EPRI will demonstrate a prototype for fast charging electric vehicles that also could be used by utilities for other purposes. EPRI says the technology is fast and flexible - and more efficient and cheaper to install than today's commercial systems. We thought you'd like to know more about this multi-tasking charging system as it could be a real step forward for EVs, utilities and other businesses.
The Department of Energy this week announced $12 million in funding to speed solar energy innovation from the lab to the marketplace. It's the latest in a series of announcements we've seen in recent weeks that suggest there's more money filtering into energy projects, including up to $120 million for advanced research on batteries and energy storage. Click inside and we'll show you the money.
We're now at a spot down the smart grid path where utilities are moving beyond the expected and taking next steps with advanced technologies - from the flywheel systems protecting Austin Energy's new control center to SAIC's Smart Grid as a Service supporting critical energy management systems in remote Alaskan villages. In our latest project roundup we're spotlighting these and five other smart grid projects we think you'll want to know about.
SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst notes that electric utilities in the U.S. are slowly coming around to the concept of saving energy with volt/VAR optimization (conservation voltage reduction if you prefer) and cites a cooperative project with the Electric Power Research Institute, Alabama Power and Duke Energy. Read more inside about the "green circuits" method studied in the project.
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.
Honeywell has been signed to launch China's first smart grid demand response project. The company will demonstrate its automated demand response technology at office buildings, government and commercial facilities and industrial plants to reduce demand during peak load conditions.
There was a lot going on in the smart grid world in 2011: major developments and advances, successes and failures, rising and falling trends, and a lot in between. But some of those stories seem to go on and on and on. Take a look at our roundup of the year's stories that just won't end.
Africa's largest electricity provider has picked Comverge to create and co-manage the continent's first open market for demand response resources. There's more inside about this important pilot project.
FortZED is a set of active projects and initiatives in Fort Collins, Colorado, created by public-private partnerships. They use smart grid and renewable energy technologies to achieve local power generation and energy demand management.
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.
Britain continues to push its aggressive smart grid deployment schedule with the announcement of almost $90 million awarded to six pilot projects ranging from automating and optimizing high-voltage networks to incorporating renewables and energy storage into those networks. Another signal that activity is starting to heat up in Europe?
Pacific Gas & Electric this week asked the California PUC for the green light on six new smart grid pilot projects. The utility's plans range from enhancing distribution system reliability and flexibility to implementing voltage and grid control systems to cut customer costs, as well developing customer outreach programs.
SGN reported last week that Maui is becoming something of a smart grid test bed with announcement of its second Japan-U.S. smart grid demonstration project in recent months. Now, Silver Spring Networks has been picked for yet another Maui initiative. Get the details on this latest project.
U.S. and Japanese companies will collaborate on a multi-faceted smart grid demonstration project on Maui in the Hawaiian Islands. It's at least the second smart grid venture on the island announced in the past seven months. Read the story to learn more and why Maui is becoming such a popular location for smart grid demos.
Voters in Boulder, Colorado told city officials – by a very narrow margin – that they want their own electric utility. It's the latest installment in the extremely complicated saga of the city's crumbling relationship with Xcel Energy. Click inside for SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst's take on this latest development from SmartGridCity.
As part of a stimulus-funded project, KEMA will help a Montana utility install home energy management gear in 200 homes. Then it will use a variety of outreach methods to convince and coach them. Is this the future of customer engagement?
Mitsubishi Electric has begun full-scale testing with a variety of smart grid and smart community technologies in Japan, from demand and supply balancing to microgrids and energy saving programs for consumers. There's more on this decidedly renewable energy-centric project inside.
Utilities sweating the arrival of electric vehicles will want to hear results from some real-world pilots in Europe. Sure, there's still plenty to worry about – but SGN Analyst Jesse Berst uncovered a few "EV truths" you can cross off the list. Among them: V2G. Click for details.
IBM's research arm has teamed with Swiss electric utility provider EKZ on a pilot project that will allow consumers to charge their EVs and monitor energy costs via mobile devices. There are benefits for utilities, too. Click inside for details and a video.
Sensus, Enernex and DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are teaming up to demonstrate a new cyber security vulnerability detection system. Their first target: smart meters. Click inside for more.
No surprise that some of the world's biggest utilities are involved in pretty significant smart grid initiatives. You'd expect that. But what may raise an eyebrow or two are some of the smart grid efforts under way in places we seldom hear about. Like the Flathead Valley in Montana or the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea. Click inside for a peek at a few lesser-known but mighty interesting projects.
Honeywell will conduct the first automated demand response pilot project for commercial and industrial facilities in Europe for Scottish and Southern Energy. The project will zero in on giving Scottish and Southern the capability of reducing or shifting energy use temporarily to accommodate power demand spikes. Read more inside.
The Obama administration this week unveiled grid modernization pilot projects designed to speed up the permitting and construction of seven proposed transmission lines across the country. Of course, the selling point is jobs, but the initiative also adheres to a number of smart grid goals, like increased energy efficiency, renewables and EV integration, electricity reliability and security. Click inside to read more about how it's going to happen and who's involved.
Our resident smart grid insider Jesse Berst sat down with the man responsible for producing public "report cards" for Xcel Energy's SmartGridCity and Duke Energy's smart grid Ohio project. He gleaned three important trends plus insights into the best places to find true value (the kind of value that assuages and impresses regulators). Click inside to read all about it.
Mitsubishi has announced a smart grid pilot project that will use EVs as "moving batteries" to help even out fluctuations in the delivery of power from renewable energy sources and to manage changing power demand peaks. There's more inside.
For years we've been expecting smart meter hardware prices to decline sharply. A California company we told you about earlier this year is promising a smart meter for as little as $20. Do you think it will happen? Will we see dramatic price drops in smart meters this year - or anytime soon? That's our Tuesday Topic this week. We hope you'll join the discussion.
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