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The Smart Grid doesn’t end at the meter. Increasingly, it reaches into the customer premise to talk to building automation systems or even to individual devices. Those customers want new and better ways to monitor, understand and control their consumption. The entire customer side is evolving rapidly – the technology, the regulations, the customer expectations, everything. This section highlights the key trends, issues and applications.

Results: 437 results found. You are on page 1 of 18 pages.

EV project in France uses subscription model to optimize impact on grid

Electric vehicles, EVs, V2G, BPL Global EV project, EVs in France, EV charging, impact of EV charging on grid
BPL Global is one of the companies involved in a project in France's rural Alsace region that will supply end users with electric vehicles via a subscription service. The service is supposed to optimize the impact of EV charging on the grid by aggregating the load and storage capacities of the batteries and managing their charging patterns.

Smart grid forecasts: energy storage, hydrokinetics, investments and more

Smart grid, smart grid markets, smart grid technology, smart grid investments, building automation, energy storage, marine and hydrokinetic power
Some days you could spend all of what little reading time you have just getting through all the smart grid market studies, trend reports, forecasts and white papers. We've made the chore a little easier for you with a roundup of six recent releases that caught our eye on topics ranging from smart grid investments to building automation growth.

A new smart grid market? Waste heat to power

Smart grid technology, electricity conservation, energy efficiency, smart grid markets, waste heat to power
An organization of U.S. businesses has 're-launched' to act as the leading trade group promoting the development of an American Waste Heat to Power market. The organization will support and promote projects designed to capture waste heat generated by industrial applications and convert it into emissions-free electricity.

New industry coalition tackles energy efficiency

Smart grid, smart grid technology, energy efficiency, smart buildings, building automation
Texas and Oklahoma are pretty low in the rankings of energy efficient states. But a group of companies, including electric service providers cooperatives, retailers, manufacturers have joined forces to push for advanced building systems and energy-efficient products and services in the region. There's more on the new coalition inside.

OnStar takes the collaborative route to EV integration

Smart grid, smart grid technology, EVs, EV integration, OnStar, electric utilities
In an effort to develop smart grid solutions for the Chevrolet Volt, OnStar is inviting utilities, energy companies and others to take advantage of a set of its application programming interfaces to develop new apps for Volt owners. Click inside to learn what OnStar is looking for from developers.

Energate to provide Ontario with province-wide residential demand response

Smart grid, smart grid technology, smart grid deployment, demand response, residential demand response, energy efficieny, Energate
Energate is working with the province of Ontario to deploy its residential demand response solutions as part of a province-wide program intended to reduce demand during peak load periods – and participating consumers also are expected to benefit from energy-saving tools and technology.

Smart grid as the future of the Internet

Smart Grid, smart grid and Internet, smart grid as future of the Internet, AlertMe CEO Mary Turner
The Internet's power will allow management of the home in ways that save energy and money automatically in its next stage of development, according to a pioneer in the online world. Click to read Peter Gardett's interview with AlertMe CEO Mary Turner.

Can smart appliances and online games save electricity (and money)?

Smart grid, smart grid technology, customer engagement, energy efficiency, home energy management
GE Appliances and Flint Energies have teamed up in a pilot project to better understand the potential for GE's Brillion™-enabled appliances to save consumers money and lower peak load when coupled with peak time rebates. And a Colorado company is bringing its online game designed to get consumers involved in saving energy to Texas.

Opower invites industry to follow its lead and commit to protecting sensitive customer data

home energy management, energy data, energy data privacy, energy security, energy customers
The Arlington, VA company that works with utilities in the U.S. and U.K. to provide energy usage data to utility customers has committed to abide by a set of data principles that cover access, security and privacy. If others in the industry follow Opower's lead, could it help reduce consumer pushback?

DOE aims to head off clean energy materials shortage

clean energy, clean energy materials shortage, DOE, rare earths, smart grid
Materials vital for EV motors and high-efficiency wind turbines and compact fluorescent lights are in short supply, leading to concerns that those shortages could delay adoption of clean energy technologies or make them more costly. Margaret Ryan explains what the DOE hopes to do to attack the problem.

Smart home devices: Will sleek and sexy woo consumers?

smart home, home energy management, AlertMe smart home technology, Lowe's Iris service
A UK-based smart home technology startup is making its first commercial launch in the U.S. in partnership with retail giant Lowe's. AlertMe gear is sleek and sexy and Lowe's has big plans for the new service it will offer on the AlertMe platform. But will consumers buy retail - or hold out for a utility subsidy?

Smart grid app developers: Tendril wants YOU!

Smart grid, smart grid technology, smart homes, home energy management, smart grid applications, Tendril
Tendril is sweetening the pot in its efforts to entice developers to come up with third-party applications for the smart grid and smart home on its cloud-based platform. Click to learn about Tendril's new web site for app developers and its contest featuring $5,000 in prize money.

SGN readers sound off: 6 hottest discussion topics of the year

Smart Grid, customer care, metering, smart grid benefits, dynamic pricing, smart grid cloud, smart grid companies
We encourage our readers to share their thoughts or sound off on our news stories and the hot smart grid topics of the day – and you're not shy about letting us know what you think. 2011 was no exception. In case you missed some, we're taking a look back at the hottest Tuesday Topic discussions from throughout the year.

Real-time demand regulation challenges traditional DR and energy storage

demand-side regulation projects, demand response, energy storage
Earlier this year FERC approved a request by the PJM Interconnection to allow for small-scale assets down to 100 kW to participate in frequency regulation applications. The move opened the door for Viridity Energy and Enbala Power Networks to initiate demand-side regulation projects that could respond to grid signals on a second-by-second basis. What does it mean for traditional DR and energy storage? Brian Warshay of Lux Research offers a perspective.

Smart grid 101: 5 clicks that could make a difference

Smart Grid, smart grid 101, smart grid basics, smart grid eBook
The research is clear - better understanding will lead to a better, smarter electric grid. And now you can do your part to spread the word about why we need to modernize the grid and the benefits that will result for everyone. We've packaged up an awesome Smart Grid 101 package, including a free eBook, a great video and three more fun resources you can use to share the smart grid story.

Top 9 predictions for 2012

Smart Grid, Electric Utilities, utility predictions, IDC utility predictions, Top 9 predictions for 2012
SGN's Jesse Berst attended the annual predictions Webinar hosted by IDC Energy Insights and walked away with nine that he believes in. Did you realize that utility mergers will accelerate? That munis and coops are now in the driver's seat for AMI deployments? That analytics is the Next Big Thing? Click to read the full list.

EVs: Are they really on the way?

Smart grid, electric transportation, EVs, smart grid markets
Electric vehicles are tied to the smart grid in a number of ways, so understanding the EV market and where it's going is essential. We've rounded up some recent developments in the market, from new models to new technologies and consumer attitudes – and some help for electric utilities working to accommodate the coming change in the transportation landscape.

My, what a busy week for smart grid projects

Smart grid, smart grid technologies, smart grid projects, smart grid deployment, smart grid companies, energy efficiency
There's a lot of smart grid happening this week – from power plant automation and wireless sensor projects to a California initiative to give customers access to their energy use information with the click of a button. Learn more about five very different smart grid projects that caught our attention.

The OTHER Colorado smart city gets its grid on

Smart Grid, smart city, Fort Collins smart grid, Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration, Fort Collins RDSI project, FortZED
The drama over Boulder's SmartGridCity gets the attention, but not far away in Fort Collins, partners in a DOE-funded Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration project are compiling results from their real-world research into load shedding and local energy generation. We talked with a project engineer about lessons learned - like how hard it is to go beyond a 25% reduction in peak load and how real-world constraints (such as the "noise pollution" of a diesel generator) can impact results.

Now you can test your grid for electric vehicles

Smart grid, smart grid technology, EVs, electric utilities, vehicle-to-grid, National Renewable Energy Laboratory
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released the country's first set of test procedures to optimize how electric vehicles connect to the smart grid. Click inside for more information and to download the report.

Scrooge's guide to energy efficiency gear

Smart Grid, smart grid news store, smart home, smart home gadgets, energy efficiency, home energy management
When it comes to energy efficiency, a Scrooge-like mindset can be a good thing. That's why we called on our penny-pinching but gadget-loving Technical Director for a few of his kilowatt-reducing gift suggestions from the Smart Grid News store.

Get ready for more distributed generation from industry – a lot more

Smart grid, smart grid technologies, distributed generation, DG and renewables, business case, smart grid strategy, efficiency
Industrial distributed generation is expected to grow at an unprecedented rate, according to a new report from Pike Research. Find out why SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst says it's time for utilities to keep a close eye on this growth surge.

Giving credit where credit won't do

energy efficiency, building efficiency, obama energy efficiency
President Obama announced a $4 billion investment to make buildings more energy efficient, part of his Better Buildings Initiative. Carl Ford of TMCnet suggests this isn't a new idea.

Smart grid jobs: Virginia offers inmates energy efficiency training

Smart grid, smart grid technologies, smart grid jobs, green energy jobs, energy efficiency
With considerable help from Johnson Controls, Virginia's corrections system has embarked on a training program for prisoners to give them the training and experience they will need to enter careers in energy efficiency on their release. It's an interesting program.

Electric vehicles: fact and fiction

Smart grid, smart grid deployment, EVs, EV integration, electric utilities
The predicted impact EVs will have on the electric grid has been greatly exaggerated, according to Nicole Pennington and Nicole Naassan of UtiliWorks Consulting. They say careful planning coupled with the opportunities and technologies of the smart grid should be what it takes to successfully manage EV integration. Click inside for their insights.

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Smart Grid: The Tuesday Topic - Smart Grid News - Grid Modernization and the Smart Grid

 THE TUESDAY TOPIC

Is the smart grid industry stalled? Or accelerating?

We're getting mixed signals about the vitality of the smart grid market. On the one hand, the recent DistribuTECH conference was one of the most successful ever. On the other, a well-known Wall Street analyst recently told his clients that the smart metering sector is "facing several headwinds," including weak regulatory support in the U.S. and delays in European adoption. Taking the pulse of the smart grid industry is this week's Tuesday Topic.

Click to the discussion now >>



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