China picks Honeywell for first smart grid pilot project

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Quick Take: Most people believe smart grid sales in China will surpass those in the U.S. within the next three years. The release below suggests that it may soon start to catch up in grid-to-buildings interconnections. If you are looking to make your fortune in smart grid, go east, young man, go east.

And by the way... has anyone else noticed how quickly and aggressively Honeywell is moving to stake its smart grid claim? – Jesse Berst

Honeywell will develop and implement China's first smart grid pilot project and feasibility study for managing energy use in commercial buildings (aka demand side management). The project is part of a grant agreement between the U.S. Trade and Development Agency and State Grid Electric Power Research Institute (SGEPRI), a subsidiary of State Grid Corporation of China and project sponsor.

Honeywell brings quite a lot to the pilot with its smart grid technology and expertise in areas like automated demand response, advanced energy management and submetering. The project is intended to give SGEPRI the opportunity to weight the feasibility of broader deployment of smart grid solutions, and it will provide support for standards and regulations development.

China's overall goals for a smarter electrical grid include managing the country's quickly growing demand for energy and enhance the utility infrastructure's reliability and efficiency by giving utility customers – including residential, business and industry customers – ways to better manage their energy use and its cost, increase their energy efficiency and support more widespread integration of renewable energy sources.

Honeywell and China are certainly not strangers. The company has had a presence in China for decades and operates an investment holding company there that supports more than 20 Honeywell subsidiaries and joint ventures, including aerospace and aviation.

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