Curious about smart grid projects in your state - or the state next door? We've just updated all 50 of our state smart grid toolkits. Each one is packed with energy-related projects, news and trends. You'll also find useful state-specific resources, including state energy agencies, utility and regulator listings, advocacy groups and incentive programs. Click inside to start your coast-to-coast tour.
Industry events and conferences can help you stay on top of industry trends and technologies and make important contacts. Our calendar is loaded with upcoming events, with links for further details. And be sure to jump to page 2, where you can see the conferences Smart Grid News Chief Analyst Jesse Berst will be attending.
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.
Natural gas is getting so cheap that it may become cheaper and faster to slap up a gas-fired peaking plant than to implement a complicated demand response or renewable project - two of the biggest drivers of a smart grid. Yikes! Will natural gas alternatives make the smart grid too expensive by comparison? That's this week's Tuesday Topic in our discussion forum. Please join in.
You don't have to be at DistribuTECH to stay on top of the news; the PR machine has been spewing out announcements for days now. We've sifted through dozens of releases and pulled out the announcements we didn't think you'd want to miss. Click for details on Itron's new analytic apps to help utilities take advantage of smart grid data, for Opower's new Marketplace service at Home Depot, for the latest from Lockheed Martin, IBM, Honeywell and many others.
What's the application that will take smart grid over the top? That will make it seem as obvious, inevitable and valuable as the Internet seems to us today? Some say it's demand response, some say voltage optimization, some say customer empowerment. What do YOU say? That's this week's Tuesday Topic in our discussion forum.
Big Data and Data Analytics are this year's buzzwords, as utilities strive to create sense - and value - from all that information streaming in from meters and other devices. Fresh off its purchase by Siemens, eMeter formally announces its analytics platform. Click to see which hassle the company says its new release will save utilities from.
A Silicon Valley start-up is touting advanced technology it says can deliver smart digital meters for the price of dumb mechanical meters. Click to learn why this may be the opening salvo of a long-awaited price war.
Some utilities want to insist that every customer get a smart meter. Others are willing (if not happy) to let those who object use an old-style meter instead - provided they pay for it. But how much should they pay? Should they be charged for the installation? For the full cost of sending out a manual meter reader? Click for a quick review of what several pioneers are proposing and to trade comments at our discussion forum.
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?
Want to see the future of smart grid storage? Look to China, which just completed a project that uses a 36 MWh energy storage system to integrate 140 MW of wind and solar, making it the country's largest smart grid storage facility and, as SGN Analyst Jesse Berst suggests, a potential template for smart grid storage efforts in the U.S. Click to learn why.
If you could wave a magic wand and accomplish one thing in the smart grid space this year, what would it be? Finish standards? Improve smart grid technology? Create a policy framework that states can work toward? Or...? That is this week's Tuesday Topic in our discussion forum. Please join in.
More and more smart grid services are being offered via cloud computing. Under this scenario, the software and data resides on giant, central servers somewhere else. The utility simply taps into the software via the Internet. It's a controversial idea to our conservative utility industry, which is used to owning and controlling everything. Is it inevitable? Is it a mistake? Or is there a solution somewhere in between? The experts and insiders are discussing it right now in the Smart Grid News discussion forum. Click to read what they are saying and to (optionally) join in.
New research from Frost & Sullivan finds that distributed generation could eliminate, or at least reduce, the instances of black outs that are associated with current electric grids relying only on big central power plants. But there's a catch.
Earlier this week the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected a mitigation proposal required for Duke Energy and Progress Energy to proceed with merger plans. Shifra Mincer of AOL Energy explains the FERC ruling and what it means to the merger.
In the conversation about integrating renewables into the grid, geothermal energy is rarely mentioned. So we were intrigued by a report that SRP signed its second agreement to purchase geothermal energy from a plant that will be built in California and that another plant is on the drawing boards in New Mexico. Then we found a study suggesting 2,980,295 MW of geothermal energy could be harnessed in the U.S. using advanced geothermal technologies. Is it time to give geothermal energy more respect? Why or why not? That's this week's Tuesday Topic. Tell us what you think.
We've long made comparisons between the Internet and the smart grid. Now a Japanese consortium is working to develop large-scale grids that handle power like the Internet handles data. It's a brilliant concept; find out why inside.
A new report out from MIT says the grid is threatened and there are too many cybersecurity groups with too little enforcement power to keep it safe. Do we, as MIT researchers suggest, need a single agency? And, if so, where should it live - FERC? NERC? A brand new agency? That's this week's Tuesday topic in our discussion forum.
It's all smart grid, all the time at the brand new Smart Grid News store. You'll find smart grid books, smart grid research, plus loads of gear for the smart home enthusiast.
A California solar company with agreements to supply power to Southern California Edison is adding thermal energy storage technology to several of its CSP plants. The storage units will store solar power during the evening when the sun is no longer shining but demand is up. Politicians and engineers alike are welcoming the move. Find out why.
Now that it is 98% finished with one of the country's most successful smart meter deployments, San Diego Gas & Electric is shifting its emphasis to moving customers up the engagement curve. SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst shares insights from his conversation with the man in charge of making it happen.
The Maryland Public Service Commission is considering new regulations that would mandate a 24% improvement in the frequency of outages by 2015. We've already got Renewable Portfolio Standards for utilities. Is it time for reliability standards too? That's our Tuesday Topic this week; click inside to learn how you can join the discussion.
You can't learn from your mistakes until and unless you admit them to start with. In that spirit, let's nominate the smart grid's worst turkeys so we all know where to look for lessons learned. But it is equally important to learn from success, so let's also nominate those projects and products that represent our best. Click inside for more on this week's Tuesday discussion topic.
What is the only form of energy that's price has remained relatively stable for the past 40 years? According to the CEO of thermal energy storage company CALMAC, the answer is off-peak electricity. With its 4,000 installations in 35 countries, Mark MacCracken says CALMAC is scooping up the low-hanging fruit.
Cisco is in the smart grid for keeps. That message was delivered in spades this week when the company gathered analysts to reveal its latest thinking, initiatives and next steps in the smart grid space. SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst was there, and he liked what we heard. Click inside for nine reasons why.
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.
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