December 29, 2008
By Jeff St. John
There's something a little sci-fi like about the idea of a "smart grid" – an electricity transmission system that can monitor and control the flow of power between utilities and their customers to avoid blackouts, smoothly incorporate distributed power generation and even use plug-in electric vehicles as grid storage batteries.
But for those competing to make it in the business, it's a Wild West story, with shootouts over competing communication standards – WiFi versus ZigBee, RF Mesh versus WiMax –looming, and the promise of concept-proving and lucrative utility contracts as the loot.
From giants like General Electric (GE) and IBM to up-and-coming startups, there's a lot of room in an industry that's still in its infancy. But as utilities continue to install smart meters and demand response systems, and plan for a much-anticipated Home Area Network that will connect appliances, thermostats and other power-suckers to utility control rooms, there's also a lot to prove.
Energy-Management Buying Spree Continues (Jan. 24)
The year in smart grid technologies began with some early consolidation, as BPL Global announced it was buying Portland, Ore.-based Serveron, a company that monitors online and services transformers energy-management company, and Connected Energy, which makes energy-management software. The consolidations had been building from the year before, when Comverge (COMV) bought energy-efficiency firm Public Energy Solutions for $13.4 million and Enerwise Global Technologies for $75.7 million, and EnerNOC (ENOC) acquired MDEnergy for $7.9 million.
SCE Preps $1.63B Smart-Meter Program (Sept. 19)
American utilities plan to install more than 40 million smart meters between 2007 and 2010, according to a 2007 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report. In September, Southern California Edison became the latest utility to announce grand plans to install smart meters to serve its 4.8 million electric customers. Smart meter maker Itron (ITRI) was the lucky winner in that contract, as well as in a deal with San Diego Gas & Electric (SDOGI.PK). But other smart meter providers, such as General Electric, Landis+Gyr, Elster and Sensus, are also getting involved. Pacific Gas & Electric is buying GE and Landis+Gyr meters for a $2.3 billion deployment. American Electric Power Co. (AEP) is working with GE as well.
Silver Spring Grabs $75M (Oct. 7)
Smart meters aren't smart unless they can talk to utilities, and companies like Silver Spring Networks gives them a voice. The Redwood City, Calif.-based startup raised $75 million in October, on top of $70 million raised since 2007 from investors including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Foundation Capital, JVB Properties and Northgate Capita. Its circuit boards are enabling communication from smart meters to the networks of utilities including Pacific Gas & Electric, the Modesto Irrigation District, Canada's Westario Power Services and others.
Others in the field include Trilliant, which raised $40 million in capital in August, has installed about 750,000 meters and participated in the large Hydro One deployment in Canada, and SmartSynch, which is working with utilities including Burbank (Calif.) Water and Power utility and Colorado's Xcel Energy.
An Old Favorite – WiFi – Preps to Disrupt Smart Meter Market (Aug. 22)
The Home Area Network – a future world of monitors that tell homeowners how much power they're using and appliances, thermostats and other devices that can be monitored and even controlled by utilities through home smart meters and communications networks –has so far been mostly a ZigBee world. Utilities including Southern California Edison and Centerpoint are adopting the low-power communication standard, which has been good for companies like Boulder, Colo.-based Tendril Networks, which had deals with 27 utilities to test or deploy its Zigbee-enabled home energy monitoring systems.
But other companies want to use tried-and-true WiFi instead, since it's already in widespread use. One of them is GainSpan, an Intel spinout that says it can match Zigbee's lower power requirements with WiFi's improved range. Only time will tell which - or both - will be in the smart homes of the future.
The Next Smart Grid Technology: WiMax (Sept. 18)
There are a variety of ways to link smart meters to the utilities that need to communicate with them. Pacific Gas & Electric and others working with startup Silver Spring Networks are using RF Mesh technology, which allows meters to serve as relays for each other to get information to collection points that deliver it to the utility's communication networks. Other methods, like broadband over powerline, have also been used, particularly in Europe.
But Grid Net, a startup with links to Intel (INTC) and General Electric, wants utilities to turn to the long range, high-bandwidth wireless data protocol WiMax instead. Grid Net says the growing WiMax network being put in place by Sprint (S) and Clearwire (CLWR), with billions in investments from the likes of Google (GOOG), Comcast (CMCSA), and Time Warner Cable (TWC), would be a ready-made communications system for a future smart grid.
GridPoint Gets $120M, Buys V2Green (Sept. 23)
Arlington, Va.-based GridPoint, founded in 2003, has moved from making products that monitor energy use for residential and commercial clients to making software to help utilities manage the flow and storage of power. In September, it announced a $120 million investment, bringing its total funding to more than $200 million.
It also announced it was buying Seattle-based V2Green, a company working on ways to use plug-in electric vehicles for grid power storage. That's a growing area of interest for utilities – while there are a handful of electric vehicles on the road today, any future electric fleet will have to be integrated into the grid to avoid overdrawing its power.
Acquisitions in Smart Grid: Get Used to It (Nov. 24)
When SmartSynch bought up Applied Mesh Technologies in November for an undisclosed sum, it continued a buying spree in smart grid companies that analysts expect to continue. Building out a smart grid will take utility-scale cash, and those utilities are famously averse to risk in their endeavors, making it likely that they'll look to large, established companies to provide them with equipment and services that will form a future smart grid.
Tendril Expands Its Reach in Smart Homes (Nov. 24)
Tendril Networks has taken a strong position in the home energy consumption monitoring business. The Boulder, Colo.-based startup, which makes Zigbee-based hardware and software, raised $40 million in 2008 and had signed deals with 29 utilities to test and/or deploy its technology as of November. CEO Adrian Tuck said one of those utilities would start a commercial rollout next year.
But Tendril will face competition from companies like GainSpan, which wants to use low-powered WiFi rather than Zigbee to connect home energy monitoring systems, and Greenbox Technology, which builds Web-based software to monitor home energy use.
Smart Grid Coalition Seeks Tax Breaks for Negawatts (Nov. 24)
Government subsidies have played a critical role in getting biofuels and solar and wind power off the ground in the United States. In November, the Demand Response Smart Grid Coalition [DRSC], a trade group for smart grid technology developers, asked Congress for equal treatment – except they want to get paid for not using power. That is, the group asked for a tax credit linked to "negawatts," or the power they're able to save utilities and customers through use of their products and services.
EnerNoc Expanding Into Carbon Management, Energy Services (Dec. 5)
EnerNoc is in the demand-response business – that is, it runs a network that can curtail power going to lights, machinery and other industrial power loads to help utilities deal with times of peak demand and avoid brownouts. But the company is also offering some of its customers consulting on energy procurement and energy efficiency, as well as "base load commissioning" services that help clients save power by using equipment more efficiently.
Late in 2008, it decided to get into a new game – carbon tracking and trading services. Cutting carbon emissions by reducing power demand, after all, will likely be cheaper than doing so by building solar and wind power plants or developing so-called "clean coal" technologies that don't exist yet.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Intellon Introduces New Firmware for BPL Access and Smart Grid Applications Using HomePlug AV-Class Products
Intellon Introduces New Firmware for BPL Access and Smart Grid Applications Using HomePlug AV-Class Products
Thursday December 11, 10:26 am ET
ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intellon Corporation (Nasdaq:ITLN), a leading provider of HomePlug®-compatible integrated circuits (ICs) for home networking, networked entertainment, Ethernet-over-Coax (EoC) and smart grid applications, today announced the introduction of a new firmware release for its HomePlug AV (HPAV) powerline chipsets. Intellon’s HPAV integrated circuits are already deployed in high volume for in-home powerline networking. The new release adds a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) capability to the Intellon feature suite. FDM will make it easier to use HomePlug AV-based solutions for Broadband over Power Line (BPL) communications on outdoor power lines and Smart Grid applications.
The FDM technology divides the available communications spectrum (2.0 – 28 MHz) into smaller sub-bands, allowing pole-top repeater units to communicate both up- and down-stream in full-duplex mode. Because the repeaters can send on one sub-band while receiving on another, better spectral efficiency is obtained in high user-density environments. Intellon employs Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) tone masking as opposed to other solutions which use a variable OFDM symbol length. Field tests have demonstrated the efficacy of Intellon’s approach.
“The new firmware release allows Intellon to better meet the unique needs of BPL access and utility firms using our existing line-up of HomePlug AV-based chipsets,” said Rick Furtney, COO and president of Intellon. “Because these chips are already produced in high volume for in-home powerline networking, the new solution brings increased economies of scale to BPL access and smart grid applications.”
Thursday December 11, 10:26 am ET
ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Intellon Corporation (Nasdaq:ITLN), a leading provider of HomePlug®-compatible integrated circuits (ICs) for home networking, networked entertainment, Ethernet-over-Coax (EoC) and smart grid applications, today announced the introduction of a new firmware release for its HomePlug AV (HPAV) powerline chipsets. Intellon’s HPAV integrated circuits are already deployed in high volume for in-home powerline networking. The new release adds a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) capability to the Intellon feature suite. FDM will make it easier to use HomePlug AV-based solutions for Broadband over Power Line (BPL) communications on outdoor power lines and Smart Grid applications.
The FDM technology divides the available communications spectrum (2.0 – 28 MHz) into smaller sub-bands, allowing pole-top repeater units to communicate both up- and down-stream in full-duplex mode. Because the repeaters can send on one sub-band while receiving on another, better spectral efficiency is obtained in high user-density environments. Intellon employs Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) tone masking as opposed to other solutions which use a variable OFDM symbol length. Field tests have demonstrated the efficacy of Intellon’s approach.
“The new firmware release allows Intellon to better meet the unique needs of BPL access and utility firms using our existing line-up of HomePlug AV-based chipsets,” said Rick Furtney, COO and president of Intellon. “Because these chips are already produced in high volume for in-home powerline networking, the new solution brings increased economies of scale to BPL access and smart grid applications.”
Friday, November 28, 2008
Ambient Secures $8.0 Million in Permanent Funding
Ambient Secures $8.0 Million in Permanent Funding
Monday November 24, 8:30 am ET
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News) announced today that it has raised an additional $8.0 million from Vicis Capital Master Fund (Vicis). This injection of capital follows Ambient’s strongest quarterly results to date and enables Ambient to fund present initiatives and future growth. Vicis’ investment into Ambient now totals $23.5 million.
Vicis will also be exercising all of the warrants previously issued to it between July 31, 2007 and April 23, 2008 through a combination of “cashless exercises” as well as “for cash exercises.” This exercise is anticipated to net Ambient approximately $242,142, in addition to the $8.0 million investment, and will result in Vicis holding, immediately following such exercise, approximately 65% of Ambient’s outstanding shares of Common Stock.
Shad Stastney, a partner with Vicis Capital, LLC, the investment manager for Vicis Capital Master Fund, commented, “In completing this latest round of investment into Ambient and exercising our warrants, Vicis has taken a controlling ownership position in a company that has continuously met development goals and successfully positioned itself to capitalize on the progressive movements within the smart grid space. Our investments into Ambient reflect our belief and support of its initiatives focusing on wide-scale grid efficiency gains through the deployment of such advanced technologies.”
This cash infusion, combined with the revenue generated from the contract announced in April of this year, positions Ambient to expand its business plan for a growing market and affords it the necessary flexibility to increase product manufacturing for future deployments and opportunities. The present financing involves no increase of debt, allowing Ambient to use the investment to fund current and future business activities through 2009.
“We are at a defining moment, both as a company and as a nation,” stated John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient. “The incoming administration in Washington has stated that the new clean energy economy is a top priority. Along with our partners and the continued support of Vicis, we are enabling energy efficiencies and technologies that will help the country drive towards energy independence by offering utilities communications solutions for the future by modernizing the distribution infrastructure. Ambient whole heartedly supports the emerging national awareness, as we believe the most effective energy solution available to combat future increase in energy demand is to more efficiently use the energy already generated.”
On November 14, 2008, Ambient reported for the nine-months ending September 30th, year-to-date revenues of $4,450,099, an increase of 44% for the corresponding period in 2007.
Additional information relating to the terms of the investment will be included in Ambient’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which Ambient will be filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information on Ambient’s third quarter results can found in Ambient’s most recent 10-Q.
Monday November 24, 8:30 am ET
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News) announced today that it has raised an additional $8.0 million from Vicis Capital Master Fund (Vicis). This injection of capital follows Ambient’s strongest quarterly results to date and enables Ambient to fund present initiatives and future growth. Vicis’ investment into Ambient now totals $23.5 million.
Vicis will also be exercising all of the warrants previously issued to it between July 31, 2007 and April 23, 2008 through a combination of “cashless exercises” as well as “for cash exercises.” This exercise is anticipated to net Ambient approximately $242,142, in addition to the $8.0 million investment, and will result in Vicis holding, immediately following such exercise, approximately 65% of Ambient’s outstanding shares of Common Stock.
Shad Stastney, a partner with Vicis Capital, LLC, the investment manager for Vicis Capital Master Fund, commented, “In completing this latest round of investment into Ambient and exercising our warrants, Vicis has taken a controlling ownership position in a company that has continuously met development goals and successfully positioned itself to capitalize on the progressive movements within the smart grid space. Our investments into Ambient reflect our belief and support of its initiatives focusing on wide-scale grid efficiency gains through the deployment of such advanced technologies.”
This cash infusion, combined with the revenue generated from the contract announced in April of this year, positions Ambient to expand its business plan for a growing market and affords it the necessary flexibility to increase product manufacturing for future deployments and opportunities. The present financing involves no increase of debt, allowing Ambient to use the investment to fund current and future business activities through 2009.
“We are at a defining moment, both as a company and as a nation,” stated John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient. “The incoming administration in Washington has stated that the new clean energy economy is a top priority. Along with our partners and the continued support of Vicis, we are enabling energy efficiencies and technologies that will help the country drive towards energy independence by offering utilities communications solutions for the future by modernizing the distribution infrastructure. Ambient whole heartedly supports the emerging national awareness, as we believe the most effective energy solution available to combat future increase in energy demand is to more efficiently use the energy already generated.”
On November 14, 2008, Ambient reported for the nine-months ending September 30th, year-to-date revenues of $4,450,099, an increase of 44% for the corresponding period in 2007.
Additional information relating to the terms of the investment will be included in Ambient’s Current Report on Form 8-K, which Ambient will be filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information on Ambient’s third quarter results can found in Ambient’s most recent 10-Q.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
IBM Plans Broadband Over Power Lines For Rural America
The technology allows residents of areas underserved by traditional ISPs to receive high-speed Internet access.
By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek
November 12, 2008 09:31 AM
IBM (NYSE: IBM) said Wednesday that it has struck a $9.6 million deal with International Broadband Electric Communications under which it will deploy high-speed Internet service that runs over power lines in rural U.S. markets underserved by traditional broadband technology.
IBM will use IBEC's Broadband over Power Line (BPL) equipment to roll out BPL service to customers of electrical cooperatives that provide electricity for much of rural America.
"Americans in rural areas of the country trail their urban and suburban counterparts in broadband availability," said IBEC CEO Scott Lee, in a statement. "This capability will play a crucial role in rural health, education and economic development, while closing the digital divide that exists between well served and underserved America."
Raymond Blair, director of Advanced Networks at IBM, said that, "High-speed Internet service is revolutionizing the way we do business, and access to this resource will generate great opportunities for rural America."
IBM estimates there are over 900 electrical cooperatives in the U.S., providing service that accounts for 45% of the country's total power grid.
Officials at co-op industry groups said the plan would help boost the economies of less populated areas. "This is a key development in the growth and availability of high-speed Broadband over Power Line Internet services and widespread availability of critical SmartGrid applications in the United States," said Bill Moroney, president and CEO of the Utilities Telecom Council.
With BPL, consumers can simply plug their computers into any electrical outlet to receive broadband service at speeds comparable to those offered by DSL and cable Internet Service Providers.
Despite its promise, BPL has received mixed reviews to date and as a result has largely failed to flourish. Among other things, critics charge that BPL interferes with short-wave radios signals used by Ham radio operators and others.
By Paul McDougall
InformationWeek
November 12, 2008 09:31 AM
IBM (NYSE: IBM) said Wednesday that it has struck a $9.6 million deal with International Broadband Electric Communications under which it will deploy high-speed Internet service that runs over power lines in rural U.S. markets underserved by traditional broadband technology.
IBM will use IBEC's Broadband over Power Line (BPL) equipment to roll out BPL service to customers of electrical cooperatives that provide electricity for much of rural America.
"Americans in rural areas of the country trail their urban and suburban counterparts in broadband availability," said IBEC CEO Scott Lee, in a statement. "This capability will play a crucial role in rural health, education and economic development, while closing the digital divide that exists between well served and underserved America."
Raymond Blair, director of Advanced Networks at IBM, said that, "High-speed Internet service is revolutionizing the way we do business, and access to this resource will generate great opportunities for rural America."
IBM estimates there are over 900 electrical cooperatives in the U.S., providing service that accounts for 45% of the country's total power grid.
Officials at co-op industry groups said the plan would help boost the economies of less populated areas. "This is a key development in the growth and availability of high-speed Broadband over Power Line Internet services and widespread availability of critical SmartGrid applications in the United States," said Bill Moroney, president and CEO of the Utilities Telecom Council.
With BPL, consumers can simply plug their computers into any electrical outlet to receive broadband service at speeds comparable to those offered by DSL and cable Internet Service Providers.
Despite its promise, BPL has received mixed reviews to date and as a result has largely failed to flourish. Among other things, critics charge that BPL interferes with short-wave radios signals used by Ham radio operators and others.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
All Electric and/or Plug-in Hybrid Cars Adding Demands to our Electric Grid !!!
Sparse plug-ins for electric cars spark creativity
Sunday October 19, 2:22 pm ET
By Phuong Le, Associated Press Writer
Refueling an electric car requires charm, guile, planning -- and a 50-foot extension cord
SEATTLE (AP) -- Owning an electric vehicle requires more than global-cooling ambitions. It takes guile, planning, sharp vision, a silver tongue -- and a 50-foot extension cord.
Steve Bernheim knows accessible outlets like a firefighter knows hydrants. He has to -- his Corbin Sparrow runs only 25 miles on a charge.
"You do guerrilla charging where you locate these plugs," said Bernheim, an attorney who lives in the Seattle suburb of Edmonds. "I'm an expert at finding them."
While California has more than 500 public charging stations at parks, malls and grocery stores to serve electric vehicles that rolled out in the last decade, the network is still thin across the rest of the country, forcing drivers like Bernheim to get creative.
That may change as charging stations crop up in San Jose, Calif., Seattle and Portland, Ore. to serve early adopters and pave the way for a new breed of mass market plug-in cars.
"Every auto company in the world is developing all-electric or plug-in hybrids," said Zan Dubin Scott, a spokeswoman for Plug In America, a nonprofit advocacy group for electric car owners. "The utilities, municipalities and smart business people are seeing that this is the future."
The vast majority of electric vehicle owners charge their cars at home while they sleep, so most trips aren't a problem.
But drivers can now plug in -- reservations recommended -- at two park-and-ride lots in King County, which includes Seattle. The county plans to add sockets at three garages under construction.
"We want to make sure we're ahead of the curve in doing what we can to support the use of these vehicles," said Rochelle Ogershok, a county transportation spokeswoman.
In Oregon, Portland General Electric put five free charging stations in downtown Portland, Salem and suburban Lake Oswego and plans to add more.
At the end of the year, Coulomb Technologies plans to roll out five curbside charging stations in downtown San Jose that drivers can access through a prepaid plan. The company is working with entities in New York and Florida to do something similar there, president and founder Praveen Mandal said.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Better Place is working with Renault SA to develop charging stations for electric cars in Israel and Denmark that would work on a paid subscription, said spokeswoman Julie Mullins.
In recent months, the smaller cities of Edmonds and Lacey invited drivers to plug in their electric vehicles at free public stations near city hall.
"We haven't seen much usage yet, but we wanted to put it out there," said Graeme Sackrison, mayor of Lacey, a town of 38,000 an hour south of Seattle. "You have to have the infrastructure in place so people feel comfortable using them."
Street-legal "neighborhood electric vehicles" that can travel up to 25 mph typically go about 35 to 40 miles on a single charge. Vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt that General Motors Corp. plans to sell in 2010 can travel about 40 miles before the gasoline engine kicks in.
Drivers like Bernheim, whose range is about 25 miles to a charge, has become adept at sweet-talking use of a 110-volt outlet if he needs to travel farther. Once he persuaded a fruit stand owner to let him plug in. He ended up buying $50 of produce there.
Bernheim says there are about 30 reliable sites in the Seattle area to plug in. Most are free, some require calling a fellow enthusiast ahead of time. Others charge the same as parking a gas-powered car -- $7 an hour at the downtown Seattle Public Library garage.
Jeff Smith, 51, a mechanical parts inspector, carries three extension cords of varying lengths when he drives his ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) two-seater.
At his home in a Seattle suburb, Smith has posted a sign "plug in vehicle parking only" outside his kitchen window and invites others to plug in. No one has taken him up on the offer yet.
When he wanted to go to a Little League game -- a round-trip that required an extra charge -- Smith cold-called restaurants to find one willing to let him plug in while dined there.
Eric Diesen, co-owner of the restaurant Acapulco Fresh, didn't mind. He'd let others do the same.
It didn't cost him much -- about a dime or so. "If it brought people in, we would do that again," he said. "And it's something we believe in."
Plug In America estimates there are several thousand freeway-capable, road-certified EVs, including both factory-built and conversions. Neighborhood electric vehicles may number in the tens of thousands.
It's a drop in the bucket compared to the more than 250 million vehicles on the road.
Driving an electric car can be a challenge when your roundtrip work commute is much longer than your car can travel. But Jason Henderson, 29, feels obligated to make it work.
"I saw 'Inconvenient Truth' and then realized that I needed to make a personal change to show others how easy it is to reduce our dependency on petroleum," Henderson said.
He bought a used Saturn with 100,000 miles and paid an expert $12,000 to convert it to all-electric. He estimates it has cost him about $252 in electricity to drive 9,000 miles in the past 18 months.
It's not hard to find places to plug in, but "there should absolutely be more spots," he said. "Everyone has power outlets, so it's just a matter of making them available."
Henderson now drives his car 15 miles from his Tacoma home, charges it at a friend's house and hops a vanpool another 35 miles to his office at Microsoft Corp.
He said he's just like a normal driver, "except my car has a much smaller carbon footprint and has a cheaper energy source."
Sunday October 19, 2:22 pm ET
By Phuong Le, Associated Press Writer
Refueling an electric car requires charm, guile, planning -- and a 50-foot extension cord
SEATTLE (AP) -- Owning an electric vehicle requires more than global-cooling ambitions. It takes guile, planning, sharp vision, a silver tongue -- and a 50-foot extension cord.
Steve Bernheim knows accessible outlets like a firefighter knows hydrants. He has to -- his Corbin Sparrow runs only 25 miles on a charge.
"You do guerrilla charging where you locate these plugs," said Bernheim, an attorney who lives in the Seattle suburb of Edmonds. "I'm an expert at finding them."
While California has more than 500 public charging stations at parks, malls and grocery stores to serve electric vehicles that rolled out in the last decade, the network is still thin across the rest of the country, forcing drivers like Bernheim to get creative.
That may change as charging stations crop up in San Jose, Calif., Seattle and Portland, Ore. to serve early adopters and pave the way for a new breed of mass market plug-in cars.
"Every auto company in the world is developing all-electric or plug-in hybrids," said Zan Dubin Scott, a spokeswoman for Plug In America, a nonprofit advocacy group for electric car owners. "The utilities, municipalities and smart business people are seeing that this is the future."
The vast majority of electric vehicle owners charge their cars at home while they sleep, so most trips aren't a problem.
But drivers can now plug in -- reservations recommended -- at two park-and-ride lots in King County, which includes Seattle. The county plans to add sockets at three garages under construction.
"We want to make sure we're ahead of the curve in doing what we can to support the use of these vehicles," said Rochelle Ogershok, a county transportation spokeswoman.
In Oregon, Portland General Electric put five free charging stations in downtown Portland, Salem and suburban Lake Oswego and plans to add more.
At the end of the year, Coulomb Technologies plans to roll out five curbside charging stations in downtown San Jose that drivers can access through a prepaid plan. The company is working with entities in New York and Florida to do something similar there, president and founder Praveen Mandal said.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Better Place is working with Renault SA to develop charging stations for electric cars in Israel and Denmark that would work on a paid subscription, said spokeswoman Julie Mullins.
In recent months, the smaller cities of Edmonds and Lacey invited drivers to plug in their electric vehicles at free public stations near city hall.
"We haven't seen much usage yet, but we wanted to put it out there," said Graeme Sackrison, mayor of Lacey, a town of 38,000 an hour south of Seattle. "You have to have the infrastructure in place so people feel comfortable using them."
Street-legal "neighborhood electric vehicles" that can travel up to 25 mph typically go about 35 to 40 miles on a single charge. Vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt that General Motors Corp. plans to sell in 2010 can travel about 40 miles before the gasoline engine kicks in.
Drivers like Bernheim, whose range is about 25 miles to a charge, has become adept at sweet-talking use of a 110-volt outlet if he needs to travel farther. Once he persuaded a fruit stand owner to let him plug in. He ended up buying $50 of produce there.
Bernheim says there are about 30 reliable sites in the Seattle area to plug in. Most are free, some require calling a fellow enthusiast ahead of time. Others charge the same as parking a gas-powered car -- $7 an hour at the downtown Seattle Public Library garage.
Jeff Smith, 51, a mechanical parts inspector, carries three extension cords of varying lengths when he drives his ZENN (Zero Emission, No Noise) two-seater.
At his home in a Seattle suburb, Smith has posted a sign "plug in vehicle parking only" outside his kitchen window and invites others to plug in. No one has taken him up on the offer yet.
When he wanted to go to a Little League game -- a round-trip that required an extra charge -- Smith cold-called restaurants to find one willing to let him plug in while dined there.
Eric Diesen, co-owner of the restaurant Acapulco Fresh, didn't mind. He'd let others do the same.
It didn't cost him much -- about a dime or so. "If it brought people in, we would do that again," he said. "And it's something we believe in."
Plug In America estimates there are several thousand freeway-capable, road-certified EVs, including both factory-built and conversions. Neighborhood electric vehicles may number in the tens of thousands.
It's a drop in the bucket compared to the more than 250 million vehicles on the road.
Driving an electric car can be a challenge when your roundtrip work commute is much longer than your car can travel. But Jason Henderson, 29, feels obligated to make it work.
"I saw 'Inconvenient Truth' and then realized that I needed to make a personal change to show others how easy it is to reduce our dependency on petroleum," Henderson said.
He bought a used Saturn with 100,000 miles and paid an expert $12,000 to convert it to all-electric. He estimates it has cost him about $252 in electricity to drive 9,000 miles in the past 18 months.
It's not hard to find places to plug in, but "there should absolutely be more spots," he said. "Everyone has power outlets, so it's just a matter of making them available."
Henderson now drives his car 15 miles from his Tacoma home, charges it at a friend's house and hops a vanpool another 35 miles to his office at Microsoft Corp.
He said he's just like a normal driver, "except my car has a much smaller carbon footprint and has a cheaper energy source."
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The China Smart Grid Cooperative 2008 will share Duke Energy expertise on Smart Grid
The China Smart Grid Cooperative, 2008
The China Smart Grid Cooperative continues to solicit partners and sponsor until the December 2008.
- They will establish a China-US Smart Grid Cooperative in September 2008.
- They will share Duke Energy expertise on Smart Grid at JUCCCE China Energy Forum in Beijing, China from November 10 to November 11, 2008.
- The China-US Smart Grid Cooperative will organize a series of Smart Grid Workshops in Beijing, China. This will include a roll out that is dependent on the success of each workshop. Partners will participate in development and deployment of workshops. An anticipated workshop will be ROI of Smart Grids on November 12, 2008.
The China Smart Grid Cooperative continues to solicit partners and sponsor until the December 2008.
- They will establish a China-US Smart Grid Cooperative in September 2008.
- They will share Duke Energy expertise on Smart Grid at JUCCCE China Energy Forum in Beijing, China from November 10 to November 11, 2008.
- The China-US Smart Grid Cooperative will organize a series of Smart Grid Workshops in Beijing, China. This will include a roll out that is dependent on the success of each workshop. Partners will participate in development and deployment of workshops. An anticipated workshop will be ROI of Smart Grids on November 12, 2008.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
First-Ever Smart Grid Tax Breaks Hitch Ride On Bailout Bill
10/9/2008 3:42:00 PM
First-Ever Smart Grid Tax Breaks Hitch Ride On Bailout Bill
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Congress has provided its first-ever tax breaks for investments in a next-generation electricity grid, giving a lift to an industry that for years has struggled to win the federal government's help in dealing with costs.
Tucked into the $700 billion bailout package that President Bush signed into law last week is a measure allowing utilities to write off more quickly investments in so-called smart meters or other smart-grid equipment. Worth $915 million over 10 years, the tax treatment lets companies depreciate investments over 10 years instead of 20 years - in essence taking bigger deductions each year.
"It provides a little prodding to the utilities to get going," said John Berger, the chief executive of Standard Renewable Energy, a Houston company that installs smart-meter-based thermostats.
Cost has been an impediment as companies such as Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL), Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) and others seek to roll out the technology on a large scale. Smart meters, which replace the traditional meters located on houses, cost roughly $120 to $200 apiece. Amid consumer concern over electric bills, public utility commissions are still weighing requests to wrap those costs into the rates that homeowners ultimately pay each month.
Smart meters provide a two-way communications link between homes and utilities. The most basic benefit is that utilities are notified immediately of any outages, avoiding the need for customers to call. Other potential benefits are more advanced: applications that would allow real-time prices that rise during periods of peak demand and fall as households turn out the lights at night. That would create an incentive to reduce demand during maximum stress on the electricity grid - in effect creating the equivalent of a new source of supply.
"We really applaud Congress for addressing technology beyond the meter because that's where we think the value really is," said John O'Donnell, a lobbyist for Xcel, which is funding a project in Boulder, Colorado, to demonstrate the usefulness of smart-grid technology. Among the possible applications that he envisions: "property that would be installed in peoples' homes to gauge how much electricity they're using on an outlet by outlet basis, on an appliance by appliance basis, really super cutting-edge stuff."
Congress approved the accelerated depreciation of smart-grid investments as U.S. economic woes deepened, raising questions about whether utilities will be willing to make investments. It isn't clear whether the new tax treatment will help overcome a reluctance to spend.
"I know that utilities will probably tighten up on capital spending," said Stephen Johnston, the chief executive of SmartSynch, which integrates cell-phone technology into electric meters. But he notes that his company's data-monitoring services operate on a public wireless network, so "we allow a utility to deploy smart-metering technology without spending capital on big network assets."
For the past several years, Congress has moved in baby steps to unlock the potential of a digitally-enhanced electricity grid. A 2005 law ordered utilities to begin offering rates that vary along with changes in a utility's costs for buying electricity at wholesaleA 2007 energy law authorized $100 million a year for projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of smart-grid technology, but Congress never appropriated the funds.
"There's a lot more that we can and should be doing, and I'm hopeful that the next administration and the next Congress will have similar views on that," Kevin Kolevar, the U.S. Energy Department's assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, said at a smart-grid conference last month. His own office has a budget with $5 million for smart-grid technology out of a total $100 million a year, "an amount that is really pretty small."
Supporters hope that congressional approval of accelerated depreciation for smart-grid equipment reflects a growing comfort level with the technology within the government. Duke has 16,000 smart meters in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with 7500 in South Carolina, as part of pilot programs that it is financing. The company aims to install 90,000 smart meters in Cincinnati 800,000 in Indiana - or its entire customer base in that state. Indiana and Ohio regulators are still reviewing whether to approve cost-recovery plans.
"State regulators have gotten comfortable with this, and in many cases are advocates," said Dan Delurey, executive director of the Demand Response and Advanced Metering Coalition, who company executives say was instrumental in persuading Congress to allow for accelerated depreciation. "This is still early, but there are a lot of applications in process as we speak. The general tone of the regulatory community is positive on this."
Source: Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires
First-Ever Smart Grid Tax Breaks Hitch Ride On Bailout Bill
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The U.S. Congress has provided its first-ever tax breaks for investments in a next-generation electricity grid, giving a lift to an industry that for years has struggled to win the federal government's help in dealing with costs.
Tucked into the $700 billion bailout package that President Bush signed into law last week is a measure allowing utilities to write off more quickly investments in so-called smart meters or other smart-grid equipment. Worth $915 million over 10 years, the tax treatment lets companies depreciate investments over 10 years instead of 20 years - in essence taking bigger deductions each year.
"It provides a little prodding to the utilities to get going," said John Berger, the chief executive of Standard Renewable Energy, a Houston company that installs smart-meter-based thermostats.
Cost has been an impediment as companies such as Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL), Duke Energy Corp. (DUK) and others seek to roll out the technology on a large scale. Smart meters, which replace the traditional meters located on houses, cost roughly $120 to $200 apiece. Amid consumer concern over electric bills, public utility commissions are still weighing requests to wrap those costs into the rates that homeowners ultimately pay each month.
Smart meters provide a two-way communications link between homes and utilities. The most basic benefit is that utilities are notified immediately of any outages, avoiding the need for customers to call. Other potential benefits are more advanced: applications that would allow real-time prices that rise during periods of peak demand and fall as households turn out the lights at night. That would create an incentive to reduce demand during maximum stress on the electricity grid - in effect creating the equivalent of a new source of supply.
"We really applaud Congress for addressing technology beyond the meter because that's where we think the value really is," said John O'Donnell, a lobbyist for Xcel, which is funding a project in Boulder, Colorado, to demonstrate the usefulness of smart-grid technology. Among the possible applications that he envisions: "property that would be installed in peoples' homes to gauge how much electricity they're using on an outlet by outlet basis, on an appliance by appliance basis, really super cutting-edge stuff."
Congress approved the accelerated depreciation of smart-grid investments as U.S. economic woes deepened, raising questions about whether utilities will be willing to make investments. It isn't clear whether the new tax treatment will help overcome a reluctance to spend.
"I know that utilities will probably tighten up on capital spending," said Stephen Johnston, the chief executive of SmartSynch, which integrates cell-phone technology into electric meters. But he notes that his company's data-monitoring services operate on a public wireless network, so "we allow a utility to deploy smart-metering technology without spending capital on big network assets."
For the past several years, Congress has moved in baby steps to unlock the potential of a digitally-enhanced electricity grid. A 2005 law ordered utilities to begin offering rates that vary along with changes in a utility's costs for buying electricity at wholesaleA 2007 energy law authorized $100 million a year for projects to demonstrate the effectiveness of smart-grid technology, but Congress never appropriated the funds.
"There's a lot more that we can and should be doing, and I'm hopeful that the next administration and the next Congress will have similar views on that," Kevin Kolevar, the U.S. Energy Department's assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, said at a smart-grid conference last month. His own office has a budget with $5 million for smart-grid technology out of a total $100 million a year, "an amount that is really pretty small."
Supporters hope that congressional approval of accelerated depreciation for smart-grid equipment reflects a growing comfort level with the technology within the government. Duke has 16,000 smart meters in Charlotte, North Carolina, along with 7500 in South Carolina, as part of pilot programs that it is financing. The company aims to install 90,000 smart meters in Cincinnati 800,000 in Indiana - or its entire customer base in that state. Indiana and Ohio regulators are still reviewing whether to approve cost-recovery plans.
"State regulators have gotten comfortable with this, and in many cases are advocates," said Dan Delurey, executive director of the Demand Response and Advanced Metering Coalition, who company executives say was instrumental in persuading Congress to allow for accelerated depreciation. "This is still early, but there are a lot of applications in process as we speak. The general tone of the regulatory community is positive on this."
Source: Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires
Monday, October 13, 2008
Duke out to transform business- with *SMART GRID* technology
Duke out to transform business
By Mike Boyer • mboyer@enquirer.com • October 12, 2008
ERLANGER - Technology couldn't prevent the hurricane-force winds that knocked out power to 90 percent of Duke Energy's 800,000 customers on Sept. 14.
But it could have helped restore power much faster.
After the windstorm, Duke frequently had to send crews back to the same areas as they learned from customers that more homes were still without power. That was the only way they could tell if homes served by a transformer or substation had power.
With new technology called Smart-Grid, a crew in the field could immediately get a report from a control center telling it which homes were still out.
The capacity for such improved service is one of the messages Duke hopes to get across this week at a $1 million facility it is unveiling where it will demonstrate and research the future of its electric-delivery system.
The new Envision Center in Erlanger, in converted office-warehouse space off Olympic Boulevard, is a first-of-its-kind demonstration center and lab to show how Smart-Grid technology will improve electric system reliability and efficiency, give consumers greater control over their energy use and provider faster response to outages like those caused by the windstorm.
Smart-Grid is a term for a network of sophisticated sensors, distributed computers and other black-box communications devices installed on a utility's existing network of wires, poles and transformers to remotely monitor power delivery in much greater detail than today.
It has capabilities as mundane as automated meter reading and remote service connection, and as sophisticated as remote monitoring and control of customers' energy use - and the size of their bills.
"This is designed to present a picture of what energy can be," Duke spokeswoman Johnna Reeder said.
"This is a demonstration site for innovation in energy.
"Today's analog grid doesn't reflect consumers' expectations for instant information," she said. "Smart-Grid will enable Duke Energy to move into the 21st century and will help transform our century-old business model."
Simulating the future
To create the Envision Center, Duke set up movie studio-style sets of a home with solar panels, an energy-management system and a plug-in hybrid car, and an apartment complex with "smart" meters.
A presenter uses a click of a computer button to trigger videos and a simulated lightning strike and power outage to show how a smart system would respond.
Inside the mock home, the energy-management system monitors high-efficiency appliances, picks the optimum times to run based on the price of electricity and alerts customers to savings by turning down or turning off power-draining devices.
Time-of-use meters have been available in the utilities industry for years, but microprocessors in today's "smart meters" and other energy-management devices allow utilities to send signals to consumer's thermostats and appliances, letting them know that the price of electricity is increasing.
Based on a customer's decision, the system can automatically reduce usage or give the customer the information so they can reduce usage or decide to pay the higher rate.
The key thing, says Reeder: "The customer is in control."
Doesn't come cheap
The solar-collector-equipped smart home in the Envision Center also includes a battery backup system. That allows electricity from the solar collectors to charge the hybrid electric car in the garage overnight and store additional power in the event of a power failure. The 10-kilowatt battery can provide up to 40 hours of backup power for the home.
"If you turn everything down but your refrigerator, you can extend that to 87 hours," said Steve Hinkel, project manager for Duke's advanced customer technology.
That kind of technology doesn't come cheap today.
The battery costs about $9,700, he said.
But as manufacturers increase production with demand, solar-battery backups will eventually become more affordable and commonplace, he said.
Duke believes the Envision Center, a demonstration site for its entire electric system encompassing 4 million customers in five states, is unique in the industry.
"Other utilities have created "smart" homes and pieces of what we have here, but no place else shows all the technology in one spot," said Reeder.
Duke is opening the 15,000-square-foot center initially to show employees, regulators and other government officials what the technology can do, but sometime next year the utility says it plans to open the facility for public tours.
The site's location near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport makes it accessible to Duke's five-state service area, Reeder said.
Many years and millions away
Full implementation of a Smart-Grid system across Duke's 47,000-mile service area will take years and millions of dollars to complete.
But the company is launching the effort here with a pilot program to replace about 480,000 electric meters, one piece in a Smart-Grid system, in established neighborhoods in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky requiring manual or estimated monthly readings because the devices are inside homes where Duke doesn't have access.
The company has already replaced about 40,000 meters at the rate of about 5,000 a month with new ones that will allow automatic meter reading. The new meters won't be fully operational until the middle of next year.
But when the system is completed, it will allow Duke to eliminate the more than 1 million estimated bills it sends annually to customers because they aren't home when meter readers are in their neighborhood.
Other routine services, such as service connections and re-connections at apartment buildings that now require Duke to roll a service truck for each service, could be automated.
Last year, Duke handled 210,000 connection/ re-connection calls in Ohio alone, the utility says, and another 200,000 individual calls for a change in service requiring a meter reading.
Eliminating those calls would be a savings for the utility and save customers time and frustration waiting for a service crew, Duke says.
"By demonstrating the benefits of smart technology, we're hoping to gain advocates for the implementation of our Smart-Grid," said Hinkel.
"We're asking people not to focus on specific devices but the concepts involved."
By Mike Boyer • mboyer@enquirer.com • October 12, 2008
ERLANGER - Technology couldn't prevent the hurricane-force winds that knocked out power to 90 percent of Duke Energy's 800,000 customers on Sept. 14.
But it could have helped restore power much faster.
After the windstorm, Duke frequently had to send crews back to the same areas as they learned from customers that more homes were still without power. That was the only way they could tell if homes served by a transformer or substation had power.
With new technology called Smart-Grid, a crew in the field could immediately get a report from a control center telling it which homes were still out.
The capacity for such improved service is one of the messages Duke hopes to get across this week at a $1 million facility it is unveiling where it will demonstrate and research the future of its electric-delivery system.
The new Envision Center in Erlanger, in converted office-warehouse space off Olympic Boulevard, is a first-of-its-kind demonstration center and lab to show how Smart-Grid technology will improve electric system reliability and efficiency, give consumers greater control over their energy use and provider faster response to outages like those caused by the windstorm.
Smart-Grid is a term for a network of sophisticated sensors, distributed computers and other black-box communications devices installed on a utility's existing network of wires, poles and transformers to remotely monitor power delivery in much greater detail than today.
It has capabilities as mundane as automated meter reading and remote service connection, and as sophisticated as remote monitoring and control of customers' energy use - and the size of their bills.
"This is designed to present a picture of what energy can be," Duke spokeswoman Johnna Reeder said.
"This is a demonstration site for innovation in energy.
"Today's analog grid doesn't reflect consumers' expectations for instant information," she said. "Smart-Grid will enable Duke Energy to move into the 21st century and will help transform our century-old business model."
Simulating the future
To create the Envision Center, Duke set up movie studio-style sets of a home with solar panels, an energy-management system and a plug-in hybrid car, and an apartment complex with "smart" meters.
A presenter uses a click of a computer button to trigger videos and a simulated lightning strike and power outage to show how a smart system would respond.
Inside the mock home, the energy-management system monitors high-efficiency appliances, picks the optimum times to run based on the price of electricity and alerts customers to savings by turning down or turning off power-draining devices.
Time-of-use meters have been available in the utilities industry for years, but microprocessors in today's "smart meters" and other energy-management devices allow utilities to send signals to consumer's thermostats and appliances, letting them know that the price of electricity is increasing.
Based on a customer's decision, the system can automatically reduce usage or give the customer the information so they can reduce usage or decide to pay the higher rate.
The key thing, says Reeder: "The customer is in control."
Doesn't come cheap
The solar-collector-equipped smart home in the Envision Center also includes a battery backup system. That allows electricity from the solar collectors to charge the hybrid electric car in the garage overnight and store additional power in the event of a power failure. The 10-kilowatt battery can provide up to 40 hours of backup power for the home.
"If you turn everything down but your refrigerator, you can extend that to 87 hours," said Steve Hinkel, project manager for Duke's advanced customer technology.
That kind of technology doesn't come cheap today.
The battery costs about $9,700, he said.
But as manufacturers increase production with demand, solar-battery backups will eventually become more affordable and commonplace, he said.
Duke believes the Envision Center, a demonstration site for its entire electric system encompassing 4 million customers in five states, is unique in the industry.
"Other utilities have created "smart" homes and pieces of what we have here, but no place else shows all the technology in one spot," said Reeder.
Duke is opening the 15,000-square-foot center initially to show employees, regulators and other government officials what the technology can do, but sometime next year the utility says it plans to open the facility for public tours.
The site's location near the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport makes it accessible to Duke's five-state service area, Reeder said.
Many years and millions away
Full implementation of a Smart-Grid system across Duke's 47,000-mile service area will take years and millions of dollars to complete.
But the company is launching the effort here with a pilot program to replace about 480,000 electric meters, one piece in a Smart-Grid system, in established neighborhoods in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky requiring manual or estimated monthly readings because the devices are inside homes where Duke doesn't have access.
The company has already replaced about 40,000 meters at the rate of about 5,000 a month with new ones that will allow automatic meter reading. The new meters won't be fully operational until the middle of next year.
But when the system is completed, it will allow Duke to eliminate the more than 1 million estimated bills it sends annually to customers because they aren't home when meter readers are in their neighborhood.
Other routine services, such as service connections and re-connections at apartment buildings that now require Duke to roll a service truck for each service, could be automated.
Last year, Duke handled 210,000 connection/ re-connection calls in Ohio alone, the utility says, and another 200,000 individual calls for a change in service requiring a meter reading.
Eliminating those calls would be a savings for the utility and save customers time and frustration waiting for a service crew, Duke says.
"By demonstrating the benefits of smart technology, we're hoping to gain advocates for the implementation of our Smart-Grid," said Hinkel.
"We're asking people not to focus on specific devices but the concepts involved."
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Smart Grid program next step for the Carolinas: Duke again will seek to change regulatory practice in the state
Friday, October 3, 2008
Smart Grid program next step for the Carolinas
Duke again will seek to change regulatory practice in the state
Charlotte Business Journal - by John Downey Senior staff writer
Duke Energy Corp. expects to pay $730 million over 20 years in Indiana to install interactive meters and upgrade the power grid.
The program is called Smart Grid. Duke says it will allow for greater conservation and use of smaller, decentralized power plants. It’s an important piece of Chief Executive Jim Rogers’ vision for remaking the utility industry.
It reinforces other key initiatives such as the proposed Save-A-Watt efficiency program, solar and wind power development and infrastructure for widespread use of electric cars. And it will eventually come to the Carolinas.
When it does, expect it to be more expensive. Duke Energy Carolinas, with 2.3 million customers, is roughly triple the size of Duke Energy Indiana, with just under 800,000 customers.
The Carolinas can also expect that Duke will, once again, seek to change regulatory practice. It wants to collect the costs for improvements as it goes along. And it will want to do it without having to go to a full regulatory review of its rates.
That’s what it is doing in Indiana. Duke proposes to develop a rate formula to distribute the costs for Smart Grid. And those costs would include its “lost revenues” from lower energy sales through improved grid efficiency. That concept has already proved controversial in Duke Energy Carolinas’ Save-A-Watt proposal.
David Mohler, Duke Energy Corp.’s chief technology officer, says such a recovery program is vital to making a business case for Smart Grid.
“If you make an investment over — pick the number of years: five, six or eight or whatever — and have to wait to do a full-blown rate case, the costs have been hanging out there so long it kind of doesn’t work,” he says.
Also, he says, traditional regulation and cost-recovery systems were built for investments with useful lives exceeding 20 years, and often exceeding 40. Much of Smart Grid’s information technology will have a useful live of five to seven years.
Jerry Polk of Indianapolis sees it as one more attempt by Duke to bypass traditional regulation and scrutiny. He is counsel for the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana Inc., a group skeptical of the Smart Grid proposal.
He says Duke has consistently sought ways to raise rates without going to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission for full reviews.
“It’s a strategy they have pursued for years to get small automatic rate adjustments,” he says. “I have one friend who says it’s like being nibbled to death by ducks.”
It’s a strategy Duke has pursued in the Carolinas as well. “They are constantly probing the edges of the regulatory model,” says Robert Gruber, head of the Public Staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission. “They want to avoid coming in for a rate case as much as they can.”
Duke’s argument is that the upfront costs for Smart Grid will be significant. More than half the capital costs — about $435.9 million — will be incurred in the first five years.
A lot of the costs will be for roughly 800,000 “intelligent” meters. Those meters will enable Duke to record power use at a central location and compile significant amounts of information about how energy is consumed — down to the level of individual appliances. The utility plans to use that information to work with customers to control energy costs.
But it also involves significant upgrades to the transmission and distribution grids. That will enable the utility to improve efficiency on the power lines, react more quickly to power outages and find problems before they lead to failures on the system, Mohler says.
That will lead to significant societal benefits, he says. The obvious ones are improving reliability and cutting energy use. But upgrading the grid will also allow for more effective use of renewable energy sources, particularly small wind and solar generators.
The same program has just been proposed in Ohio as well. Duke has not yet made those cost estimates public.
The Carolinas have provided the real-life laboratory for working out the program, Mohler says. By year’s end, 16,000 customers in south Charlotte and 7,500 in Upstate South Carolina will be on what amounts to a mini-Smart Grid with intelligent meters and new grid technology.
But rolling the program out across the Carolinas will lag a few years behind.
That’s because Duke made a big technology investment five years ago in new meters for automated reading. That makes the business case for installing new equipment in the Carolinas less compelling.
But Mohler says the program is coming here. And the plan is to put it on the same model as the one proposed in the Midwest.
“We will see over the next few years a fundamental shift in the model for electric utilities,” he says. “That new business model has to incorporate cleaner energy and more reliable energy with efficiency and still be affordable.
“What’s required to bring it all together and deliver it is an intelligent network.”
Smart Grid program next step for the Carolinas
Duke again will seek to change regulatory practice in the state
Charlotte Business Journal - by John Downey Senior staff writer
Duke Energy Corp. expects to pay $730 million over 20 years in Indiana to install interactive meters and upgrade the power grid.
The program is called Smart Grid. Duke says it will allow for greater conservation and use of smaller, decentralized power plants. It’s an important piece of Chief Executive Jim Rogers’ vision for remaking the utility industry.
It reinforces other key initiatives such as the proposed Save-A-Watt efficiency program, solar and wind power development and infrastructure for widespread use of electric cars. And it will eventually come to the Carolinas.
When it does, expect it to be more expensive. Duke Energy Carolinas, with 2.3 million customers, is roughly triple the size of Duke Energy Indiana, with just under 800,000 customers.
The Carolinas can also expect that Duke will, once again, seek to change regulatory practice. It wants to collect the costs for improvements as it goes along. And it will want to do it without having to go to a full regulatory review of its rates.
That’s what it is doing in Indiana. Duke proposes to develop a rate formula to distribute the costs for Smart Grid. And those costs would include its “lost revenues” from lower energy sales through improved grid efficiency. That concept has already proved controversial in Duke Energy Carolinas’ Save-A-Watt proposal.
David Mohler, Duke Energy Corp.’s chief technology officer, says such a recovery program is vital to making a business case for Smart Grid.
“If you make an investment over — pick the number of years: five, six or eight or whatever — and have to wait to do a full-blown rate case, the costs have been hanging out there so long it kind of doesn’t work,” he says.
Also, he says, traditional regulation and cost-recovery systems were built for investments with useful lives exceeding 20 years, and often exceeding 40. Much of Smart Grid’s information technology will have a useful live of five to seven years.
Jerry Polk of Indianapolis sees it as one more attempt by Duke to bypass traditional regulation and scrutiny. He is counsel for the Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana Inc., a group skeptical of the Smart Grid proposal.
He says Duke has consistently sought ways to raise rates without going to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission for full reviews.
“It’s a strategy they have pursued for years to get small automatic rate adjustments,” he says. “I have one friend who says it’s like being nibbled to death by ducks.”
It’s a strategy Duke has pursued in the Carolinas as well. “They are constantly probing the edges of the regulatory model,” says Robert Gruber, head of the Public Staff of the N.C. Utilities Commission. “They want to avoid coming in for a rate case as much as they can.”
Duke’s argument is that the upfront costs for Smart Grid will be significant. More than half the capital costs — about $435.9 million — will be incurred in the first five years.
A lot of the costs will be for roughly 800,000 “intelligent” meters. Those meters will enable Duke to record power use at a central location and compile significant amounts of information about how energy is consumed — down to the level of individual appliances. The utility plans to use that information to work with customers to control energy costs.
But it also involves significant upgrades to the transmission and distribution grids. That will enable the utility to improve efficiency on the power lines, react more quickly to power outages and find problems before they lead to failures on the system, Mohler says.
That will lead to significant societal benefits, he says. The obvious ones are improving reliability and cutting energy use. But upgrading the grid will also allow for more effective use of renewable energy sources, particularly small wind and solar generators.
The same program has just been proposed in Ohio as well. Duke has not yet made those cost estimates public.
The Carolinas have provided the real-life laboratory for working out the program, Mohler says. By year’s end, 16,000 customers in south Charlotte and 7,500 in Upstate South Carolina will be on what amounts to a mini-Smart Grid with intelligent meters and new grid technology.
But rolling the program out across the Carolinas will lag a few years behind.
That’s because Duke made a big technology investment five years ago in new meters for automated reading. That makes the business case for installing new equipment in the Carolinas less compelling.
But Mohler says the program is coming here. And the plan is to put it on the same model as the one proposed in the Midwest.
“We will see over the next few years a fundamental shift in the model for electric utilities,” he says. “That new business model has to incorporate cleaner energy and more reliable energy with efficiency and still be affordable.
“What’s required to bring it all together and deliver it is an intelligent network.”
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Smart Meters Open Market for Smart Apps
October 7, 2008, 4:19 pm
Smart Meters Open Market for Smart Apps
By Erik Olsen
"Part of the allure of smart metering is that consumers can use their computers to monitor their minute-by-minute energy usage — and adjust their habits accordingly. Companies are now lining up to provide the software for that interface."
As Matthew Wald wrote back in August, the power grid in the United States is in dramatic need of overhaul. But the needed improvements to load management and energy efficiency go well beyond upgrades to the network cables, transformers and power stations that make up the system’s gross anatomy.
Indeed, embedded in the promise of an improved, 21st-century “smart grid” are “smart meters,” which are quietly gaining ground in American households as utilities replace aging meters with high-tech, networked versions.
The units provide real-time, two-way communication between customer and power company — on the theory that consumers might be more likely to, say, tolerate a bit of balminess if they are able to monitor their air conditioner’s energy consumption in real time. With a Web-browser interface, a customer can access colorful graphs and charts that display exactly how much the appliance costs — and at what time of day it costs the most.
That last point is also a boon to utilities, as they can use smart metering to more closely link customer pricing with market principles of supply and demand. Energy, after all, is typically more scarce, and therefore more expensive, when households are humming with activity — in the mornings and evenings, say.
In the middle of the night, when demand for power is low, it is comparatively cheaper.
Smart meters are, of course, not new. Given the rate of current smart-meter deployment in Europe, the Swedish business research firm Berg Insight estimated recently that more than 80 million smart meters will have been installed across that continent by 2013.
Smart meters have been slower to take hold in the United States, but programs are underway in several cities. Southern California Edison, for instance, recently announced plans to install some 5.3 million meters between 2009 and 2012 at a cost of $1.63 billion.
And as the smart-meter market grows, so too does the demand for networking, software and hardware tools to make it all work. Tendril Networks’ TREE system, for example, creates an in-home wireless network linking appliances and electrical outlets to either a stand-alone monitoring unit or Web interface.
And Oklahoma Gas & Electric, a utility serving 765,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas, has recently teamed up in a pilot program with Silver Spring Networks, a network hardware and software provider specifically marketing to utilities, and Greenbox, a company based in San Bruno, Calif., that provides the Web-based energy monitoring software.
According to Matt Smith, the vice president of marketing at Greenbox, the system so far has helped 24 households to lower their monthly bills 15 percent to 20 percent. “We want to educate people about their energy usage,” Mr. Smith said.
Last week, Mr. Smith showed me a live demo of the system — which currently runs on a 15-minute delay (an enhanced, real-time version, which will require the installation of a router in the home, is planned for release in November.) A typical chart display from the Greenbox Web application is shown here:
ChartsCharting electric usage. (Image: Greenbox)
The names of residents were changed, but I was able to not only see how much energy the home was drawing and at what cost, but by selecting the “community features” option, I could also compare the home’s consumption with that of its neighbors.
Can a “tsk-tsk” feature that might allow residents to chide their power-gluttonous neighbors be far off?
Smart Meters Open Market for Smart Apps
By Erik Olsen
"Part of the allure of smart metering is that consumers can use their computers to monitor their minute-by-minute energy usage — and adjust their habits accordingly. Companies are now lining up to provide the software for that interface."
As Matthew Wald wrote back in August, the power grid in the United States is in dramatic need of overhaul. But the needed improvements to load management and energy efficiency go well beyond upgrades to the network cables, transformers and power stations that make up the system’s gross anatomy.
Indeed, embedded in the promise of an improved, 21st-century “smart grid” are “smart meters,” which are quietly gaining ground in American households as utilities replace aging meters with high-tech, networked versions.
The units provide real-time, two-way communication between customer and power company — on the theory that consumers might be more likely to, say, tolerate a bit of balminess if they are able to monitor their air conditioner’s energy consumption in real time. With a Web-browser interface, a customer can access colorful graphs and charts that display exactly how much the appliance costs — and at what time of day it costs the most.
That last point is also a boon to utilities, as they can use smart metering to more closely link customer pricing with market principles of supply and demand. Energy, after all, is typically more scarce, and therefore more expensive, when households are humming with activity — in the mornings and evenings, say.
In the middle of the night, when demand for power is low, it is comparatively cheaper.
Smart meters are, of course, not new. Given the rate of current smart-meter deployment in Europe, the Swedish business research firm Berg Insight estimated recently that more than 80 million smart meters will have been installed across that continent by 2013.
Smart meters have been slower to take hold in the United States, but programs are underway in several cities. Southern California Edison, for instance, recently announced plans to install some 5.3 million meters between 2009 and 2012 at a cost of $1.63 billion.
And as the smart-meter market grows, so too does the demand for networking, software and hardware tools to make it all work. Tendril Networks’ TREE system, for example, creates an in-home wireless network linking appliances and electrical outlets to either a stand-alone monitoring unit or Web interface.
And Oklahoma Gas & Electric, a utility serving 765,000 customers in Oklahoma and western Arkansas, has recently teamed up in a pilot program with Silver Spring Networks, a network hardware and software provider specifically marketing to utilities, and Greenbox, a company based in San Bruno, Calif., that provides the Web-based energy monitoring software.
According to Matt Smith, the vice president of marketing at Greenbox, the system so far has helped 24 households to lower their monthly bills 15 percent to 20 percent. “We want to educate people about their energy usage,” Mr. Smith said.
Last week, Mr. Smith showed me a live demo of the system — which currently runs on a 15-minute delay (an enhanced, real-time version, which will require the installation of a router in the home, is planned for release in November.) A typical chart display from the Greenbox Web application is shown here:
ChartsCharting electric usage. (Image: Greenbox)
The names of residents were changed, but I was able to not only see how much energy the home was drawing and at what cost, but by selecting the “community features” option, I could also compare the home’s consumption with that of its neighbors.
Can a “tsk-tsk” feature that might allow residents to chide their power-gluttonous neighbors be far off?
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Google whips out $4.4 trillion clean-energy plan
Google.org, the philanthropic unit of search giant Google Inc., publicized a $4.4 trillion plan to wean the United States off fossil fuels by 2030.
Giant Google’s curiosity, which seems as boundless as the Internet its algorithms search, extends into nearly every area of human endeavor. Though it makes most of its money from advertising it is interested in nearly every subject, and presented this proposal as a straw-man, meant to stimulate policy debate.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), based in Mountain View, Calif., calls in the proposal for a 38-percent cut in oil used for vehicle fuel. “Technologies and know-how to accomplish this are either available today or are under development,” the proposal, by Jeffery Greenblatt, says.
It also urges greater use of nuclear, solar, wind and geothermal sources of power.
According to Google, the plan would cost about $4.4 trillion but over 22 years would save a net of about $1 trillion while creating new jobs.
The details of the plan call for:
Improved electrical energy efficiency, which will counteract growth in demand and also the expected demand from plug-in electric cars.
Replacing all electrical power generation that uses coal and oil for fuel. About half of electrical generation from natural gas would also be replaced, all with renewable sources like wind — both on and offshore — solar and geothermal.
Raising standard car fuel efficiency from 31 mpg to 45 mpg.
Increasing use of plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars.
Replacing cars in business fleets faster.
To achieve these goals, Greenblatt says, the country will have to improve electrical transmission capacity and invest in research to make renewable energy cheap and ubiquitous. Mileage standards for cars will have to be raised, and infrastructure like charging stations for electric vehicles will have to be encouraged and built.
Google’s proposal assumes that electricity demand can be kept flat at the 2008 level, rather than growing by a quarter by 2030. The proposal claims “ample proof” that this is possible, citing research studies and the experience of states, plus a McKinsey & Co. report — Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost, published last December.
Giant Google’s curiosity, which seems as boundless as the Internet its algorithms search, extends into nearly every area of human endeavor. Though it makes most of its money from advertising it is interested in nearly every subject, and presented this proposal as a straw-man, meant to stimulate policy debate.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), based in Mountain View, Calif., calls in the proposal for a 38-percent cut in oil used for vehicle fuel. “Technologies and know-how to accomplish this are either available today or are under development,” the proposal, by Jeffery Greenblatt, says.
It also urges greater use of nuclear, solar, wind and geothermal sources of power.
According to Google, the plan would cost about $4.4 trillion but over 22 years would save a net of about $1 trillion while creating new jobs.
The details of the plan call for:
Improved electrical energy efficiency, which will counteract growth in demand and also the expected demand from plug-in electric cars.
Replacing all electrical power generation that uses coal and oil for fuel. About half of electrical generation from natural gas would also be replaced, all with renewable sources like wind — both on and offshore — solar and geothermal.
Raising standard car fuel efficiency from 31 mpg to 45 mpg.
Increasing use of plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars.
Replacing cars in business fleets faster.
To achieve these goals, Greenblatt says, the country will have to improve electrical transmission capacity and invest in research to make renewable energy cheap and ubiquitous. Mileage standards for cars will have to be raised, and infrastructure like charging stations for electric vehicles will have to be encouraged and built.
Google’s proposal assumes that electricity demand can be kept flat at the 2008 level, rather than growing by a quarter by 2030. The proposal claims “ample proof” that this is possible, citing research studies and the experience of states, plus a McKinsey & Co. report — Reducing U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions: How Much at What Cost, published last December.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Universal Powerline Association Readies Powerline Communication Smart Grid and Command and Control Specifications
Universal Powerline Association Readies Powerline Communication Smart Grid and Command and Control Specifications
DMN Newswire--2008-9-25--The Universal Powerline Association (UPA), a leading international industry consortium providing a forum for the design and development of interoperable and open specifications for Powerline communications, today announces that it is issuing two advanced market requirement documents (MRDs) for Powerline communication based Smart Grid and Command and Control applications.
The MRDs for Smart Grid and Command and Control applications share three fundamental principles:
* Delivering Interoperability across all C&C and Smart Grid applications;
* Maintaining an open, non-proprietary protocol meeting & exceeding industry requirements; and
* Facilitating International Regulatory approvals.
The UPA Command and Control MRD focuses exclusively on in-home applications and those that tie into the Smart Grid such as HVAC, Appliance, Security, Lighting and Energy Management applications among others. The UPA's Command and Control (C&C) working group collaborates with UPA´s Smart Grid working group for the definition of the residential gateway interface.
Paul Bertrand, Chairman of UPA's C&C Working Group stated that, "UPA shall develop a single technical specification and certification process based on the UPA MRD. We are paying special attention to energy consumption requirements. New regulations in Europe and the US require low power devices and place restrictions on standby power and the MRD has arrived on time to take full account of these requirements in the development of a specification for environmentally friendly command and control devices."
The UPA Smart Grid MRD provides a baseline to clarify the multiple economic, commercial, legislative and environmental requirements against which UPA members develop products and services. Smart Grids must help utilities to intelligently integrate the actions of all components and users connected to the grid. This holistic infrastructure defines the UPA Smart Grid from generation, transmission & distribution to advanced metering. The considerations include reliability requirements in a range of operating environments.
The UPA Smart Grid MRD tackles a range of grid issues such as necessary data speeds that allow the infrastructure and product or solutions on the grid to be instantaneously responsive in a wide range of applications. It also tackles robust levels of security to defend against cyber intrusion, which could have significant economic implications. The UPA MRD defines how the entire value-chain of the Smart Grid network needs to operate and interoperate - taking into account existing infrastructure, processes and approvals, as well as, future proofing with new and proven techniques and technologies.
Chris Graham-Fielding, Chairman of the UPA Smart Grid Working Group stated, "To a utility, a Smart Grid is a commercial imperative as well as a technological implementation. Utilities are faced with complying with a range of environmental targets. These include for example; an 8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2008-2012 (Kyoto) or increasing the share of electricity from renewable energy systems to 21% of gross electricity consumption by 2010, and reducing energy intensity by a further 1% per year until 2010. For this reason one cannot speak of a "single" element in a Smart Grid - it is an "end to end" cohesive solution. It must provide reliable and cost effective two-way communication across and between vast internal and edge assets. From Automated Metering Intelligence/Infrastructure (AMI) and Transmission & Distribution intelligence through to the inclusion of Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) or Distributed Power Control to Demand Side Management; the UPA PLC enabled Smart Grid is key to delivering that."
Whether FCC, Cenelec, ARIB, or other regulations, the UPA is currently in discussions and requesting participation from key stakeholders in the Energy Markets including Utilities, Regulators, OEMs and suppliers to join its efforts to ensure a successful and effective Powerline Command & Control and Smart Grid technology solution.
Daniel Drolet, Chairman of the UPA Marketing Working Group, commented, "The UPA is committed to ensuring that it�??s Command and Control and Smart Grid Market Requirements Documents and resulting Specifications are independently successful. Additionally, these specifications will also directly support each other allowing Energy companies and Consumers to each access and achieve their overall Powerline communication, networking and overall data management goals."
DMN Newswire--2008-9-25--The Universal Powerline Association (UPA), a leading international industry consortium providing a forum for the design and development of interoperable and open specifications for Powerline communications, today announces that it is issuing two advanced market requirement documents (MRDs) for Powerline communication based Smart Grid and Command and Control applications.
The MRDs for Smart Grid and Command and Control applications share three fundamental principles:
* Delivering Interoperability across all C&C and Smart Grid applications;
* Maintaining an open, non-proprietary protocol meeting & exceeding industry requirements; and
* Facilitating International Regulatory approvals.
The UPA Command and Control MRD focuses exclusively on in-home applications and those that tie into the Smart Grid such as HVAC, Appliance, Security, Lighting and Energy Management applications among others. The UPA's Command and Control (C&C) working group collaborates with UPA´s Smart Grid working group for the definition of the residential gateway interface.
Paul Bertrand, Chairman of UPA's C&C Working Group stated that, "UPA shall develop a single technical specification and certification process based on the UPA MRD. We are paying special attention to energy consumption requirements. New regulations in Europe and the US require low power devices and place restrictions on standby power and the MRD has arrived on time to take full account of these requirements in the development of a specification for environmentally friendly command and control devices."
The UPA Smart Grid MRD provides a baseline to clarify the multiple economic, commercial, legislative and environmental requirements against which UPA members develop products and services. Smart Grids must help utilities to intelligently integrate the actions of all components and users connected to the grid. This holistic infrastructure defines the UPA Smart Grid from generation, transmission & distribution to advanced metering. The considerations include reliability requirements in a range of operating environments.
The UPA Smart Grid MRD tackles a range of grid issues such as necessary data speeds that allow the infrastructure and product or solutions on the grid to be instantaneously responsive in a wide range of applications. It also tackles robust levels of security to defend against cyber intrusion, which could have significant economic implications. The UPA MRD defines how the entire value-chain of the Smart Grid network needs to operate and interoperate - taking into account existing infrastructure, processes and approvals, as well as, future proofing with new and proven techniques and technologies.
Chris Graham-Fielding, Chairman of the UPA Smart Grid Working Group stated, "To a utility, a Smart Grid is a commercial imperative as well as a technological implementation. Utilities are faced with complying with a range of environmental targets. These include for example; an 8% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2008-2012 (Kyoto) or increasing the share of electricity from renewable energy systems to 21% of gross electricity consumption by 2010, and reducing energy intensity by a further 1% per year until 2010. For this reason one cannot speak of a "single" element in a Smart Grid - it is an "end to end" cohesive solution. It must provide reliable and cost effective two-way communication across and between vast internal and edge assets. From Automated Metering Intelligence/Infrastructure (AMI) and Transmission & Distribution intelligence through to the inclusion of Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) or Distributed Power Control to Demand Side Management; the UPA PLC enabled Smart Grid is key to delivering that."
Whether FCC, Cenelec, ARIB, or other regulations, the UPA is currently in discussions and requesting participation from key stakeholders in the Energy Markets including Utilities, Regulators, OEMs and suppliers to join its efforts to ensure a successful and effective Powerline Command & Control and Smart Grid technology solution.
Daniel Drolet, Chairman of the UPA Marketing Working Group, commented, "The UPA is committed to ensuring that it�??s Command and Control and Smart Grid Market Requirements Documents and resulting Specifications are independently successful. Additionally, these specifications will also directly support each other allowing Energy companies and Consumers to each access and achieve their overall Powerline communication, networking and overall data management goals."
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Ambient Shows Newest Product at GridWeek !!!
Ambient Shows Newest Product at GridWeek
Tuesday September 23, 8:30 am ET
Ambient Joins Utility Leaders on Energy Efficiency Panel
WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News) announced today that it is demonstrating the newest version of its network management system, Ambient NMS™, alongside its X2000 communications node, in the Ambient exhibit space at GridWeek, September 22-25, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.
The newest version of AmbientNMS™ manages the flexible hybrid communications platform created by Ambient Smart Grid™, which provides a single platform for multiple applications such as AMI, SCADA, sensor networks, etc., meeting the needs of utilities modernizing their electrical distribution infrastructures.
The latest version of AmbientNMS™ incorporates Ambient’s energy sensing capabilities with the X2000 node’s geographical information system (GIS) data to allow for real-time precision grid monitoring, and allows a utility a street level view of their communications infrastructure and grid performance. Each node is designed for remote software and firmware upgrades, and can display operational information that, through AmbientNMS™, can pinpoint outages, alert the utility of grid transients and better allocate limited operational and maintenance resources all while passing on end user applications data from utility applications such as AMI.
“Ambient recognizes the diverse needs of our utility partners as they explore various technologies and applications that require an increasingly flexible and robust communications system. Making the latest version of AmbientNMS™ available to our partners increases the flexibility of our smart grid communications solution, allowing Ambient to build out networks tailored to meet each utility’s individual needs,” stated John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient. “We are proud to share this newest enhanced version with the distinguished audience at GridWeek and we invite all to see a demo in our exhibit space at the conference.”
Additionally, Ram Rao, Ambient’s CTO, will be speaking alongside Duke Energy’s CTO and Austin Energy’s CIO on a panel entitled “Enabling Energy Efficiency.” The presentation Mr. Rao is delivering will cover how the communications network, the backbone of any smart grid deployment, can innately create value for a utility by implementing the applications mentioned above.
Ambient Smart Grid™, supported by the Ambient X2000 node, enables a two-way, real-time communications platform to serve the “last mile” backhaul, necessary for smart grid applications.
Ambient’s X2000 is a tightly integrated communications device that allows utilities to build private and secure communications networks, based on open standards, that can both integrate legacy utility systems and support the future requirements of the evolving smart grid. Ambient’s X2000 can also record and forward current and voltage readings to the utility, helping with circuit monitoring, load balancing and outage notification through AmbientNMS™.
About Ambient Corporation
Ambient designs, develops and markets Ambient Smart Grid™ communications technologies and equipment. Utilizing proprietary, open standards-based technologies along with in-depth industry experience, Ambient provides utilities with solutions for creating smart grid communication platforms and technologies. Headquartered in Newton, MA, Ambient is a publicly traded company (OTCBB: ABTG - News). More information on Ambient is available at www.ambientcorp.com.
About GridWeek
GridWeek 2008 is where U.S. electricity grid thought leaders will explore the smart grid’s role in delivering sustainable energy. Energy policy makers and members of public utility and information technology industries will examine smart grid successes, role in carbon reduction, alternative distributed generation, and the implementation of the Energy Act of 2007. With speeches and other sessions about enabling energy and utility efficiencies, IT and grid interoperability, new business models, and energy security, GridWeek, produced by Clasma Events Inc., is the event to outline smart grid possibilities and expectations as the U.S. electricity system moves into the 21st century. Please visit www.gridweek.com for more information on GridWeek.
Tuesday September 23, 8:30 am ET
Ambient Joins Utility Leaders on Energy Efficiency Panel
WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG - News) announced today that it is demonstrating the newest version of its network management system, Ambient NMS™, alongside its X2000 communications node, in the Ambient exhibit space at GridWeek, September 22-25, at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, D.C.
The newest version of AmbientNMS™ manages the flexible hybrid communications platform created by Ambient Smart Grid™, which provides a single platform for multiple applications such as AMI, SCADA, sensor networks, etc., meeting the needs of utilities modernizing their electrical distribution infrastructures.
The latest version of AmbientNMS™ incorporates Ambient’s energy sensing capabilities with the X2000 node’s geographical information system (GIS) data to allow for real-time precision grid monitoring, and allows a utility a street level view of their communications infrastructure and grid performance. Each node is designed for remote software and firmware upgrades, and can display operational information that, through AmbientNMS™, can pinpoint outages, alert the utility of grid transients and better allocate limited operational and maintenance resources all while passing on end user applications data from utility applications such as AMI.
“Ambient recognizes the diverse needs of our utility partners as they explore various technologies and applications that require an increasingly flexible and robust communications system. Making the latest version of AmbientNMS™ available to our partners increases the flexibility of our smart grid communications solution, allowing Ambient to build out networks tailored to meet each utility’s individual needs,” stated John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient. “We are proud to share this newest enhanced version with the distinguished audience at GridWeek and we invite all to see a demo in our exhibit space at the conference.”
Additionally, Ram Rao, Ambient’s CTO, will be speaking alongside Duke Energy’s CTO and Austin Energy’s CIO on a panel entitled “Enabling Energy Efficiency.” The presentation Mr. Rao is delivering will cover how the communications network, the backbone of any smart grid deployment, can innately create value for a utility by implementing the applications mentioned above.
Ambient Smart Grid™, supported by the Ambient X2000 node, enables a two-way, real-time communications platform to serve the “last mile” backhaul, necessary for smart grid applications.
Ambient’s X2000 is a tightly integrated communications device that allows utilities to build private and secure communications networks, based on open standards, that can both integrate legacy utility systems and support the future requirements of the evolving smart grid. Ambient’s X2000 can also record and forward current and voltage readings to the utility, helping with circuit monitoring, load balancing and outage notification through AmbientNMS™.
About Ambient Corporation
Ambient designs, develops and markets Ambient Smart Grid™ communications technologies and equipment. Utilizing proprietary, open standards-based technologies along with in-depth industry experience, Ambient provides utilities with solutions for creating smart grid communication platforms and technologies. Headquartered in Newton, MA, Ambient is a publicly traded company (OTCBB: ABTG - News). More information on Ambient is available at www.ambientcorp.com.
About GridWeek
GridWeek 2008 is where U.S. electricity grid thought leaders will explore the smart grid’s role in delivering sustainable energy. Energy policy makers and members of public utility and information technology industries will examine smart grid successes, role in carbon reduction, alternative distributed generation, and the implementation of the Energy Act of 2007. With speeches and other sessions about enabling energy and utility efficiencies, IT and grid interoperability, new business models, and energy security, GridWeek, produced by Clasma Events Inc., is the event to outline smart grid possibilities and expectations as the U.S. electricity system moves into the 21st century. Please visit www.gridweek.com for more information on GridWeek.
BPL Global and COPEL to Start Pioneering Project in Brazil
[September 18, 2008]
BPL Global and COPEL to Start Pioneering Project in Brazil
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- BPL Global(R), Ltd. (BPLG), a smart grid technology company dedicated to leading the transformation of energy and information delivery, announced today that the company signed a contract with COPEL Telecomunicacoes (COPEL) to implement broadband over power line (BPL) technology in the state of Parana. This project, an unparalleled milestone in Brazil's energy and telecommunications industry, is the result of the vision and leadership of COPEL to leverage existing assets to better serve their customers. COPEL plans to offer high speed Internet access over the existing electric infrastructure to thousands of customers. The social impact of these services is expected to be extremely positive, as broadband will be available in areas that do not currently have access to high speed Internet services.
Deployment of BPL in a city in the state of Parana will go live in four months and provide broadband services to end users of COPEL. The solution is designed to operate on pre-existing medium and low voltage electric networks. It provides high speed Internet services in areas with little or no service coverage, thus promoting participation in the digital economy in that region. The project includes deployment, full testing and operation of BPL equipment and power line communications (PLC) systems. Proposals for multiple commercial services including VoIP, broadband Internet, video surveillance and intelligent management of the electrical network (smart grid) are also part of the project.
BPL based services align with COPEL's overall strategy of providing services that continually improve quality of life in the state of Parana. COPEL plans to provide citizens and less privileged communities with access to the Internet by leveraging the existing power grid. Other services that COPEL would like to offer include: VoIP, IPTV, VPN and IP communication services. COPEL plans to serve their entire customer base through a multi-phase project. In the first phase, 300 customers are expected to participate by the end of 2008. A second citywide deployment is designed to attract 3,000 to 10,000 customers. Finally, a large scale deployment would provide full coverage of the company's 3.5 million customers. BPL technology will provide the last mile connection bringing Internet service to every electrical outlet. Communications backhaul will be provided by COPEL's existing fiber network.
"COPEL has always pioneered the use of advanced technologies. This project demonstrates their leadership in bringing major benefits to the people of Parana through broadband over power line and smart grid technologies. Our broadband solutions allow for widespread access to high speed Internet services enabling more people to participate in the digital economy," says Geraldo Guimaraes, Executive Director of BPL Global's Latin America division. "Our smart grid solutions can improve the reliability and efficiency of energy delivery."
COPEL's approach is to make their communications infrastructure available to any telecommunications company in a model it calls "Any to Any" (A2A). Power companies with fiber networks are expected to follow COPEL's lead in providing communications services to their customers via BPL-based last mile connections. To this end, companies like CEMIG's Infovias, Eletropaulo Telecom, AES Telecom Rio, and Celg Telecom have requested copies of COPEL's communications platform specifications.
BPL Global and COPEL to Start Pioneering Project in Brazil
PITTSBURGH, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- BPL Global(R), Ltd. (BPLG), a smart grid technology company dedicated to leading the transformation of energy and information delivery, announced today that the company signed a contract with COPEL Telecomunicacoes (COPEL) to implement broadband over power line (BPL) technology in the state of Parana. This project, an unparalleled milestone in Brazil's energy and telecommunications industry, is the result of the vision and leadership of COPEL to leverage existing assets to better serve their customers. COPEL plans to offer high speed Internet access over the existing electric infrastructure to thousands of customers. The social impact of these services is expected to be extremely positive, as broadband will be available in areas that do not currently have access to high speed Internet services.
Deployment of BPL in a city in the state of Parana will go live in four months and provide broadband services to end users of COPEL. The solution is designed to operate on pre-existing medium and low voltage electric networks. It provides high speed Internet services in areas with little or no service coverage, thus promoting participation in the digital economy in that region. The project includes deployment, full testing and operation of BPL equipment and power line communications (PLC) systems. Proposals for multiple commercial services including VoIP, broadband Internet, video surveillance and intelligent management of the electrical network (smart grid) are also part of the project.
BPL based services align with COPEL's overall strategy of providing services that continually improve quality of life in the state of Parana. COPEL plans to provide citizens and less privileged communities with access to the Internet by leveraging the existing power grid. Other services that COPEL would like to offer include: VoIP, IPTV, VPN and IP communication services. COPEL plans to serve their entire customer base through a multi-phase project. In the first phase, 300 customers are expected to participate by the end of 2008. A second citywide deployment is designed to attract 3,000 to 10,000 customers. Finally, a large scale deployment would provide full coverage of the company's 3.5 million customers. BPL technology will provide the last mile connection bringing Internet service to every electrical outlet. Communications backhaul will be provided by COPEL's existing fiber network.
"COPEL has always pioneered the use of advanced technologies. This project demonstrates their leadership in bringing major benefits to the people of Parana through broadband over power line and smart grid technologies. Our broadband solutions allow for widespread access to high speed Internet services enabling more people to participate in the digital economy," says Geraldo Guimaraes, Executive Director of BPL Global's Latin America division. "Our smart grid solutions can improve the reliability and efficiency of energy delivery."
COPEL's approach is to make their communications infrastructure available to any telecommunications company in a model it calls "Any to Any" (A2A). Power companies with fiber networks are expected to follow COPEL's lead in providing communications services to their customers via BPL-based last mile connections. To this end, companies like CEMIG's Infovias, Eletropaulo Telecom, AES Telecom Rio, and Celg Telecom have requested copies of COPEL's communications platform specifications.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Google, General Electric announce energy partnership, plan to develop 'smart grid'
Google, GE combine powers to bolster energy grid
Wednesday September 17, 4:06 pm ET
Google, General Electric announce energy partnership, plan to develop 'smart grid'
NEW YORK (AP) -- Google Inc. and General Electric Co. said Wednesday they will work together to improve the nation's energy network, including the development of a "smart grid."
The corporate giants said they will form a policy partnership in Washington, D.C., and collaborate to develop renewable energy and electric-vehicle charging technologies, and improve the nation's transmission system.
A so-called "smart grid" would allow utilities to more-closely monitor energy usage and directly interact with consumers.
"The current regulatory and economic model is failing to drive the innovation and investment we need in today's electric grid," the companies said in a statement. "We will work to overcome regulatory and institutional barriers and advocate for appropriate incentives."
In a conference call to promote the partnership, GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told Google CEO Eric Schmidt that "clean energy is both a technology and a public policy."
"If we really want to drive renewable energy ... we're going to have to have more transmission," he said.
It's not difficult to make improvements to the nation's energy system, Immelt said, comparing the industry to another hot-button area.
"I'd say health care is hard," he said. "Energy (improvement) isn't hard. The technology exists.
Wednesday September 17, 4:06 pm ET
Google, General Electric announce energy partnership, plan to develop 'smart grid'
NEW YORK (AP) -- Google Inc. and General Electric Co. said Wednesday they will work together to improve the nation's energy network, including the development of a "smart grid."
The corporate giants said they will form a policy partnership in Washington, D.C., and collaborate to develop renewable energy and electric-vehicle charging technologies, and improve the nation's transmission system.
A so-called "smart grid" would allow utilities to more-closely monitor energy usage and directly interact with consumers.
"The current regulatory and economic model is failing to drive the innovation and investment we need in today's electric grid," the companies said in a statement. "We will work to overcome regulatory and institutional barriers and advocate for appropriate incentives."
In a conference call to promote the partnership, GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt told Google CEO Eric Schmidt that "clean energy is both a technology and a public policy."
"If we really want to drive renewable energy ... we're going to have to have more transmission," he said.
It's not difficult to make improvements to the nation's energy system, Immelt said, comparing the industry to another hot-button area.
"I'd say health care is hard," he said. "Energy (improvement) isn't hard. The technology exists.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Smart Grid Week- Delivering Sustainable Energy Washington, DC
GridWeek 2008...
Delivering Sustainable Energy
Washington, DC
Sep 22-25, 2008
GridWeek is the annual gathering in Washington, DC, of Smart Grid stakeholders and thought leaders.
GridWeek provides the opportunity for organizations focused on
Smart Grid to hold meetings and participate in collaborative sessions,
including leading speakers on the Smart Grid revolution.
International Summit
The first ever ISGS (International Smart Grid Summit), held as part of GridWeek 2008, brings together international Smart Grid executives to discuss Smart Grid developments around the world.
Bodman, Friedman, Rifkin & more...
With over 120 speakers participating, top speakers include US Energy Secretary Bodman, Thomas Friedman, Jeremy Rifkin, Senior Utility Executives, Regulators and Technology Experts. See Full Speaker List here.
A realization is emerging that a new view of energy, beyond oil, coal and other fossil-based fuels, will result in decentralized components of the electricity grid, a far cry from the central generation and structured system of the past.
A smart information network for the electric grid is seen as
necessary to manage and automate this new world.
GridWeek is focused on this vision.
Driving Forces for
Increasing Electricity Demand
Environmental Concerns
Operational Efficiencies
EISA 2007 Title 13
Securing Energy Supply
Event Outline
Objectives...
As the annual gathering of Smart Grid players...
To understand the role of Smart Grid in sustainability
To develop and promote the Smart Grid agenda
To educate on strategies and deployment of Smart Grid
To ensure energy independence and security
Conference Designed for...
Congress & Congressional Staff
Federal & State agencies
Federal & State regulators
Utility Executives & Staff
Technology & service providers
Electricity consumer & advocate groups
Smart Grid leaders & stakeholder
Press, analysts & other observers
Delivering Sustainable Energy
Washington, DC
Sep 22-25, 2008
GridWeek is the annual gathering in Washington, DC, of Smart Grid stakeholders and thought leaders.
GridWeek provides the opportunity for organizations focused on
Smart Grid to hold meetings and participate in collaborative sessions,
including leading speakers on the Smart Grid revolution.
International Summit
The first ever ISGS (International Smart Grid Summit), held as part of GridWeek 2008, brings together international Smart Grid executives to discuss Smart Grid developments around the world.
Bodman, Friedman, Rifkin & more...
With over 120 speakers participating, top speakers include US Energy Secretary Bodman, Thomas Friedman, Jeremy Rifkin, Senior Utility Executives, Regulators and Technology Experts. See Full Speaker List here.
A realization is emerging that a new view of energy, beyond oil, coal and other fossil-based fuels, will result in decentralized components of the electricity grid, a far cry from the central generation and structured system of the past.
A smart information network for the electric grid is seen as
necessary to manage and automate this new world.
GridWeek is focused on this vision.
Driving Forces for
Increasing Electricity Demand
Environmental Concerns
Operational Efficiencies
EISA 2007 Title 13
Securing Energy Supply
Event Outline
Objectives...
As the annual gathering of Smart Grid players...
To understand the role of Smart Grid in sustainability
To develop and promote the Smart Grid agenda
To educate on strategies and deployment of Smart Grid
To ensure energy independence and security
Conference Designed for...
Congress & Congressional Staff
Federal & State agencies
Federal & State regulators
Utility Executives & Staff
Technology & service providers
Electricity consumer & advocate groups
Smart Grid leaders & stakeholder
Press, analysts & other observers
New DS2 powerline chipsets to provide four times faster transmission speeds than standard wireless
· New features to deliver 99 per cent home network coverage
· Upgrades enable service providers like BT, Portugal Telecom and Telefónica to offer affordable and fully self-installable IPTV
. DS2 to exhibit enhancements in Hall 4, Stand C39 at IBC2008, RAI Centre Amsterdam, September 12th-15th – location map available here
Valencia, SPAIN – 9th September, 2008 – DS2, the leading technology innovator and global supplier of high-speed powerline communications technology, has developed major new features for its 200Mbps powerline communications chipsets to enable four times faster transmission speeds than standard wireless networks. It will showcase how these new upgrades support commercial IPTV services and provide 99 per cent home network coverage at this year’s IBC event in Amsterdam, September 12th-15th.
At the show, DS2 will also demonstrate some of the benefits that service providers, such as BT, Portugal Telecom and Telefónica are able to offer their customers thanks to DS2 technology. These include affordable IPTV services that are fully installable by the consumer in less than an hour. DS2's powerline adapters plug directly into existing electrical wiring, eliminating installation calls and truck roll costs for service providers – savings that are also achieved by the customer.
“Choosing the right technology that enables fully-interoperable IPTV home networks is the final frontier for service providers,” comments Victor Dominguez, VP Sales at DS2. “To win and maintain customers, service providers must ensure that the IPTV service is delivered to all terminal devices in the home, which now include telephones, gateways, TV sets, set-top boxes, whole-home DVRs, gaming consoles, and PCs.
“We believe that it is important that service and Internet providers meet the growing bandwidth requirements. DS2 is addressing this through fully backward interoperable 3rd generation powerline technology that will provide throughput speeds of 400Mbps,” concludes Victor Dominguez.
At IBC 2008, DS2 will also demonstrate full interoperability between its various powerline chipset technologies, including its 100 Mbps Montgó chipset for audio and Internet application and its 200Mbps Aitana chipset for multimedia applications.
Key new features of DS2’s 200Mbps Powerline Communications chipsets that it will exhibit at the show are:
Automatic multi-cast capabilities that enable efficient management of simultaneous IPTV video channels
On-chip support for a suite of DSL Forum standards, known as TR069, to support remote network management,
Complete LLTD protocol integration with Windows Vista users.
· Upgrades enable service providers like BT, Portugal Telecom and Telefónica to offer affordable and fully self-installable IPTV
. DS2 to exhibit enhancements in Hall 4, Stand C39 at IBC2008, RAI Centre Amsterdam, September 12th-15th – location map available here
Valencia, SPAIN – 9th September, 2008 – DS2, the leading technology innovator and global supplier of high-speed powerline communications technology, has developed major new features for its 200Mbps powerline communications chipsets to enable four times faster transmission speeds than standard wireless networks. It will showcase how these new upgrades support commercial IPTV services and provide 99 per cent home network coverage at this year’s IBC event in Amsterdam, September 12th-15th.
At the show, DS2 will also demonstrate some of the benefits that service providers, such as BT, Portugal Telecom and Telefónica are able to offer their customers thanks to DS2 technology. These include affordable IPTV services that are fully installable by the consumer in less than an hour. DS2's powerline adapters plug directly into existing electrical wiring, eliminating installation calls and truck roll costs for service providers – savings that are also achieved by the customer.
“Choosing the right technology that enables fully-interoperable IPTV home networks is the final frontier for service providers,” comments Victor Dominguez, VP Sales at DS2. “To win and maintain customers, service providers must ensure that the IPTV service is delivered to all terminal devices in the home, which now include telephones, gateways, TV sets, set-top boxes, whole-home DVRs, gaming consoles, and PCs.
“We believe that it is important that service and Internet providers meet the growing bandwidth requirements. DS2 is addressing this through fully backward interoperable 3rd generation powerline technology that will provide throughput speeds of 400Mbps,” concludes Victor Dominguez.
At IBC 2008, DS2 will also demonstrate full interoperability between its various powerline chipset technologies, including its 100 Mbps Montgó chipset for audio and Internet application and its 200Mbps Aitana chipset for multimedia applications.
Key new features of DS2’s 200Mbps Powerline Communications chipsets that it will exhibit at the show are:
Automatic multi-cast capabilities that enable efficient management of simultaneous IPTV video channels
On-chip support for a suite of DSL Forum standards, known as TR069, to support remote network management,
Complete LLTD protocol integration with Windows Vista users.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Who’ll Win ‘Smart Grid’ Gold? Keep an Eye on Duke, Ambient, eMeter, EnerNOC, GridPoint, Trilliant & More
Who’ll Win ‘Smart Grid’ Gold? Keep an Eye on Duke, Ambient, eMeter, EnerNOC, GridPoint, Trilliant & More
Editor’s Note: In keeping with its policy to be solely a news source, this EnergyTechStocks.com article is presented for information purposes only.
Posted: August 27, 2008
Much has been written about the critical need to fix the faltering power grid, the rapid development of plug-in electric hybrid vehicles in the face of record pump prices, and corporations’ strong interest in energy efficiency to combat rising power costs. Not much has been written – yet – about what has to first be in place for all this to happen, namely: the technology for making a power grid “smart.”
The “smart” electrical power grid, parts of which are now under development by many different companies, will act like a cellular telephone network. Its computer-controlled technology will permit two-way communication between power plants and literally everything that runs on electricity. The technology will include power management chips embedded in every TV and toaster, plus sophisticated monitoring systems all along the distribution chain – in the plant, on the lines, and in your home and office, where advanced programmable thermostats will, for the first time, put at your fingertips the power to save money and limit your greenhouse gas emissions.
The smart grid will make it possible for businesses to instantly adjust the energy usage of dozens of large factories, retail establishments, and other power users at the same time. It will make it possible to plug in millions of electrically-powered cars and trucks at any given time without overloading the system. Indeed, it is expected that the electricity stored in plug-in cars’ batteries will become a vital power source in its own right since utilities will be able on command to pull that electricity out of all those batteries when extra power is needed quickly to avoid a blackout. That, plus the inherent ability of a smart grid to diagnose and repair itself before trouble develops, will go a long way toward fixing what’s wrong with today’s faltering grid.
A lot of companies are racing for smart-grid gold, and given that it’s been estimated that the smart grid may generate some $45 billion in revenue for its developers, there should be multiple gold medals handed out. So here’s a list of companies that appear to be in line to make their investors happy along with some reasons why. The list is by no means exhaustive; it’s intended only to give investors a sense of the many different money-making opportunities that exist with smart grid development. (Look for frequent updates.)
Duke Energy and XCel Energy are the two investor-owned U.S. electric utilities trailblazing smart grid applications on their systems. Both have regulators pushing them to go green so their interest is unlikely to wane. Both may wind up acquiring cutting-edge technology firms, which could result in significant licensing fees as the rest of the notoriously slow U.S. electric utility industry plays catch-up. (For more on Duke see The Electric Revolution (Part 3 of 4) – Duke Energy’s David Mohler: ‘Utility of the Future’ Arrives Next Year.)
EnerNOC Inc. appears to be on a roll as a provider of demand response (DR) systems that rely on smart-grid-like computer controls to trim customer demand on the command of a utility when the grid is in danger of overloading. Increasingly, EnerNOC is using its technology to do forensic analyses of companies’ power usage, which will be another function of smart grid technology. (For more on EnerNOC see EnerNOC CEO Healy Sees ‘Demand Response’ 10% of Power Generation Mix In Less Than 5 Years.)
Ambient Corp. is a company developing technology intended to give the smart grid two-way communication capability. Utilities are going to need to turn their “dumb” electrical wires into “smart” wires capable of Internet-based communication in order to execute all sorts of demands to optimize and minimize power usage.
Echelon Corp. and privately-held eMeter are developing advanced meters that will serve as collection points for information passed along wirelessly and by Internet-capable power lines. Advanced meters will be key to utilities providing innovative pricing plans that encourage power users to switch their consumption to times of day when demand is low – and so is the price. (For more on Echelon see The Home-Improvers: 5 That Could Do Well Improving Home Energy Efficiency — #1 Echelon.)
GridPoint Inc., which is also privately held, is developing back-up power systems for when the power is interrupted. These smart battery-based systems will automatically spring into action, helping manufacturers and others avoid power breaks which, even if they last only fractions of a second, can force a company to lose hours because it needs to reprogram its computers. (For more on GridPoint see Follow the Money: 5 Firms Grabbing Big Bucks That Belong on Investors’ Radar Screens: #5 GridPoint.)
Meanwhile, Freescale Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Atmel Corp. and Ember Networks, the first three publicly held, are all involved in developing the power management chips that will go into the many millions of TVs, toasters and other appliances. Privately-held Trilliant Inc. wants to be the main company that puts power management chips onto circuit boards, creating a wireless mesh network for communication within a home or office as well as back to utilities. (For more on Trilliant and other smart grid development firms, see Part 1 of 2 - An Insider’s Perspective On ‘Smart Grid’ Tech Plays That May Make You A Lot Of Money and Part 2 of 2 - From Meters to Washing Machines, ‘Smart’ Grid Components May Make Investors $$.)
Whew! And that’s only a sampling of what’s to come.
Editor’s Note: In keeping with its policy to be solely a news source, this EnergyTechStocks.com article is presented for information purposes only.
Posted: August 27, 2008
Much has been written about the critical need to fix the faltering power grid, the rapid development of plug-in electric hybrid vehicles in the face of record pump prices, and corporations’ strong interest in energy efficiency to combat rising power costs. Not much has been written – yet – about what has to first be in place for all this to happen, namely: the technology for making a power grid “smart.”
The “smart” electrical power grid, parts of which are now under development by many different companies, will act like a cellular telephone network. Its computer-controlled technology will permit two-way communication between power plants and literally everything that runs on electricity. The technology will include power management chips embedded in every TV and toaster, plus sophisticated monitoring systems all along the distribution chain – in the plant, on the lines, and in your home and office, where advanced programmable thermostats will, for the first time, put at your fingertips the power to save money and limit your greenhouse gas emissions.
The smart grid will make it possible for businesses to instantly adjust the energy usage of dozens of large factories, retail establishments, and other power users at the same time. It will make it possible to plug in millions of electrically-powered cars and trucks at any given time without overloading the system. Indeed, it is expected that the electricity stored in plug-in cars’ batteries will become a vital power source in its own right since utilities will be able on command to pull that electricity out of all those batteries when extra power is needed quickly to avoid a blackout. That, plus the inherent ability of a smart grid to diagnose and repair itself before trouble develops, will go a long way toward fixing what’s wrong with today’s faltering grid.
A lot of companies are racing for smart-grid gold, and given that it’s been estimated that the smart grid may generate some $45 billion in revenue for its developers, there should be multiple gold medals handed out. So here’s a list of companies that appear to be in line to make their investors happy along with some reasons why. The list is by no means exhaustive; it’s intended only to give investors a sense of the many different money-making opportunities that exist with smart grid development. (Look for frequent updates.)
Duke Energy and XCel Energy are the two investor-owned U.S. electric utilities trailblazing smart grid applications on their systems. Both have regulators pushing them to go green so their interest is unlikely to wane. Both may wind up acquiring cutting-edge technology firms, which could result in significant licensing fees as the rest of the notoriously slow U.S. electric utility industry plays catch-up. (For more on Duke see The Electric Revolution (Part 3 of 4) – Duke Energy’s David Mohler: ‘Utility of the Future’ Arrives Next Year.)
EnerNOC Inc. appears to be on a roll as a provider of demand response (DR) systems that rely on smart-grid-like computer controls to trim customer demand on the command of a utility when the grid is in danger of overloading. Increasingly, EnerNOC is using its technology to do forensic analyses of companies’ power usage, which will be another function of smart grid technology. (For more on EnerNOC see EnerNOC CEO Healy Sees ‘Demand Response’ 10% of Power Generation Mix In Less Than 5 Years.)
Ambient Corp. is a company developing technology intended to give the smart grid two-way communication capability. Utilities are going to need to turn their “dumb” electrical wires into “smart” wires capable of Internet-based communication in order to execute all sorts of demands to optimize and minimize power usage.
Echelon Corp. and privately-held eMeter are developing advanced meters that will serve as collection points for information passed along wirelessly and by Internet-capable power lines. Advanced meters will be key to utilities providing innovative pricing plans that encourage power users to switch their consumption to times of day when demand is low – and so is the price. (For more on Echelon see The Home-Improvers: 5 That Could Do Well Improving Home Energy Efficiency — #1 Echelon.)
GridPoint Inc., which is also privately held, is developing back-up power systems for when the power is interrupted. These smart battery-based systems will automatically spring into action, helping manufacturers and others avoid power breaks which, even if they last only fractions of a second, can force a company to lose hours because it needs to reprogram its computers. (For more on GridPoint see Follow the Money: 5 Firms Grabbing Big Bucks That Belong on Investors’ Radar Screens: #5 GridPoint.)
Meanwhile, Freescale Semiconductor, Texas Instruments, Atmel Corp. and Ember Networks, the first three publicly held, are all involved in developing the power management chips that will go into the many millions of TVs, toasters and other appliances. Privately-held Trilliant Inc. wants to be the main company that puts power management chips onto circuit boards, creating a wireless mesh network for communication within a home or office as well as back to utilities. (For more on Trilliant and other smart grid development firms, see Part 1 of 2 - An Insider’s Perspective On ‘Smart Grid’ Tech Plays That May Make You A Lot Of Money and Part 2 of 2 - From Meters to Washing Machines, ‘Smart’ Grid Components May Make Investors $$.)
Whew! And that’s only a sampling of what’s to come.
Damaged Power Lines Blamed for Wildfires
A series of wildfires in San Diego County in late October burned more than 207,000 acres. Improperly maintained power lines were blamed for three of the fires.
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
Published: September 3, 2008
LOS ANGELES — A new report by state regulators has blamed improperly maintained power lines by two companies, one of which impeded investigators, for some of the most devastating wildfires in Southern California last year.
California Public Utilities Commission Report (PDF) The report, by investigators for the California Public Utilities Commission, concurs with the findings of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Calfire, which in July said damaged lines were to blame for three of the most destructive fires, all in San Diego County. The three fires, among the most severe of several wind-fed blazes in late October, burned more than 207,000 acres, destroyed 1,141 homes, damaged scores of others, killed 2 people and injured 40 firefighters
The commission plans to review the findings and could impose financial penalties against the two companies, San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications, which investigators said failed to adequately maintain lines at the site of the Guejito, Witch and Rice fires.
The report said the Guejito fire started when an improperly maintained Cox line came into contact with a San Diego Gas & Electric conductor. The Witch fire was attributed to two of the utility’s lines coming into contact, and the Rice fire began when a sycamore tree limb, which investigators suggested should have been trimmed, fell onto a utility line.
The report said San Diego Gas & Electric delayed access to witnesses, sites and other evidence, and it suggested that the commission consider ordering all utilities to provide immediate access to scenes under investigation.
“The S.D.G. & E. representative refused to answer specific questions about the fire/incident and informed me that he was only available to show me the site,” an inspector wrote of his visit to the scene of one of the fires.
The utility subsequently answered questions after its lawyers and those from the commission discussed the problem.
Both companies denounced the report as riddled with inaccuracies and said thin or misleading evidence led to premature or baseless conclusions.
“This report,” San Diego Gas & Electric said, “is full of speculation and faulty conclusions, with sparse evidence — if any — to support its claims.”
The utility said the report played down the significance of what it considered unusually strong wind for the area. It also said that the clearance of the tree in the Rice fire complied with state regulations and that Calfire had not yet determined why the power lines in the Witch fire came into contact.
Cox suggested that unusually fierce winds, not its maintenance, caused problems with its line.
“The evidence indicates that our line was fully intact prior to the extreme Santa Ana winds, which caused S.D.G. & E.’s lines and our lines to come into contact,” the Cox statement said. “Cox has cooperated fully with all agencies during this process; staff statements in the report are inconsistent with the facts.”
In June, the City of San Diego filed a lawsuit against San Diego Gas & Electric, blaming the utility for the fires and seeking damages. Michael Aguirre, the city attorney, said Tuesday that he would add Cox to the lawsuit, in light of the commission report.
Downed power lines cause about 2 percent or 3 percent of wildfires in California but have been behind some of the largest, in part because the lines sit on high towers traversing remote, windy and hard-to-access terrain.
Elected officials and others have called for lines to be buried.
After a downed power line was cited as the cause of a fire in Malibu in October, Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who represents the area, repeated a call for utilities and fire safety experts to examine ways to avert power line dangers, including burying the lines in high-risk zones.
Such a step, Mr. Yaroslavsky conceded, would be expensive. A study two years ago by the Edison Electric Institute, an industry group, estimated that putting existing lines underground cost on average about $1 million per mile, with rate payers bearing much of the expense. In addition, while underground lines are more reliable and reduce wildfire hazards, they are also more difficult and costly to maintain.
San Diego Gas & Electric said it had been taking steps to reduce the danger, including replacing hundreds of wood poles with metal ones in the backcountry.
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
Published: September 3, 2008
LOS ANGELES — A new report by state regulators has blamed improperly maintained power lines by two companies, one of which impeded investigators, for some of the most devastating wildfires in Southern California last year.
California Public Utilities Commission Report (PDF) The report, by investigators for the California Public Utilities Commission, concurs with the findings of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Calfire, which in July said damaged lines were to blame for three of the most destructive fires, all in San Diego County. The three fires, among the most severe of several wind-fed blazes in late October, burned more than 207,000 acres, destroyed 1,141 homes, damaged scores of others, killed 2 people and injured 40 firefighters
The commission plans to review the findings and could impose financial penalties against the two companies, San Diego Gas & Electric and Cox Communications, which investigators said failed to adequately maintain lines at the site of the Guejito, Witch and Rice fires.
The report said the Guejito fire started when an improperly maintained Cox line came into contact with a San Diego Gas & Electric conductor. The Witch fire was attributed to two of the utility’s lines coming into contact, and the Rice fire began when a sycamore tree limb, which investigators suggested should have been trimmed, fell onto a utility line.
The report said San Diego Gas & Electric delayed access to witnesses, sites and other evidence, and it suggested that the commission consider ordering all utilities to provide immediate access to scenes under investigation.
“The S.D.G. & E. representative refused to answer specific questions about the fire/incident and informed me that he was only available to show me the site,” an inspector wrote of his visit to the scene of one of the fires.
The utility subsequently answered questions after its lawyers and those from the commission discussed the problem.
Both companies denounced the report as riddled with inaccuracies and said thin or misleading evidence led to premature or baseless conclusions.
“This report,” San Diego Gas & Electric said, “is full of speculation and faulty conclusions, with sparse evidence — if any — to support its claims.”
The utility said the report played down the significance of what it considered unusually strong wind for the area. It also said that the clearance of the tree in the Rice fire complied with state regulations and that Calfire had not yet determined why the power lines in the Witch fire came into contact.
Cox suggested that unusually fierce winds, not its maintenance, caused problems with its line.
“The evidence indicates that our line was fully intact prior to the extreme Santa Ana winds, which caused S.D.G. & E.’s lines and our lines to come into contact,” the Cox statement said. “Cox has cooperated fully with all agencies during this process; staff statements in the report are inconsistent with the facts.”
In June, the City of San Diego filed a lawsuit against San Diego Gas & Electric, blaming the utility for the fires and seeking damages. Michael Aguirre, the city attorney, said Tuesday that he would add Cox to the lawsuit, in light of the commission report.
Downed power lines cause about 2 percent or 3 percent of wildfires in California but have been behind some of the largest, in part because the lines sit on high towers traversing remote, windy and hard-to-access terrain.
Elected officials and others have called for lines to be buried.
After a downed power line was cited as the cause of a fire in Malibu in October, Zev Yaroslavsky, a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who represents the area, repeated a call for utilities and fire safety experts to examine ways to avert power line dangers, including burying the lines in high-risk zones.
Such a step, Mr. Yaroslavsky conceded, would be expensive. A study two years ago by the Edison Electric Institute, an industry group, estimated that putting existing lines underground cost on average about $1 million per mile, with rate payers bearing much of the expense. In addition, while underground lines are more reliable and reduce wildfire hazards, they are also more difficult and costly to maintain.
San Diego Gas & Electric said it had been taking steps to reduce the danger, including replacing hundreds of wood poles with metal ones in the backcountry.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits
The Energy Challenge
Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: August 26, 2008
When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.
That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.
The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.
The grid today, according to experts, is a system conceived 100 years ago to let utilities prop each other up, reducing blackouts and sharing power in small regions. It resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.
“We need an interstate transmission superhighway system,” said Suedeen G. Kelly, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
While the United States today gets barely 1 percent of its electricity from wind turbines, many experts are starting to think that figure could hit 20 percent.
Achieving that would require moving large amounts of power over long distances, from the windy, lightly populated plains in the middle of the country to the coasts where many people live. Builders are also contemplating immense solar-power stations in the nation’s deserts that would pose the same transmission problems.
The grid’s limitations are putting a damper on such projects already. Gabriel Alonso, chief development officer of Horizon Wind Energy, the company that operates Maple Ridge, said that in parts of Wyoming, a turbine could make 50 percent more electricity than the identical model built in New York or Texas.
“The windiest sites have not been built, because there is no way to move that electricity from there to the load centers,” he said.
The basic problem is that many transmission lines, and the connections between them, are simply too small for the amount of power companies would like to squeeze through them. The difficulty is most acute for long-distance transmission, but shows up at times even over distances of a few hundred miles.
Transmission lines carrying power away from the Maple Ridge farm, near Lowville, N.Y., have sometimes become so congested that the company’s only choice is to shut down — or pay fees for the privilege of continuing to pump power into the lines.
Politicians in Washington have long known about the grid’s limitations but have made scant headway in solving them. They are reluctant to trample the prerogatives of state governments, which have traditionally exercised authority over the grid and have little incentive to push improvements that would benefit neighboring states.
In Texas, T. Boone Pickens, the oilman building the world’s largest wind farm, plans to tackle the grid problem by using a right of way he is developing for water pipelines for a 250-mile transmission line from the Panhandle to the Dallas market. He has testified in Congress that Texas policy is especially favorable for such a project and that other wind developers cannot be expected to match his efforts.
“If you want to do it on a national scale, where the transmission line distances will be much longer, and utility regulations are different, Congress must act,” he said on Capitol Hill.
Enthusiasm for wind energy is running at fever pitch these days, with bold plans on the drawing boards, like Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s notion of dotting New York City with turbines. Companies are even reviving ideas of storing wind-generated energy using compressed air or spinning flywheels.
Yet experts say that without a solution to the grid problem, effective use of wind power on a wide scale is likely to remain a dream.
The power grid is balkanized, with about 200,000 miles of power lines divided among 500 owners. Big transmission upgrades often involve multiple companies, many state governments and numerous permits. Every addition to the grid provokes fights with property owners.
These barriers mean that electrical generation is growing four times faster than transmission, according to federal figures.
In a 2005 energy law, Congress gave the Energy Department the authority to step in to approve transmission if states refused to act. The department designated two areas, one in the Middle Atlantic States and one in the Southwest, as national priorities where it might do so; 14 United States senators then signed a letter saying the department was being too aggressive.
Energy Department leaders say that, however understandable the local concerns, they are getting in the way. “Modernizing the electric infrastructure is an urgent national problem, and one we all share,” said Kevin M. Kolevar, assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, in a speech last year.
Unlike answers to many of the nation’s energy problems, improvements to the grid would require no new technology. An Energy Department plan to source 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from wind calls for a high-voltage backbone spanning the country that would be similar to 2,100 miles of lines already operated by a company called American Electric Power.
The cost would be high, $60 billion or more, but in theory could be spread across many years and tens of millions of electrical customers. However, in most states, rules used by public service commissions to evaluate transmission investments discourage multistate projects of this sort. In some states with low electric rates, elected officials fear that new lines will simply export their cheap power and drive rates up.
Without a clear way of recovering the costs and earning a profit, and with little leadership on the issue from the federal government, no company or organization has offered to fight the political battles necessary to get such a transmission backbone built.
Texas and California have recently made some progress in building transmission lines for wind power, but nationally, the problem seems likely to get worse. Today, New York State has about 1,500 megawatts of wind capacity. A megawatt is an instantaneous measure of power. A large Wal-Mart draws about one megawatt. The state is planning for an additional 8,000 megawatts of capacity.
But those turbines will need to go in remote, windy areas that are far off the beaten path, electrically speaking, and it is not clear enough transmission capacity will be developed. Save for two underwater connections to Long Island, New York State has not built a major new power line in 20 years.
A handful of states like California that have set aggressive goals for renewable energy are being forced to deal with the issue, since the goals cannot be met without additional power lines.
But Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and a former energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, contends that these piecemeal efforts are not enough to tap the nation’s potential for renewable energy.
Wind advocates say that just two of the windiest states, North Dakota and South Dakota, could in principle generate half the nation’s electricity from turbines. But the way the national grid is configured, half the country would have to move to the Dakotas in order to use the power.
“We still have a third-world grid,” Mr. Richardson said, repeating a comment he has made several times. “With the federal government not investing, not setting good regulatory mechanisms, and basically taking a back seat on everything except drilling and fossil fuels, the grid has not been modernized, especially for wind energy.”
Wind Energy Bumps Into Power Grid’s Limits
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: August 26, 2008
When the builders of the Maple Ridge Wind farm spent $320 million to put nearly 200 wind turbines in upstate New York, the idea was to get paid for producing electricity. But at times, regional electric lines have been so congested that Maple Ridge has been forced to shut down even with a brisk wind blowing.
That is a symptom of a broad national problem. Expansive dreams about renewable energy, like Al Gore’s hope of replacing all fossil fuels in a decade, are bumping up against the reality of a power grid that cannot handle the new demands.
The dirty secret of clean energy is that while generating it is getting easier, moving it to market is not.
The grid today, according to experts, is a system conceived 100 years ago to let utilities prop each other up, reducing blackouts and sharing power in small regions. It resembles a network of streets, avenues and country roads.
“We need an interstate transmission superhighway system,” said Suedeen G. Kelly, a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
While the United States today gets barely 1 percent of its electricity from wind turbines, many experts are starting to think that figure could hit 20 percent.
Achieving that would require moving large amounts of power over long distances, from the windy, lightly populated plains in the middle of the country to the coasts where many people live. Builders are also contemplating immense solar-power stations in the nation’s deserts that would pose the same transmission problems.
The grid’s limitations are putting a damper on such projects already. Gabriel Alonso, chief development officer of Horizon Wind Energy, the company that operates Maple Ridge, said that in parts of Wyoming, a turbine could make 50 percent more electricity than the identical model built in New York or Texas.
“The windiest sites have not been built, because there is no way to move that electricity from there to the load centers,” he said.
The basic problem is that many transmission lines, and the connections between them, are simply too small for the amount of power companies would like to squeeze through them. The difficulty is most acute for long-distance transmission, but shows up at times even over distances of a few hundred miles.
Transmission lines carrying power away from the Maple Ridge farm, near Lowville, N.Y., have sometimes become so congested that the company’s only choice is to shut down — or pay fees for the privilege of continuing to pump power into the lines.
Politicians in Washington have long known about the grid’s limitations but have made scant headway in solving them. They are reluctant to trample the prerogatives of state governments, which have traditionally exercised authority over the grid and have little incentive to push improvements that would benefit neighboring states.
In Texas, T. Boone Pickens, the oilman building the world’s largest wind farm, plans to tackle the grid problem by using a right of way he is developing for water pipelines for a 250-mile transmission line from the Panhandle to the Dallas market. He has testified in Congress that Texas policy is especially favorable for such a project and that other wind developers cannot be expected to match his efforts.
“If you want to do it on a national scale, where the transmission line distances will be much longer, and utility regulations are different, Congress must act,” he said on Capitol Hill.
Enthusiasm for wind energy is running at fever pitch these days, with bold plans on the drawing boards, like Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s notion of dotting New York City with turbines. Companies are even reviving ideas of storing wind-generated energy using compressed air or spinning flywheels.
Yet experts say that without a solution to the grid problem, effective use of wind power on a wide scale is likely to remain a dream.
The power grid is balkanized, with about 200,000 miles of power lines divided among 500 owners. Big transmission upgrades often involve multiple companies, many state governments and numerous permits. Every addition to the grid provokes fights with property owners.
These barriers mean that electrical generation is growing four times faster than transmission, according to federal figures.
In a 2005 energy law, Congress gave the Energy Department the authority to step in to approve transmission if states refused to act. The department designated two areas, one in the Middle Atlantic States and one in the Southwest, as national priorities where it might do so; 14 United States senators then signed a letter saying the department was being too aggressive.
Energy Department leaders say that, however understandable the local concerns, they are getting in the way. “Modernizing the electric infrastructure is an urgent national problem, and one we all share,” said Kevin M. Kolevar, assistant secretary for electricity delivery and energy reliability, in a speech last year.
Unlike answers to many of the nation’s energy problems, improvements to the grid would require no new technology. An Energy Department plan to source 20 percent of the nation’s electricity from wind calls for a high-voltage backbone spanning the country that would be similar to 2,100 miles of lines already operated by a company called American Electric Power.
The cost would be high, $60 billion or more, but in theory could be spread across many years and tens of millions of electrical customers. However, in most states, rules used by public service commissions to evaluate transmission investments discourage multistate projects of this sort. In some states with low electric rates, elected officials fear that new lines will simply export their cheap power and drive rates up.
Without a clear way of recovering the costs and earning a profit, and with little leadership on the issue from the federal government, no company or organization has offered to fight the political battles necessary to get such a transmission backbone built.
Texas and California have recently made some progress in building transmission lines for wind power, but nationally, the problem seems likely to get worse. Today, New York State has about 1,500 megawatts of wind capacity. A megawatt is an instantaneous measure of power. A large Wal-Mart draws about one megawatt. The state is planning for an additional 8,000 megawatts of capacity.
But those turbines will need to go in remote, windy areas that are far off the beaten path, electrically speaking, and it is not clear enough transmission capacity will be developed. Save for two underwater connections to Long Island, New York State has not built a major new power line in 20 years.
A handful of states like California that have set aggressive goals for renewable energy are being forced to deal with the issue, since the goals cannot be met without additional power lines.
But Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and a former energy secretary under President Bill Clinton, contends that these piecemeal efforts are not enough to tap the nation’s potential for renewable energy.
Wind advocates say that just two of the windiest states, North Dakota and South Dakota, could in principle generate half the nation’s electricity from turbines. But the way the national grid is configured, half the country would have to move to the Dakotas in order to use the power.
“We still have a third-world grid,” Mr. Richardson said, repeating a comment he has made several times. “With the federal government not investing, not setting good regulatory mechanisms, and basically taking a back seat on everything except drilling and fossil fuels, the grid has not been modernized, especially for wind energy.”
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Smart-grid player Trilliant scores $40 million in financing
TRILLIANT'S TECHNOLOGY USED IN HOME ELECTRICITY METERS
By Matt Nauman Mercury News
Article Launched: 08/19/2008 09:20:22 PM PDT
Trilliant, the Redwood City company that adds intelligence and communication capability to utility networks, will announce today that it has raised $40 million in new funding from two venture capital funds.
The total amount, from MissionPoint Capital Partners of Norwalk, Conn., and Zouk Ventures of London, confirms the quickening pace toward a smarter electrical grid, a trend fueled by growing energy-efficiency demands, regulation and innovative technology.
"The grid needs a really healthy nervous system," said Bill Vogel, Trilliant's chief executive.
Trilliant, founded in 1985, has worked with more than 100 utilities globally, most notably Hydro One in Ontario, Canada. The company's technology is found in 250,000 meters today, a number that's growing at 50,000 a month, Vogel said. He added that Trilliant's revenues are on target to double from about $50 million in 2007 to more than $100 million this year.
Vogel said the company will use the new investment to expand internationally, add to its executive ranks, increase its marketing efforts in North America and to scale up production.
The funding news follows similar announcements in recent months from Trilliant's rivals, including BPL Global, Ambient, GridPoint and SmartSynch. EMeter of San Mateo raised $12.5 million in April. Silver Spring Networks of Redwood City raised $17.4 million that same month.
Smart grid systems are designed to give customers greater knowledge
of their energy use, and allow them to conserve during periods of peak demand. The systems also give utilities a better sense of power usage and help them prepare for anticipated power sources, including rooftop solar systems and electric and plug-in hybrid cars. But critics worry that improved grid systems will cost too much money and not be as effective as promised.
Pacific Gas & Electric has said it will spend at least $1.7 billion to install nearly 10 million smart electric and gas meters in central and Northern California.
Trilliant has not worked with PG&E.
By Matt Nauman Mercury News
Article Launched: 08/19/2008 09:20:22 PM PDT
Trilliant, the Redwood City company that adds intelligence and communication capability to utility networks, will announce today that it has raised $40 million in new funding from two venture capital funds.
The total amount, from MissionPoint Capital Partners of Norwalk, Conn., and Zouk Ventures of London, confirms the quickening pace toward a smarter electrical grid, a trend fueled by growing energy-efficiency demands, regulation and innovative technology.
"The grid needs a really healthy nervous system," said Bill Vogel, Trilliant's chief executive.
Trilliant, founded in 1985, has worked with more than 100 utilities globally, most notably Hydro One in Ontario, Canada. The company's technology is found in 250,000 meters today, a number that's growing at 50,000 a month, Vogel said. He added that Trilliant's revenues are on target to double from about $50 million in 2007 to more than $100 million this year.
Vogel said the company will use the new investment to expand internationally, add to its executive ranks, increase its marketing efforts in North America and to scale up production.
The funding news follows similar announcements in recent months from Trilliant's rivals, including BPL Global, Ambient, GridPoint and SmartSynch. EMeter of San Mateo raised $12.5 million in April. Silver Spring Networks of Redwood City raised $17.4 million that same month.
Smart grid systems are designed to give customers greater knowledge
of their energy use, and allow them to conserve during periods of peak demand. The systems also give utilities a better sense of power usage and help them prepare for anticipated power sources, including rooftop solar systems and electric and plug-in hybrid cars. But critics worry that improved grid systems will cost too much money and not be as effective as promised.
Pacific Gas & Electric has said it will spend at least $1.7 billion to install nearly 10 million smart electric and gas meters in central and Northern California.
Trilliant has not worked with PG&E.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Smart Meters save money for everyone - even Con Ed
Smart Meters save money for everyone - even Con Ed
Monday, August 4th 2008, 7:32 PM
Eric Gioia, City Councilman
Be Our Guest: Eric Gioia, City Councilman
These days, the price of everything is going up - gas, rent, groceries - not least of all New Yorkers' energy bills. On top of a 4.9% increase in April, New Yorkers are looking at a 22% increase this summer. In the midst of the summer heat wave, that's a wallop.
New digital technology - called Smart Meters - has allowed customers elsewhere to cut their bills by 10%, but here in New York, Con Ed continues to rely on 19th century technology to power a 21st century city. This is why I have proposed mandating that Con Ed install Smart Meters in all new buildings, and by 2011 have all meters in New York City be converted to Smart Meters.
Smart Meters take the place of old meters by using digital technology to help streamline service for consumers in real time. The ability to know when prices are high, and when they are low, allows the consumer to save money on their bills by adjusting their consumption. According to a year-long study by the U.S Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, consumers in the Smart Meter system saved 10% on their power bills, and cut their power use by 15% during peak hours. Utility companies also rely less on on-site inspections, saving consumers' time, and giving the utilities a better ability to track outages digitally.
Smart Meters will help prevent blackouts and will help to green the city as New York's power grid suffers the strains of an aging infrastructure. The national power grid has remained generally unchanged since it was first erected at the end of the 19th century. Large power plants deliver power in a massively inefficient system which requires investment in infrastructure that is often not used to its full capacity, and wastes fuel. Smart Meters help customers relieve the stress on the grid. Since the power plants run more efficiently, and since consumers can regulate their own power, less energy is used, and there is less waste.
Con Ed is falling behind the rest of the world. In April of last year, the British government announced plans for every household to obtain a Smart Meter. Italian utility Enel SpA undertook the largest Smart Meter implementation with more than 27 million meters given to customers between 2000 and 2005, with an average saving of 500 euros per year, effectively paying back the 2 billion euro investment in a four-year period. Other nations using Smart Meter technologies include Turkey, Canada, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Smart Meter technologies are currently deployed in the United States. In Boulder, Colo., Minneapolis-based utility Xcel launched a $100 million program to implement the Smart Grid. The project, announced in May 2008, will be completed in 2009, and will include smart meters in all homes. In Austin, Tex., 200,000 meters are currently Smart Meters, and by the first quarter of 2009, Austin Energy will have 500,000 Smart Grid devices.
By mandating Smart Meters in all new buildings, and by pushing for Smart Meters in all buildings by 2011, New Yorkers can lower their bills, help the environment and prevent blackouts. Smart Meters are precisely the kind of infrastructure that Con Ed needs to invest in as New York moves into the 21st century in order to ensure New York does not fall further behind the energy technology curve. Installing Smart Meters will ensure that New York remains a global capital and leader in green technologies, along with leaving a cleaner, more sustainable city for our children. Smart Meters are the smart choice for New York.
City Councilman Eric Gioia's district includes Long Island City, Woodside and Sunnyside.'Con Ed is falling behind the rest of the world.'
Monday, August 4th 2008, 7:32 PM
Eric Gioia, City Councilman
Be Our Guest: Eric Gioia, City Councilman
These days, the price of everything is going up - gas, rent, groceries - not least of all New Yorkers' energy bills. On top of a 4.9% increase in April, New Yorkers are looking at a 22% increase this summer. In the midst of the summer heat wave, that's a wallop.
New digital technology - called Smart Meters - has allowed customers elsewhere to cut their bills by 10%, but here in New York, Con Ed continues to rely on 19th century technology to power a 21st century city. This is why I have proposed mandating that Con Ed install Smart Meters in all new buildings, and by 2011 have all meters in New York City be converted to Smart Meters.
Smart Meters take the place of old meters by using digital technology to help streamline service for consumers in real time. The ability to know when prices are high, and when they are low, allows the consumer to save money on their bills by adjusting their consumption. According to a year-long study by the U.S Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, consumers in the Smart Meter system saved 10% on their power bills, and cut their power use by 15% during peak hours. Utility companies also rely less on on-site inspections, saving consumers' time, and giving the utilities a better ability to track outages digitally.
Smart Meters will help prevent blackouts and will help to green the city as New York's power grid suffers the strains of an aging infrastructure. The national power grid has remained generally unchanged since it was first erected at the end of the 19th century. Large power plants deliver power in a massively inefficient system which requires investment in infrastructure that is often not used to its full capacity, and wastes fuel. Smart Meters help customers relieve the stress on the grid. Since the power plants run more efficiently, and since consumers can regulate their own power, less energy is used, and there is less waste.
Con Ed is falling behind the rest of the world. In April of last year, the British government announced plans for every household to obtain a Smart Meter. Italian utility Enel SpA undertook the largest Smart Meter implementation with more than 27 million meters given to customers between 2000 and 2005, with an average saving of 500 euros per year, effectively paying back the 2 billion euro investment in a four-year period. Other nations using Smart Meter technologies include Turkey, Canada, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Smart Meter technologies are currently deployed in the United States. In Boulder, Colo., Minneapolis-based utility Xcel launched a $100 million program to implement the Smart Grid. The project, announced in May 2008, will be completed in 2009, and will include smart meters in all homes. In Austin, Tex., 200,000 meters are currently Smart Meters, and by the first quarter of 2009, Austin Energy will have 500,000 Smart Grid devices.
By mandating Smart Meters in all new buildings, and by pushing for Smart Meters in all buildings by 2011, New Yorkers can lower their bills, help the environment and prevent blackouts. Smart Meters are precisely the kind of infrastructure that Con Ed needs to invest in as New York moves into the 21st century in order to ensure New York does not fall further behind the energy technology curve. Installing Smart Meters will ensure that New York remains a global capital and leader in green technologies, along with leaving a cleaner, more sustainable city for our children. Smart Meters are the smart choice for New York.
City Councilman Eric Gioia's district includes Long Island City, Woodside and Sunnyside.'Con Ed is falling behind the rest of the world.'
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Telkonet Teams with BPL Global(R) to Provide Secure Communications for Utility Substations
Monday July 28, 8:30 am ET
Telkonet's Series 5 Powerline Communications (PLC) technology approved for critical substation monitoring applications
GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Telkonet, Inc. (AMEX:TKO - News), the leading provider of innovative, centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation and proactive support services, announces that its revolutionary PLC solutions have been approved after laboratory and field testing by BPL Global’s Serveron® subsidiary, a leading provider of smart grid solutions including online monitoring technology and services for electric utility assets. The Telkonet Series 5™ and the Telkonet iWire System™ use existing electrical low voltage power lines to provide high-speed communications, creating a highly secure and fast-deployment substation network. Telkonet's network enables the constant monitoring of power transformers, linking Serveron's remote monitoring Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) system to the control house, and transmitting vital data about the presence of dissolved gases in the power transformer insulating oil that indicate impending problems.
The two companies have been working closely, proving Telkonet's PLC solutions in the field with a large utility in the Southwest. Recently, Serveron has conducted extensive laboratory tests on the next generation Telkonet Series 5 platform launched earlier this year, designed specifically for demanding industrial applications, such as substations and power plants. Telkonet Series 5 has now received full approval for use with Serveron on-line transformer monitors in substation monitoring applications. As a result of these joint initiatives, Serveron has now customized its TM family of transformer monitor systems to incorporate the Telkonet iBridge™ prior to shipping, making it even simpler for the entire solution to be installed in a matter of hours by Serveron's technicians.
With transformers costing anywhere between $1 million and $10 million, keeping them in good health is clearly a critical issue. DGA is an essential means of preventing power transformer failures, providing utilities with a near real-time view of a transformer's state of health by analyzing the gases that are dissolved in its insulating oil. Secure and reliable substation communication is therefore an essential complement to Serveron's remote monitoring solutions, as Steve Jennings, Chief Marketing Officer of BPL Global, explains. "We are confident that Telkonet represents an ideal partner for our Serveron monitors, enabling us to offer a cost-effective alternative to wireless and cell-based options, or even a temporary solution while fiber is being installed. Above all, we have been extremely impressed at the resilience of Telkonet's technology, making it an ideal platform for the harsh and demanding substation environment."
Telkonet Series 5 PLC system delivers enhanced security, speed and Quality of Service (QoS), with capacity for high performance, critical applications, and provides a cost-effective method of rapidly adding communications to existing devices and applications. Telkonet Series 5 can provide support for both DC and AC applications, as well as the capability of withstanding extreme temperature ranges in tough industrial environments. With hardware-based 128-bit AES encryption, it also provides substantially improved security features, meeting stringent industry requirements as a highly secure remote management solution. Telkonet Series 5 also incorporates additional optional physical access ports, including both RS232 and RS485, enabling a wide range of different devices to be networked, such as non Ethernet-enabled monitoring and metering devices used in electric utility substations. It can also handle up to 8 different communication priority levels, across high-speed data, Voice over IP (VoIP), and surveillance, with rate-limited bandwidth management per application.
Telkonet's Series 5 Powerline Communications (PLC) technology approved for critical substation monitoring applications
GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Telkonet, Inc. (AMEX:TKO - News), the leading provider of innovative, centrally managed solutions for integrated energy management, networking, building automation and proactive support services, announces that its revolutionary PLC solutions have been approved after laboratory and field testing by BPL Global’s Serveron® subsidiary, a leading provider of smart grid solutions including online monitoring technology and services for electric utility assets. The Telkonet Series 5™ and the Telkonet iWire System™ use existing electrical low voltage power lines to provide high-speed communications, creating a highly secure and fast-deployment substation network. Telkonet's network enables the constant monitoring of power transformers, linking Serveron's remote monitoring Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) system to the control house, and transmitting vital data about the presence of dissolved gases in the power transformer insulating oil that indicate impending problems.
The two companies have been working closely, proving Telkonet's PLC solutions in the field with a large utility in the Southwest. Recently, Serveron has conducted extensive laboratory tests on the next generation Telkonet Series 5 platform launched earlier this year, designed specifically for demanding industrial applications, such as substations and power plants. Telkonet Series 5 has now received full approval for use with Serveron on-line transformer monitors in substation monitoring applications. As a result of these joint initiatives, Serveron has now customized its TM family of transformer monitor systems to incorporate the Telkonet iBridge™ prior to shipping, making it even simpler for the entire solution to be installed in a matter of hours by Serveron's technicians.
With transformers costing anywhere between $1 million and $10 million, keeping them in good health is clearly a critical issue. DGA is an essential means of preventing power transformer failures, providing utilities with a near real-time view of a transformer's state of health by analyzing the gases that are dissolved in its insulating oil. Secure and reliable substation communication is therefore an essential complement to Serveron's remote monitoring solutions, as Steve Jennings, Chief Marketing Officer of BPL Global, explains. "We are confident that Telkonet represents an ideal partner for our Serveron monitors, enabling us to offer a cost-effective alternative to wireless and cell-based options, or even a temporary solution while fiber is being installed. Above all, we have been extremely impressed at the resilience of Telkonet's technology, making it an ideal platform for the harsh and demanding substation environment."
Telkonet Series 5 PLC system delivers enhanced security, speed and Quality of Service (QoS), with capacity for high performance, critical applications, and provides a cost-effective method of rapidly adding communications to existing devices and applications. Telkonet Series 5 can provide support for both DC and AC applications, as well as the capability of withstanding extreme temperature ranges in tough industrial environments. With hardware-based 128-bit AES encryption, it also provides substantially improved security features, meeting stringent industry requirements as a highly secure remote management solution. Telkonet Series 5 also incorporates additional optional physical access ports, including both RS232 and RS485, enabling a wide range of different devices to be networked, such as non Ethernet-enabled monitoring and metering devices used in electric utility substations. It can also handle up to 8 different communication priority levels, across high-speed data, Voice over IP (VoIP), and surveillance, with rate-limited bandwidth management per application.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
IBM to prime pump for smart-grid start-ups
IBM to prime pump for smart-grid start-ups
Posted by Martin LaMonica
July 11, 2008 9:17 AM PDT
IBM has broad green-tech intentions, branching from energy-efficient data centers to cutting-edge solar cell technology. Next up is a concerted smart-grid effort.
The computing giant is preparing a technical "framework" to accelerate new technology integration into the creaky electricity distribution grid, said Drew Clark, director of strategy for IBM's Venture Capital Group, which is charged with aligning start-ups with IBM and its customers.
The idea is to create a common set of communication protocols and data formats that utilities and smart-grid start-ups can adhere to.
With these technical blueprints, based on standards like TCP/IP, new technologies can be plugged into the grid on a large scale, Clark said. What's happening now is a patchwork of smart-grid trials using differing products, an approach that prevents fast technology change.
"The biggest challenge of all this is scale," Clark said. "If we can find breakthrough technology that enables us to bridge the gap between start-up technologies and utility scale on an industrialized basis where we can rapidly move technologies into place, then that's the killer application."
Although people associate smart grids with digital utility meters, the term covers a range of technologies to make the electricity distribution network more flexible and reliable.
CNET News intern Holly Jackson and Martin LaMonica discuss progress on smart grid technology at the end of the daily podcast on Friday.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
For consumers, it can mean having an in-home display or Web site that provides real-time information on energy usage. With the right equipment, they can participate in utilities' energy-efficiency programs and shave about 10 percent off utility bills, according to results of the GridWise smart grid trail last year.
A household could, for example, agree to have the air conditioner thermostat raised a few degrees by the utility when the grid is under heavy strain, such as a hot summer day. To do that, homes need devices that communicate information back to the utility, either using broadband over powerlines or wireless networks.
The benefit of a more intelligent infrastructure is that load can be curtailed as needed and problems spotted more quickly. By flattening out spikes in demand, utilities may not need to build new power plants, which are expensive and opposed in some places for environmental and health reasons.
There are several smart-grid pilot programs going on around the U.S. Most recently, Duke Energy in May launched a five-year initiative to upgrade nearly all of its 800,000 customers with digital meters capable of communicating back to the utility.
There are also many smart-grid companies, taking on various aspects of the problem, from the devices, networking, or software utilities need.
Not so fast
But for all the activity, there are serious challenges standing in the way of broader adoption, not the least of which is money.
Utilities tend to be conservative when it comes to technology investment and regulations don't always foster large investments in energy efficiency, say experts. IT-related investments can take a back seat to things like upgrading decades-old transmissions lines.
The technology for digital electric meters and networking, meanwhile, is relatively untested.
"It's probably similar to the challenges in terms of sending information reliably and securely on the Internet but in this case there are some twists," Clark said. "You have power lines, big ugly transformers in the way, and analog devices--systems that were never set up for this."
IBM is developing a software framework for writing applications that takes advantage of the two-way communication of smart-grid technologies.
It will seek to define what sort of information needs to be communicated between utilities and consumers as well as protocols. Clark said that IBM, which is already involved in a number of smart-grid trials, intends to further detail the initiative later this year.
With a more predictable technical infrastructure, start-up companies could have utilities test and adopt their product more quickly. And it would create a platform for a broader range of applications to be developed.
For example, a person who charges an electric car away from home may want to charge a credit card or home electricity bill. Right now, building that application would require a lot of costly custom technical integration.
Trouble for start-ups?
Although regulators and utilities have been saying for years that the electricity grid needs upgrading, there are more questions than answers on how it will eventually take shape, said Jeff Osborne, an energy analyst at Thomas Weisel, who spoke on a panel at the CTSI Clean Tech conference in Boston last month.
From a business perspective, it's not clear where there is money to be made, although in the short term software-related businesses, like demand response, look promising, he said.
"Selling to utilities is extremely hard," Osborne said. "People are looking more for a software play than a commoditized hardware play."
Louis Szablya, executive vice president of smart grid company GridPoint, said that there are difficult questions over how the smart grid gets paid for. But he thinks that consumers are pushing for better services.
"Society is beginning to demand clean and efficient power. The smart grid enables that," he said.
IBM's Clark said that the technology problems are overshadowed by business and regulatory issues.
As a result, some smart-grid start-ups will struggle, since their venture capital backers can't expect them to spend 20 years having their technology tested and adopted by utilities.
"It's a difficult problem facing all start-ups. It's not just that utilities are not traditionally IT investors. It's that, from their point of view, they need to be sold on a business model--and it needs to work for the start-ups, too," he said.
Posted by Martin LaMonica
July 11, 2008 9:17 AM PDT
IBM has broad green-tech intentions, branching from energy-efficient data centers to cutting-edge solar cell technology. Next up is a concerted smart-grid effort.
The computing giant is preparing a technical "framework" to accelerate new technology integration into the creaky electricity distribution grid, said Drew Clark, director of strategy for IBM's Venture Capital Group, which is charged with aligning start-ups with IBM and its customers.
The idea is to create a common set of communication protocols and data formats that utilities and smart-grid start-ups can adhere to.
With these technical blueprints, based on standards like TCP/IP, new technologies can be plugged into the grid on a large scale, Clark said. What's happening now is a patchwork of smart-grid trials using differing products, an approach that prevents fast technology change.
"The biggest challenge of all this is scale," Clark said. "If we can find breakthrough technology that enables us to bridge the gap between start-up technologies and utility scale on an industrialized basis where we can rapidly move technologies into place, then that's the killer application."
Although people associate smart grids with digital utility meters, the term covers a range of technologies to make the electricity distribution network more flexible and reliable.
CNET News intern Holly Jackson and Martin LaMonica discuss progress on smart grid technology at the end of the daily podcast on Friday.
Listen now: Download today's podcast
For consumers, it can mean having an in-home display or Web site that provides real-time information on energy usage. With the right equipment, they can participate in utilities' energy-efficiency programs and shave about 10 percent off utility bills, according to results of the GridWise smart grid trail last year.
A household could, for example, agree to have the air conditioner thermostat raised a few degrees by the utility when the grid is under heavy strain, such as a hot summer day. To do that, homes need devices that communicate information back to the utility, either using broadband over powerlines or wireless networks.
The benefit of a more intelligent infrastructure is that load can be curtailed as needed and problems spotted more quickly. By flattening out spikes in demand, utilities may not need to build new power plants, which are expensive and opposed in some places for environmental and health reasons.
There are several smart-grid pilot programs going on around the U.S. Most recently, Duke Energy in May launched a five-year initiative to upgrade nearly all of its 800,000 customers with digital meters capable of communicating back to the utility.
There are also many smart-grid companies, taking on various aspects of the problem, from the devices, networking, or software utilities need.
Not so fast
But for all the activity, there are serious challenges standing in the way of broader adoption, not the least of which is money.
Utilities tend to be conservative when it comes to technology investment and regulations don't always foster large investments in energy efficiency, say experts. IT-related investments can take a back seat to things like upgrading decades-old transmissions lines.
The technology for digital electric meters and networking, meanwhile, is relatively untested.
"It's probably similar to the challenges in terms of sending information reliably and securely on the Internet but in this case there are some twists," Clark said. "You have power lines, big ugly transformers in the way, and analog devices--systems that were never set up for this."
IBM is developing a software framework for writing applications that takes advantage of the two-way communication of smart-grid technologies.
It will seek to define what sort of information needs to be communicated between utilities and consumers as well as protocols. Clark said that IBM, which is already involved in a number of smart-grid trials, intends to further detail the initiative later this year.
With a more predictable technical infrastructure, start-up companies could have utilities test and adopt their product more quickly. And it would create a platform for a broader range of applications to be developed.
For example, a person who charges an electric car away from home may want to charge a credit card or home electricity bill. Right now, building that application would require a lot of costly custom technical integration.
Trouble for start-ups?
Although regulators and utilities have been saying for years that the electricity grid needs upgrading, there are more questions than answers on how it will eventually take shape, said Jeff Osborne, an energy analyst at Thomas Weisel, who spoke on a panel at the CTSI Clean Tech conference in Boston last month.
From a business perspective, it's not clear where there is money to be made, although in the short term software-related businesses, like demand response, look promising, he said.
"Selling to utilities is extremely hard," Osborne said. "People are looking more for a software play than a commoditized hardware play."
Louis Szablya, executive vice president of smart grid company GridPoint, said that there are difficult questions over how the smart grid gets paid for. But he thinks that consumers are pushing for better services.
"Society is beginning to demand clean and efficient power. The smart grid enables that," he said.
IBM's Clark said that the technology problems are overshadowed by business and regulatory issues.
As a result, some smart-grid start-ups will struggle, since their venture capital backers can't expect them to spend 20 years having their technology tested and adopted by utilities.
"It's a difficult problem facing all start-ups. It's not just that utilities are not traditionally IT investors. It's that, from their point of view, they need to be sold on a business model--and it needs to work for the start-ups, too," he said.
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