillion upgrading infrastructure by 2030, says a recent study by research firm the Brattle Group.
Sensors To Permeate Our Lives
Today's powerful, low-cost computer chips and high-speed networks make smart grids feasible. The grid concept is often described as "the Internet of things," said Sam Lucero, an ABI Research analyst.
"Sensors are going into more and more devices that will permeate our lives," Lucero said. "In the next 15 to 20 years, sensors will permeate our infrastructure and monitor the physical environment."
The federal stimulus package includes tens of billions of dollars to upgrade aging infrastructure. At least $4.5 billion is allocated to build smart electric grids and install smart power meters, ABI says. Smart meters monitor how much energy a house or commercial building is using in real time, helping utilities regulate power generation.
Smart meter sales in North America will jump 85% this year, though to a mere $17 million, says ABI. But that's just the start.
Besides Cisco, other big tech companies investing heavily in smart grids include IBM and Intel .
IBM has branded the concept "Smarter Planet." It's designed smart grids for utilities, railroads and transportation systems. Big Blue provides hardware, software and expertise to build grids.
"There's a lot of buzz in the marketplace," said Steve Mills, a senior vice president who heads IBM's software group.
"That's a reflection of more businesses seeing the benefits of these technologies to realize a much more efficient infrastructure," he said.
Smart grids should, for example, let utilities both cut pollution and save money. Smart meters will track how much electricity is being used at households and use that data to make sure power stations, including wind farms and solar installations, are working at peak efficiency.
They'll also use sensors on the grid to immediately detect, and often fix, any problems.
The network gear market for utility smart grids alone should reach $20 billion per year by 2014, says Judy Lin, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco's ethernet switching technology group.
Cisco, GE Team Up In Miami
"We feel our role is to be that communications provider because of our experience with the Internet and voice networks, and our focus on energy management," she said.
On May 18, Cisco released a new platform designed to provide utility customers with all the hardware, software and services they need to build and run smart grids. In April, Cisco partnered with General Electric and Florida Power & Light to build a smart grid pilot for the city of Miami. The project aims to give consumers more choice in how they consume and conserve energy, Lin says.
"Both commercial and residential energy management can benefit from smart energy grids," she said.
For its smart grid programs, IBM strives to make the networks "more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent," Allan Schurr, vice president of strategy and development for IBM's global energy and utilities business, told IBD.
In February, he testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.
Smart utility grids can slash energy costs, increase efficiency and improve the quality of electrical service, Schurr told Congress. In addition, smart grids give consumers more say about their usage patterns.
Consumers Can Take Charge
For instance, he says, utilities should give users a break for running their appliances during off-peak hours.
"The greater availability of sensors means consumers can be more active participants," Schurr told IBD. "Consumers want to manage their energy consumption, from their pool pumps to air conditioners."
Another focus involves smart grids for transportation. Railways, city streets and highways are increasingly plagued by traffic jams and pollution.
IBM has launched projects in China, Taiwan and the Netherlands designed to provide smart railway grids, or systems that more efficiently run the rails.
Demand for urban transportation is rising much faster than the potential supply, says Naveen Lamba, intelligent transportation lead for IBM Global Business Services.
"Congestion is a big driver for smart grids, because this problem is going from bad to worse very rapidly in many developing countries and in the developed world," he said.
For example, Stockholm has implemented IBM smart grids to charge usage fees for daytime auto traffic in downtown centers.
Sensors on cars and affixed to trellises built over streets automatically track when cars are using downtown roads at peak times, and drivers are automatically assessed fees that vary by the time of day.
Smart grids hold similar potential to manage oil pipelines, water systems and telecom networks.
Trillions, Not Billions
Some observers describe a "pervasive Internet" in which machines of the future will continually talk to each other, says Jonathan Berman, an analyst with Harbor Research.
"This involves taking as many devices and objects as possible and connecting them all to the Internet," Berman said. "While there are billions of people, there are trillions of devices."
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, is pushing to create technical standards for smart grids.
Intel foresees microprocessors embedded into wind turbines and solar arrays, to provide real-time monitoring.
A host of other big tech vendors also are angling for a piece of the smart grid market. They include Oracle (NasdaqGS:ORCL - News), EMC , Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ - News), Microsoft and Google (NasdaqGS:GOOG - News).
Smart grids also are a nice fit for industrial giants such as General Electric's GE Energy and metering firms such as Johnson Controls (NYSE:JCI - News) and Schlumberger .
Other big grid players include Hitachi , Siemens and Eaton . Energy service companies, utilities and telecom carriers are getting active as well.
"We're dealing with limited resources for water, transportation and electricity," Lamba said. "Smart grids provide a way to minimize the growing gap between supply and demand."
Monday, June 1, 2009
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