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This is the section to watch for thought leadership and industry expertise on issues critical to our energy future.
Results: 260 results found. You are on page 1 of 11 pages.
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Grid-scale storage may not be widespread enough today to defer new transmission, but KEMA storage expert Rick Fioravanti argues it’s an angle worth exploring. As new technologies emerge, it may be closer than you think. |
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As locales around the world implement smart grids, the next wave will be smart cities. In a special post for Smart Grid News, Forrester researcher Usman Sindhu and analyst Doug Washburn explain the smart city initiative and why utility CIOs and CTOs need to be part of the conversation. |
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With broadband in every home or ubiquitous AMI still years off, you've got to wonder how off-the-shelf products made today can possibly provide DR opportunities for all consumers, wherever they may live, without becoming obsolete in the next decade or two. EPRI’s Brian Seal outlines one interesting solution. |
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Does the Department of Energy’s investment in grid storage systems make economic sense? Not if you run the numbers, says Lux Research analyst Steven Minnihan, who has done just that. |
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One of the industry’s leading experts on energy storage technologies is here with insights on Community Energy Storage (CES). KEMA’s Ali Nourai considers CES an attractive and viable storage device for the Smart Grid and believes CES devices can potentially overcome the top three barriers to storage development. |
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No surprise that slow to medium speed EV charging rates won’t do for everyone in our hurry-up world. So we’re hearing more and more about fast vehicle charging technologies. But Pike Research analyst John Gartner paints a muddy picture of what that really means and why we need some clarity ― fast. |
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The early days of electric vehicle (EV) brainstorming saw at least three approaches to smart charging. One has emerged as a clear leader. It offers many advantages – but it also poses long-term dangers to utilities. Jesse Berst thinks there’s a solution, but it requires us to think ahead. |
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Once the industry's poster child, Xcel Energy's grand SmartGridCity experiment in Boulder, Colorado is suddenly under attack. Documents piling up before the state's PUC reveal a he-said, she-said tale of cost overruns, unmet promises, departing executives and a belated request for ratepayers to foot the bill. Jesse Berst says the industry better get prepared for damage control. |
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KEMA’s Rick Fioravanti kicks off a new series today with a look at how grid-connected energy storage, including new fast-storage battery and flywheel technologies, can complement regulation response, spinning reserves, renewables balancing and other generation applications. |
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With all the stimulus money (and press) focused on smart meters last year, you might think AMI is the only way to start a Smart Grid initiative. But Jesse Berst points to evidence the tide is turning and that grid applications may prove the quickest way for some utilities to demonstrate benefits. Click for his analysis. |
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As we march into the second half of 2010, progress on the Smart Grid front is a decidedly mixed bag. Some wins? Yes. Setbacks? Sure. Uncertainty? Oh yeah. So how does it all shake out? That’s where you come in. Click inside and participate in our H2 Smart Grid Gut Check. |
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Recent moves by Ener1, Sony and others demonstrate industry interest in the still-emerging business models for energy storage. Click inside where Lux Research analyst John Kluza provides details. |
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After updating you on Cisco and GE Smart Grid strategies in recent posts, today Jesse Berst zooms in on IBM, which he’s calling the Smart Grid’s first and only super integrator. Do you agree? Click inside for a quick look at Big Blue's far-reaching role in our ecosystem (and a chance to nominate IBM strategies you want to know more about). |
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With increasing frequency we’re seeing reports of new players or new partnerships in the home energy management space. Everyone wants in on the action. But Pike Research senior analyst Bob Gohn poses the billion-dollar question: Who will entice pesky consumers into “behavior change” – and be able to make money doing it? Don’t miss his analysis. |
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The Smart Grid tsunami is nearing the shore. Without preparation, you and your company could be victims. With forethought, you could emerge as victors. The key is to get to the high ground… but where’s that going to be? Jesse Berst says we can learn from other industries that have gone through similar upheavals. Click to read insights from telecommunications, transportation and retailing. |
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That innovation platform that Cisco is touting could have been Microsoft’s. There was a time when the software giant was the obvious candidate to create an operating system for the Smart Grid. But Jesse Berst says Microsoft has missed out entirely. Click inside to find out why. |
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Cisco was a big winner in the Internet world and is looking to be equally so in the Smart Grid space. But we count at least five hurdles the networking giant will have to overcome (and you may think of a few we’ve overlooked). So click inside and take a look; there's a Quick Poll too. |
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There’s much to like about what Cisco is doing to connect the dots in the Smart Grid space. But for utilities, Cisco’s vision may pose some real challenges. High cost, hidden lock-ins and cloud computing are on our worry list. But there’s more too. |
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Cisco calls it an innovation platform. But Jesse Berst has taken a look under the hood and he's calling it the Smart Grid’s first operating system. Either way, the important thing is that we are finally starting to see the underpinnings of a real end-to-end platform. Click inside for details on this promising development. |
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GE just made a series of announcements that illustrate both the strengths and the weaknesses of its Smart Grid strategy. Take a look yourself and see if you agree with Jesse Berst that there may be individual strokes of brilliance in GE’s portfolio – but they are hampered by the lack of an end-to-end strategy to connect all the pieces. |
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Marine and hydrokinetic technologies (ocean waves and currents, tides and rivers) are getting more attention (and money) than ever before. But how likely is it that we'll see them pumping out power in the foreseeable future? |
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Over the next decade utilities will need powerful new capabilities to scale up all sorts of offerings for all sorts of customers in all sorts of service territories using all sorts of rate plans. Some refer to this array of services as “energy happy hours” – and today Jesse Berst introduces two forward-looking companies with plans to host them. |
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As Smart Grid deployments transform today’s electric utilities, consumer advocate Michael Shames says the utilities’ product will evolve from kilowatts to connectivity. They'll be selling convenience, lifestyle, improved service quality and better value. Shames warns that utilities that are too cautious as they move into this new role could see disastrous results. Find out why inside. |
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Technology expert Erich W. Gunther reviews the TED 5000 home energy monitoring device from The Energy Detective. The TED 5000 uses a hardware-based gateway that receives signals from the voltage and current sensors and makes the data available through a built-in web interface. Click inside to read why it scores only 74 out of 100 on the SGN Smart Grid Scorecard. |
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In this thoughtful commentary by Echelon CTO Bob Dolin we start at the world’s first Smart Grid project in Italy - and then follow a path that takes us past two-way communications and remote meter reading towards Smart Grid 2.0 and the benefits of intelligent energy management. How do we get there? What are the requirements? Dolin offers his point of view inside. |
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San Luis Valley is the Nations Best Model for Renewable
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© 2010 SmartGridNews
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With little fanfare, the San Luis Valley has already become the best model for distributed renewable energy generation in the West and maybe even the Nation.
When the first energy crisis shook ...