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China's big utility is testing passive optical networking technology with a nod to capabilities that extend beyond grid reliability. It's one of five intriguing smart grid projects that recently caught our eye. Scroll down and onto page 2 for details.

PON technology in China

An interesting piece in the MIT Technology Review highlights a smart grid pilot that State Grid Corporation of China is rolling out to test passive optical networking (PON) technology, described as  high-bandwidth data wiring that can be run inside electric power cables without interference. The thinking is that the technology can not only make the electric grid more efficient and reliable, but could also be a conduit for delivering high-speed Internet, TV and telephony. As the article points out, there's difference of opinion on whether it's something U.S. utilities would or should consider, but it's an interesting read either way.

Making energy storage more economical in Washington State

A partnership between the Snohomish PUD in Washington State and 1 Energy Systems will develop and deploy an approach to energy storage aimed at helping electric utilities increase their use of renewable energy and improve overall reliability. Under the partnership, 1Energy will provide a one-megawatt battery energy storage system, built on a Modular Energy Storage Architecture (MESA). The system, based on commercially-available, advanced technology batteries, will be housed in a standard shipping container, which will be installed at a PUD substation. Alstom Grid and faculty at the University of Washington are also collaborating on the project.

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Snohomish PUD General Manager Steve Klein noted the project brings major equipment and software companies together to establish the appropriate industry standards and interfaces to make storage more economically and operationally viable.  "This approach," Klein said, "is much different than other energy storage projects in the past and should result in the expanded application of plug-n-play type energy storage systems to help solve the expanding needs of today’s electric grid that depends more and more on intermittent resources such as wind and solar.” Read more >>

Trialing Echelon control nodes in Concord, MA

Concord Municipal Light Plant (CLMP) recently completed an initial trial of Echelon's Edge Control Node (ECN) 7000 control nodes, which were deployed at strategic locations within the town of Concord, Massachusetts. According to Echelon, ECN’s open architecture enabled custom hardware and software expansion to automate the collection of data from legacy non-AMI meters, extending the useful life of these meters while offering a means for back office integration and meter data analysis. One node was placed next to a critical distribution transformer, enabling it to also monitor the transformer and provide near real-time measurements of power quality data. Turning such legacy transformers at key locations into “smart transformers” without forklift replacement offers Concord a very cost-effective way to track the health of its distribution transformers, Echelon says. 

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“The ECN’s proven ability to continue to reliably operate and provide valuable information can really help our teams locate faults and minimize time to repair outages, particularly in the case of a disaster such as Hurricane Sandy. Tracking the distribution transformer in near real-time will allow us to see areas that are or aren’t experiencing outages,” said Mark Howell, CIO at CMLP. Read more >>