Smart Grid Gut Check: How Do Things Feel from Where YOU Sit?

. By Liz Enbysk SGN Managing Editor . Depending on which headlines you click or tea leaves you consult, your perception of how the Smart Grid buildout is progressing could spin as fast as wind turbines on a blustery day. Here are just a few recent examples:   Smart Grid in Retreat You’ve read plenty already about consumer backlash. We’re also seeing signs of regulator resistance. Last month Baltimore Gas & Electric’s stimulus-supported Smart Grid initiative was turned down by Maryland’s

PSC. (A hearing on BG&E’s revised proposal is set for Aug. 6). In Indiana, Duke Energy is back in front of regulators this week with a smart meter proposal that was slashed significantly after a more ambitious plan was rejected in November.

Smart Grid in a Stall

The Green Economy Post ran a piece this week by Robert Lahey, Senior Legislative Analyst at Ardour Capital Investments, LLC, suggesting  that the slow progress of stimulus spending has been a “near-term negative” for the cleantech sector. And writing for Electric Light & Power, Kathleen Davis points to Smart Grid hype and gray areas and makes a pitch for fewer zealots and more pragmatists to focus on what can be done – and what cannot.

Smart Grid in Moderate Growth

Just a week after the BG&E ruling, Oklahoma regulators approved Oklahoma Gas & Electric’s $366 million stimulus-supported smart meter expansion.  And speaking of smart meters, we just ran an item about SoCal Edison being the latest utility to install its one millionth.  Meanwhile, DOE continues to announce funding for Smart Grid projects; in recent weeks $92 million for grid-scale energy storage and almost $2 billion in loan guarantees for advanced solar projects.

Smart Grid in Continued Rapid Growth

The number crunchers have been busy. IMS Research reported a huge surge in solar PV module shipments so far this year. A forecast from ABI Research anticipates Smart Grid spending in the next five years could reach almost $46 billion, with much of that for upgrades to our outdated T&D infrastructure. And just the other day Wall Street expressed more interest in Smart Grid components with launch of the Lithium ETF by Global X Funds.

So it’s a mixed bag as we roll into the second half of 2010 – and that’s where you come in. We hope as one involved in the industry, or leastwise as one interested enough in the industry to be reading this, that you’ll take a moment to vote in our Gut Check Quick Poll. And as always, please feel free to share a comment using the Talk Back form below.  

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