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Quick Take: Scotland now joins Korea, Japan, China and other countries that have explicit smart grid policies that seek to grow local industry by growing exports of smart grid products and services. The new blueprint, called the "Smart Grid Sector Strategy," also stresses the importance of building a grid that can accommodate high amounts of variable wind energy. Like the rest of the UK, Scotland has an ambitious offshore wind policy.  - By Jesse Berst

It's a particularly practical approach for a country that plans to generate at least 100% of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020.

That strategy certainly had some high-powered companies contributing to its development: SSE, Scottish Power, GE Energy, Cisco, the University of Strathclyde and others. The strategy was announced as the university prepared to flip the switch at its Power Networks Demonstration Centre, which coupled with its Electrical Power System Protection Laboratory, will give a big boost to the country's already well-established expertise in research in smart grid and related technologies.

And the strategy is not just about the technology. It's also about economics. Scotland's aggressive drive to build up its capabilities and muscle as a go-to smart grid provider is expected to create as many as 12,000 new jobs, according to First Minister Alex Salmond.

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