Partners With City of New York, The Boeing Company, Columbia University & Others to Make Metro Region a Smart Grid Leader
By: Marketwire .
Aug. 31, 2009 10:03 AM
NEW YORK, NY -- (Marketwire) -- 08/31/09 -- Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED) (Con Edison) has joined with energy experts and researchers from the public and private sectors in filing for smart grid stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The applications request approximately $46 million to help fund smart grid demonstration projects for customers served by Consolidated Edison Company of New York Inc. and Orange & Rockland Utilities Inc.
Earlier this month, the company applied for $172 million in federal funding for smart grid projects. The stimulus money would help fund an overall $435 million smart grid program.
A smart grid integrates information and communication technology into electricity generation, delivery, and consumption, making systems cleaner, safer, and more reliable and efficient. The stimulus funds would broaden the scope of Con Edison's existing smart grid efforts to modernize the electric grid.
With one of the highest load densities in the world, New York City, its suburbs, and New Jersey represent the most complex and diverse test bed for urban and suburban smart grid performance. Smart grid technologies would help Con Edison's 3 million customers use energy more efficiently, support alternative energy sources, enable wide spread adoption of electric vehicle charging, and enhance reliability to all customers including major medical facilities, transportation systems, financial institutions, and media centers.
To help make important aspects of a local smart grid a reality, Con Edison will work with several parties in this latest filing that calls for testing various types of innovative smart grid technologies in a large-scale demonstration project.
Numerous elements make up the demonstration project. Some parts include:
Working with the New York City Economic Development Corporation and Viridity Energy to optimize advanced building technologies and solar generation from City owned properties, such as the Brooklyn Army Terminal, into clean, virtual power generation.
Working with The Boeing Company to create a comprehensive middleware communications and cyber security network that will serve as the common operating environment and command and control network of an enhanced Con Edison smart grid, the same technology in use by the United States Department of Defense.
Working with Columbia University, The Prosser Group and CALM Energy on technology that allows a smart grid to increase use of renewable energy, provides intelligent energy storage, incorporates preventive maintenance and self healing capabilities to avoid system failures.
Working with Rudin Management Company Inc. customers to demonstrate emergency response and energy efficiency improvements.
The objective is to build a smart grid prototype that would enable Con Edison to demonstrate many high-tech and intelligent components, including two-way communication between the company and the customer. The pilot will also enable new technologies that can increase reliability, adaptability and efficiency in grid operation.
This comprehensive demonstration project is intended to also show how new technologies can lower costs for consumers in the most complex energy market in America, while lowering carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions. Con Edison and its team will work toward delivering a smart grid expandable to every electric system throughout the country.
The DOE plans to distribute $3.9 billion in Recovery Act funds for smart grid projects through two funding opportunities. The first provides $3.3 billion to deploy and implement smart grid technologies across the country. The second provides $615 million for smart grid demonstration projects.
For more information about Con Edison's smart grid efforts, visit www.conEd.com.
Con Edison, O&R and Rockland are subsidiaries of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at conEd.com.
Contact:
Media Relations
212-460-4111
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Environmental Impact: Is a Smarter Grid a Greener Grid?
September 22 at 3:30pm to 5:00pm
Anna E. Croop - Session Leader
As our society tackles the issue of climate change in a world where electricity usage and dependence increase daily, one of the key benefits of a smarter grid will be the decarbonization of the grid. This panel looks at the results of smart grid demonstration projects that have been deployed to assess their environmental impact both from the distribution as well as the transmission side. It explores issues related to system optimization, energy efficiency, the integration of renewables, and energy storage from the perspective of different stakeholders.
Anna E. Croop - Session Leader
As our society tackles the issue of climate change in a world where electricity usage and dependence increase daily, one of the key benefits of a smarter grid will be the decarbonization of the grid. This panel looks at the results of smart grid demonstration projects that have been deployed to assess their environmental impact both from the distribution as well as the transmission side. It explores issues related to system optimization, energy efficiency, the integration of renewables, and energy storage from the perspective of different stakeholders.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Utilities call for wireless spectrum for the Smart Grid
August 26, 2009 | Camille Ricketts
Spearheaded by American Electric Power, the massive utility covering the Midwest, Appalachia and parts of Texas, appealed to the Federal Communications Commission yesterday for the government to dedicate licensed radio spectrum to Smart Grid operations, reports Earth2Tech. To do so, the commission would have to ban other types of users from using selected airwaves.
In order for major smart metering initiatives (and there are a lot of them in the works) to be effective, utilities will need to tap into wireless networks to beam energy consumption information between them and their customers. The scarcity of these wireless networks is a major hurdle for smart metering efforts. And that’s the argument AEP presented during a workshop on Smart Grid technology.
Utilities can’t just use any wireless spectrum either. While some are willing to rely on unlicensed, unexclusive spectrum, others are wary that these airwaves — used by countless other companies for varied purposes — could be plagued by interference. And energy delivery is one business where that’s unacceptable. So far, there’s no hard proof that this is the case, though the Electric Power Research Institute says it will do some testing in this area.
In its request, AEP is echoing arguments made by the Utilities Telecom Council, a consortium of utilities that has long been asking the government to dedicate about 30 MHz radio spectrum for grid upgrades. Mostly, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. But now, with applications flowing in for $4.2 billion in stimulus funds, Smart Grid has been thrust into the spotlight. Maybe these arguments will be taken more seriously once utilities have solid financing behind their smart metering strategies.
This is the second time in a week that the FCC has heard from concerned utilities. Recently, AEP, Duke Energy, Southern Company and Xcel Energy filed a petition with the commission to charge cable operators providing VoIP services the regular telecom rate rather than the lower cable rate. They claim that, as is, their customers that only consume electricity are being forced to subsidize VoIP services for a minority of users from vendors like Comcast and Time Wartner Cable. These cable companies and their peers have shot back that the utilities will be fairly compensated under the current rate structure.
fyi
Verizon Wireless and Ambient Corporation Join Forces to Offer Utilities Smart Grid Communications Solution
Smart Grid Projects to Use the Networks to Read Residential and Commercial Meters and Transmit Data
This is great news !!!
Spearheaded by American Electric Power, the massive utility covering the Midwest, Appalachia and parts of Texas, appealed to the Federal Communications Commission yesterday for the government to dedicate licensed radio spectrum to Smart Grid operations, reports Earth2Tech. To do so, the commission would have to ban other types of users from using selected airwaves.
In order for major smart metering initiatives (and there are a lot of them in the works) to be effective, utilities will need to tap into wireless networks to beam energy consumption information between them and their customers. The scarcity of these wireless networks is a major hurdle for smart metering efforts. And that’s the argument AEP presented during a workshop on Smart Grid technology.
Utilities can’t just use any wireless spectrum either. While some are willing to rely on unlicensed, unexclusive spectrum, others are wary that these airwaves — used by countless other companies for varied purposes — could be plagued by interference. And energy delivery is one business where that’s unacceptable. So far, there’s no hard proof that this is the case, though the Electric Power Research Institute says it will do some testing in this area.
In its request, AEP is echoing arguments made by the Utilities Telecom Council, a consortium of utilities that has long been asking the government to dedicate about 30 MHz radio spectrum for grid upgrades. Mostly, their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. But now, with applications flowing in for $4.2 billion in stimulus funds, Smart Grid has been thrust into the spotlight. Maybe these arguments will be taken more seriously once utilities have solid financing behind their smart metering strategies.
This is the second time in a week that the FCC has heard from concerned utilities. Recently, AEP, Duke Energy, Southern Company and Xcel Energy filed a petition with the commission to charge cable operators providing VoIP services the regular telecom rate rather than the lower cable rate. They claim that, as is, their customers that only consume electricity are being forced to subsidize VoIP services for a minority of users from vendors like Comcast and Time Wartner Cable. These cable companies and their peers have shot back that the utilities will be fairly compensated under the current rate structure.
fyi
Verizon Wireless and Ambient Corporation Join Forces to Offer Utilities Smart Grid Communications Solution
Smart Grid Projects to Use the Networks to Read Residential and Commercial Meters and Transmit Data
This is great news !!!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Smart Grid Standards: Road Map a Month Away; Vint Cerf Weighs in
Smart Grid Standards: Road Map a Month Away; Vint Cerf Weighs in
Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:58am EDT
By Katie Fehrenbacher - Earth2Tech
The smart grid standards-making process has been one of the most condensed, complex standards work to date, given the rush to quickly deliver a road map before the billions of dollars are allocated from the stimulus package. And it looks like we have just about a month left to wait: The producers of the GridWeek conference, which will take place Sept. 21-24 in Washington, D.C., tell us that the smart grid standards road map will be announced at the show.
That puts the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which has been spearheading the standards efforts, on track to meet its goal to get the road map out in September. NIST has its eye on the ball — this weekend the group said it has awarded consulting and engineering firm EnerNex Corp. an $8.5 million, 2-year contract to help keep the accelerated pace of the smart grid standards going. EnerNex will be creating panels around key smart grid issues that will be identified in the September road map.
Clearly, NIST and others involved in the smart grid standards process need a lot of help in building a consensus, and many diverse voices need to be heard. That’s why I’m also heartened to hear one of the most important voices that went into the building of the Internet — Vint Cerf, father of the Internet and now the chief Internet evangelist at Google — weighing in on top priorities for the new standards. Cerf wrote in a post on Google’s Public Policy blog on Friday that the smart grid is fundamentally about delivering and managing energy information, and thus should take a cue from how the Internet was created: with open standards, open processes and free access.
The smart grid is essentially a nascent energy Internet. Thanks to the open protocols and standards on which it was built, the Internet has grown into a thriving ecosystem, delivering innovative products and services to billions of users worldwide. Applying the same principles of openness to the development of standards for our nation’s electric grid would create a smarter platform for products and services, helping consumers conserve energy and save money.
Amen to that. And we’d like to commend NIST for keeping the standards-making process so open and transparent up to this point. We’re looking forward to seeing the road map — and the industry’s reaction — coming soon!
Mon Aug 24, 2009 11:58am EDT
By Katie Fehrenbacher - Earth2Tech
The smart grid standards-making process has been one of the most condensed, complex standards work to date, given the rush to quickly deliver a road map before the billions of dollars are allocated from the stimulus package. And it looks like we have just about a month left to wait: The producers of the GridWeek conference, which will take place Sept. 21-24 in Washington, D.C., tell us that the smart grid standards road map will be announced at the show.
That puts the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), which has been spearheading the standards efforts, on track to meet its goal to get the road map out in September. NIST has its eye on the ball — this weekend the group said it has awarded consulting and engineering firm EnerNex Corp. an $8.5 million, 2-year contract to help keep the accelerated pace of the smart grid standards going. EnerNex will be creating panels around key smart grid issues that will be identified in the September road map.
Clearly, NIST and others involved in the smart grid standards process need a lot of help in building a consensus, and many diverse voices need to be heard. That’s why I’m also heartened to hear one of the most important voices that went into the building of the Internet — Vint Cerf, father of the Internet and now the chief Internet evangelist at Google — weighing in on top priorities for the new standards. Cerf wrote in a post on Google’s Public Policy blog on Friday that the smart grid is fundamentally about delivering and managing energy information, and thus should take a cue from how the Internet was created: with open standards, open processes and free access.
The smart grid is essentially a nascent energy Internet. Thanks to the open protocols and standards on which it was built, the Internet has grown into a thriving ecosystem, delivering innovative products and services to billions of users worldwide. Applying the same principles of openness to the development of standards for our nation’s electric grid would create a smarter platform for products and services, helping consumers conserve energy and save money.
Amen to that. And we’d like to commend NIST for keeping the standards-making process so open and transparent up to this point. We’re looking forward to seeing the road map — and the industry’s reaction — coming soon!
Friday, August 21, 2009
Jobs, Jobs, Green Jobs: New Tax Credits for Green Energy Manufacturing
8/17/2009
Last Thursday, the Treasury and Energy departments announced launch of the ARRA-authorized $2.3 billion tax credit for manufacturers of “advanced energy equipment.” The manufacturing tax credit (“MTC”) is equal to 30% of the investment in a “qualifying advanced energy project.”
The MTC, also referred to as Section 48C of the Internal Revenue Code, defines “qualifying advanced energy project” as a project which re-equips, expands, or establishes a manufacturing facility producing:
Property designed to be used to produce energy from the sun, wind, geothermal deposits (within the meaning of § 613(e)(2)), or other renewable resources
Fuel cells, microturbines, or an energy storage system for use with electric or hybrid-electric motor vehicles
Electric grids to support the transmission of intermittent sources of renewable energy, including storage of such energy
Property designed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions
Property designed to refine or blend renewable fuels or to produce energy conservation technologies (including energy-conserving lighting technologies and smart grid technologies)
New qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles (as defined by section 30D), qualified plug-in electric vehicles (as defined by section 30(d)), or components which are designed specifically for use with such vehicles, including electric motors, generators, and power control units
Other advanced energy property designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as may be determined by the Secretary
The program funding is capped at $2.3 billion. DOE and Treasury have established a protocol to sort among the applications expected to compete for the limited funds. Pay careful attention to this text from DOE:
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will review and make determinations on the eligibility and merit of MTC applications. Applicants will receive tax credits based on the expected commercial viability of their project and the ranking of their project relative to other projects. Rankings will be based on: expected job creation, reduction of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, technological innovation, and ability to have the project up and running quickly. Technology, geographic & project size diversity, and regional economic development will also be considered when rating projects.
And this text from the IRS:
The Service will consider a project under the qualifying advanced energy project program only if the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides a recommendation and ranking for the project (DOE recommendation). DOE will provide a recommendation and ranking only if it determines that the project has a reasonable expectation of commercial viability and merits a recommendation based on the criteria in § 48C(d)(3)(B).
*****
The DOE recommendations will include a ranking of projects in descending order (that is, first, second, third, etc.). The project receiving the highest ranking (that is, first) will be allocated the full amount of credit requested before any credit is allocated to a lower-ranked project. The amount of credit allocated to a project reduces the amount of credit available to lower-ranked projects. The same process will apply to the second and lower-ranked projects until the amount available for allocation is exhausted. DOE will recommend and rank projects only to the extent necessary to exhaust the amount available for allocation.
To a degree not matched by most other DOE ARRA programs, the MTC program seems to demand from applicants the ability to prepare a very sophisticated, credible forecast of jobs and other economic benefits to be created by the project for which the MTC is sought. And the time available to frame that assertion is limited. The application period opened last Friday, August 14th. Preliminary applications are due to DOE on September 16, 2009, and final applications are due a month later, on October 16th. Guidance from DOE indicates that by January 15, 2010, the IRS will certify or reject applications, and certified projects will be notified of the approved amount of their tax credit. Awardees will receive acceptance agreements from the IRS by April 16, 2010. The application form is here.
Last Thursday, the Treasury and Energy departments announced launch of the ARRA-authorized $2.3 billion tax credit for manufacturers of “advanced energy equipment.” The manufacturing tax credit (“MTC”) is equal to 30% of the investment in a “qualifying advanced energy project.”
The MTC, also referred to as Section 48C of the Internal Revenue Code, defines “qualifying advanced energy project” as a project which re-equips, expands, or establishes a manufacturing facility producing:
Property designed to be used to produce energy from the sun, wind, geothermal deposits (within the meaning of § 613(e)(2)), or other renewable resources
Fuel cells, microturbines, or an energy storage system for use with electric or hybrid-electric motor vehicles
Electric grids to support the transmission of intermittent sources of renewable energy, including storage of such energy
Property designed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide emissions
Property designed to refine or blend renewable fuels or to produce energy conservation technologies (including energy-conserving lighting technologies and smart grid technologies)
New qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles (as defined by section 30D), qualified plug-in electric vehicles (as defined by section 30(d)), or components which are designed specifically for use with such vehicles, including electric motors, generators, and power control units
Other advanced energy property designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as may be determined by the Secretary
The program funding is capped at $2.3 billion. DOE and Treasury have established a protocol to sort among the applications expected to compete for the limited funds. Pay careful attention to this text from DOE:
The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will review and make determinations on the eligibility and merit of MTC applications. Applicants will receive tax credits based on the expected commercial viability of their project and the ranking of their project relative to other projects. Rankings will be based on: expected job creation, reduction of air pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions, technological innovation, and ability to have the project up and running quickly. Technology, geographic & project size diversity, and regional economic development will also be considered when rating projects.
And this text from the IRS:
The Service will consider a project under the qualifying advanced energy project program only if the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) provides a recommendation and ranking for the project (DOE recommendation). DOE will provide a recommendation and ranking only if it determines that the project has a reasonable expectation of commercial viability and merits a recommendation based on the criteria in § 48C(d)(3)(B).
*****
The DOE recommendations will include a ranking of projects in descending order (that is, first, second, third, etc.). The project receiving the highest ranking (that is, first) will be allocated the full amount of credit requested before any credit is allocated to a lower-ranked project. The amount of credit allocated to a project reduces the amount of credit available to lower-ranked projects. The same process will apply to the second and lower-ranked projects until the amount available for allocation is exhausted. DOE will recommend and rank projects only to the extent necessary to exhaust the amount available for allocation.
To a degree not matched by most other DOE ARRA programs, the MTC program seems to demand from applicants the ability to prepare a very sophisticated, credible forecast of jobs and other economic benefits to be created by the project for which the MTC is sought. And the time available to frame that assertion is limited. The application period opened last Friday, August 14th. Preliminary applications are due to DOE on September 16, 2009, and final applications are due a month later, on October 16th. Guidance from DOE indicates that by January 15, 2010, the IRS will certify or reject applications, and certified projects will be notified of the approved amount of their tax credit. Awardees will receive acceptance agreements from the IRS by April 16, 2010. The application form is here.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Smart Grids May Help U.S. Boost Power Capacity by 13% !!!!
Smart Grids May Help U.S. Boost Power Capacity by 13%
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. may be able to increase power capacity by about 13 percent without adding plants by adopting “smart grids,” or energy networks that manage demand more efficiently, an engineering academic said.
The U.S. may need to build 250 power plants of 1,000 megawatts each, about 25 percent of the current capacity, to meet electricity demand by 2030, Saifur Rahman, a professor at Virginia Tech College of Engineering, said in an interview today. Electricity networks equipped with so-called intelligent meters may help to cut energy use and halve that need, he said.
“Power plants need water, land and access and the target cannot be achieved, and there’s pressure on utilities to keep capacity flat,” Rahman said. “Half of the new capacity can be achieved with energy efficiencies and managing demand.”
The $787 billion U.S. stimulus legislation signed into law in February includes $4.5 billion for “smart-grid” technology, which aims to lower energy costs and prevent disruptions with systems that allow energy providers to communicate. General Electric Co., IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are investing in the grid communications market, which is estimated to reach $20 billion annually over five years.
It will cost $697 billion from 2010 to 2030 to add 214 gigawatts of generation capacity, according to the Brattle Group, a consultant. Based on that report, adding 250 gigawatts may cost $800 billion. The U.S. has more than 1,000 gigawatts of capacity.
Italian Grid
In Italy, the installation of 30 million so-called intelligent meters last year cost about 2.2 billion euros ($3.1 billion), the first time an entire country has been populated with such meters, said Rahman, who spent a year at Tokyo Electric Power Co.
The project may be viable because Enel SpA, Italy’s biggest utility, could save on employing people to read meters, he said.
Developing Asian nations including India and China may be slow to adopt intelligent metering compared with developed nations because the system requires broadband access in every home, appliances embedded with sensors that monitor usage and citizens receptive to such technology, Rahman said.
New Technology
South Korea agreed with the U.S. in June to develop technology for a smart grid network. China, the world’s second- largest energy user, may spend as much as 680 billion yuan ($100 billion) on such intelligent networks from 2011 to 2020, Huang Shouhong, an analyst at Essence Securities Ltd., said in May.
China State Grid Corp., the nation’s biggest power distributor, plans to build a smart grid by 2020, company President Liu Zhenya said in May.
The cost of installing smart meters may be a deterrent to some individual consumers as the savings accrue over a longer duration, Rahman said.
GE, the world’s biggest maker of power-plant turbines, Cisco and FPL Group Inc.’s Florida Power & Light Co. are creating a “smart” metering system in Miami, costing $200 million, with possible help from the U.S. federal stimulus funding, they said in April.
Miami marks the first comprehensive “smart grid” project in the U.S., Rahman said. The project will deploy more than 1 million advanced wireless meters to every home and most businesses in Miami-Dade County.
New-generation power grid systems will monitor meters and substations to manage demand for power and help identify outages. It can move intermittent power sources such as wind energy from remote locations to where it’s needed.
Customers can go online and check how much energy they have used by the month, day or hour and make decisions on consumption.
By Dinakar Sethuraman
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. may be able to increase power capacity by about 13 percent without adding plants by adopting “smart grids,” or energy networks that manage demand more efficiently, an engineering academic said.
The U.S. may need to build 250 power plants of 1,000 megawatts each, about 25 percent of the current capacity, to meet electricity demand by 2030, Saifur Rahman, a professor at Virginia Tech College of Engineering, said in an interview today. Electricity networks equipped with so-called intelligent meters may help to cut energy use and halve that need, he said.
“Power plants need water, land and access and the target cannot be achieved, and there’s pressure on utilities to keep capacity flat,” Rahman said. “Half of the new capacity can be achieved with energy efficiencies and managing demand.”
The $787 billion U.S. stimulus legislation signed into law in February includes $4.5 billion for “smart-grid” technology, which aims to lower energy costs and prevent disruptions with systems that allow energy providers to communicate. General Electric Co., IBM Corp. and Cisco Systems Inc. are investing in the grid communications market, which is estimated to reach $20 billion annually over five years.
It will cost $697 billion from 2010 to 2030 to add 214 gigawatts of generation capacity, according to the Brattle Group, a consultant. Based on that report, adding 250 gigawatts may cost $800 billion. The U.S. has more than 1,000 gigawatts of capacity.
Italian Grid
In Italy, the installation of 30 million so-called intelligent meters last year cost about 2.2 billion euros ($3.1 billion), the first time an entire country has been populated with such meters, said Rahman, who spent a year at Tokyo Electric Power Co.
The project may be viable because Enel SpA, Italy’s biggest utility, could save on employing people to read meters, he said.
Developing Asian nations including India and China may be slow to adopt intelligent metering compared with developed nations because the system requires broadband access in every home, appliances embedded with sensors that monitor usage and citizens receptive to such technology, Rahman said.
New Technology
South Korea agreed with the U.S. in June to develop technology for a smart grid network. China, the world’s second- largest energy user, may spend as much as 680 billion yuan ($100 billion) on such intelligent networks from 2011 to 2020, Huang Shouhong, an analyst at Essence Securities Ltd., said in May.
China State Grid Corp., the nation’s biggest power distributor, plans to build a smart grid by 2020, company President Liu Zhenya said in May.
The cost of installing smart meters may be a deterrent to some individual consumers as the savings accrue over a longer duration, Rahman said.
GE, the world’s biggest maker of power-plant turbines, Cisco and FPL Group Inc.’s Florida Power & Light Co. are creating a “smart” metering system in Miami, costing $200 million, with possible help from the U.S. federal stimulus funding, they said in April.
Miami marks the first comprehensive “smart grid” project in the U.S., Rahman said. The project will deploy more than 1 million advanced wireless meters to every home and most businesses in Miami-Dade County.
New-generation power grid systems will monitor meters and substations to manage demand for power and help identify outages. It can move intermittent power sources such as wind energy from remote locations to where it’s needed.
Customers can go online and check how much energy they have used by the month, day or hour and make decisions on consumption.
Ford plans vehicles to interact with power grids !!!!
Ford plans vehicles to interact with power grids
By KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON (AP)
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday its future electric cars will "talk" to power grids across the country, allowing car owners to control when they charge vehicles and for how long.
The nation's second-largest automaker released details of a two-year collaboration with 10 utility companies and the Department of Energy on the design of a system it hopes will drive greater interest in alternative energy vehicles.
Ford's first battery electric vehicle, the Transit Connect commercial van, will be available next year. A battery electric Ford Focus compact car will go on sale in 2011.
"At the end of the day this has to be easy for our customer," said Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr., at a company round-table on electrification efforts. "This can't just be an interesting science experiment. This has to be something that makes people's lives better and easier and that is what our dialogue is all about."
Utility companies say their grids already are ready to handle electric cars, although some drivers are likely to need additional equipment installed in their garages, depending on the vehicle's voltage requirement.
"The grid is ready now but on a lower technology basis," said Mike Ligett, director of emerging technology at Progress Energy Inc., a Raleigh, N.C.-based energy company. "We are not concerned about energy consumption, but more about when it's used."
General Motors Co. is set to release its Chevrolet Volt next year, a rechargeable electric vehicle the company says will get up to 230 miles on a single gallon of gas. The Volt differs from Ford's forthcoming Transit Connect as the Volt contains an internal combustion engine, which kicks in after driving about 40 miles.
Ford's Transit Connect will not contain a combustion engine and the number of miles a user can drive will be determined by the size of the battery Ford installs in the car, company officials said. Specifics on the vehicle's driving range and price have not been released.
Ford said it is working to build connectivity between its electric vehicles and local power grids in certain areas, so owners can choose to recharge at off-peak times when electricity is cheaper, or when wind, solar or renewable energy is driving the grid, said Nancy Gioia, director of Ford's sustainable mobility technologies division.
"We're going to see an evolution of this," she said. "What we're doing is developing our capability and look at this as a core part of our product future."
Ford and the utility companies are testing the system and have logged 75,000 miles on a test fleet. The goal is to have a network in place so drivers can recharge their cars at preset times at home, work or elsewhere.
The system aims to develop technical standards so that a car purchased and used in Michigan, can "talk" to an electric grid in New York if the driver moves or travels.
Vincent Dow, Detroit Edison's vice president of distribution operations, said there are "more questions than answers" about how electric car owners will seek to recharge their vehicles.
"Will they charge at home, or work?" he asked. "What's the pattern going to be for them? We need to understand what the needs are going to be for consumers."
Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., said that although the nation's current electric grid could handle widespread adoption of electric cars, more things can be done to use energy more efficiently. For example, drivers could recharge a car at 3 a.m. so it doesn't tax the grid and costs less.
Shares of Ford rose 27 cents, or 3.7 percent, to close at $7.64 Tuesday
By KIMBERLY S. JOHNSON (AP)
DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday its future electric cars will "talk" to power grids across the country, allowing car owners to control when they charge vehicles and for how long.
The nation's second-largest automaker released details of a two-year collaboration with 10 utility companies and the Department of Energy on the design of a system it hopes will drive greater interest in alternative energy vehicles.
Ford's first battery electric vehicle, the Transit Connect commercial van, will be available next year. A battery electric Ford Focus compact car will go on sale in 2011.
"At the end of the day this has to be easy for our customer," said Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr., at a company round-table on electrification efforts. "This can't just be an interesting science experiment. This has to be something that makes people's lives better and easier and that is what our dialogue is all about."
Utility companies say their grids already are ready to handle electric cars, although some drivers are likely to need additional equipment installed in their garages, depending on the vehicle's voltage requirement.
"The grid is ready now but on a lower technology basis," said Mike Ligett, director of emerging technology at Progress Energy Inc., a Raleigh, N.C.-based energy company. "We are not concerned about energy consumption, but more about when it's used."
General Motors Co. is set to release its Chevrolet Volt next year, a rechargeable electric vehicle the company says will get up to 230 miles on a single gallon of gas. The Volt differs from Ford's forthcoming Transit Connect as the Volt contains an internal combustion engine, which kicks in after driving about 40 miles.
Ford's Transit Connect will not contain a combustion engine and the number of miles a user can drive will be determined by the size of the battery Ford installs in the car, company officials said. Specifics on the vehicle's driving range and price have not been released.
Ford said it is working to build connectivity between its electric vehicles and local power grids in certain areas, so owners can choose to recharge at off-peak times when electricity is cheaper, or when wind, solar or renewable energy is driving the grid, said Nancy Gioia, director of Ford's sustainable mobility technologies division.
"We're going to see an evolution of this," she said. "What we're doing is developing our capability and look at this as a core part of our product future."
Ford and the utility companies are testing the system and have logged 75,000 miles on a test fleet. The goal is to have a network in place so drivers can recharge their cars at preset times at home, work or elsewhere.
The system aims to develop technical standards so that a car purchased and used in Michigan, can "talk" to an electric grid in New York if the driver moves or travels.
Vincent Dow, Detroit Edison's vice president of distribution operations, said there are "more questions than answers" about how electric car owners will seek to recharge their vehicles.
"Will they charge at home, or work?" he asked. "What's the pattern going to be for them? We need to understand what the needs are going to be for consumers."
Mark Duvall, director of electric transportation at the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., said that although the nation's current electric grid could handle widespread adoption of electric cars, more things can be done to use energy more efficiently. For example, drivers could recharge a car at 3 a.m. so it doesn't tax the grid and costs less.
Shares of Ford rose 27 cents, or 3.7 percent, to close at $7.64 Tuesday
Monday, August 17, 2009
AMBIENT CORPORATION: New Ways to Monitor Powerline System
Ambient Corporation
New Ways to Monitor the Powerline System
The current Con Edison preventive maintenance program employs high potential
DC testing, which potentially creates additional wear on the powerline system,
and is capable of only testing equipment on a periodic basis. Utilizing PLC
technology will allow for continuous monitoring of the system, improving system
reliability and reducing outages by enabling maintenance of suspect equipment
prior to failure. Once an incipient problem is identified by the monitoring system,
Con Edison can dispatch crews to the approximate location and repair the
equipment before a power quality event occurs.
As well as monitoring faults, the PLC technology will provide the utility with an
indication of general circuit health and enable the utility to assess the situation,
and take appropriate action if warranted prior to potential failure. The PLC
network provides a communication path which allows for added utility services
such as Automatic Meter Reading and micro-electro-mechanical-system
(MEMS) sensors to monitor powerline sag height.
Con Edison estimates that 24 jobs may be created to install the technology as
well as 50 ongoing operating and maintenance jobs in Con Edison’s territory
alone. It is estimated that savings of potentially thousand per commercial
customer, per incident, can be realized through both reduced utility costs and
customer related power quality issues.
Benefits Include:
• Improved system reliability through monitoring of incipient problems.
• Improved system information (ie. Current, line sag, etc.) for operators.
Results to Date:
• System installed on Con Edison electrical grid in Briarcliff Manor, NY
• Monitoring of powerline system underway
Contact: John Love, ext. 3317
Industrial R&D – Emerging Technologies
SBC Funded
For more information about these services, contact NYSERDA
toll free 1-866-NYSERDA, locally (518) 862-1090,
or e-mail: info@nyserda.org
www.nyserda.org
Improving Customer System Reliability Power Quality to
Locate Incipient Faults
Due to limited system monitoring technology for overhead powerlines, most
utilities are unable to continuously monitor system performance. As a result,
utilities are often unaware of distribution equipment problems until a failure
occurs. To help improve system reliability Con Edison partnered with Ambient
Corporation, a Powerline Communication (PLC) technology manufacturer, to
develop and test real-time feeder monitoring technology. The PLC technology
continuously and non-destructively monitors the powerline system in order to
identify and predict power quality problems throughout the system, that might
affect quality of service to the customer.
New Ways to Monitor the Powerline System
The current Con Edison preventive maintenance program employs high potential
DC testing, which potentially creates additional wear on the powerline system,
and is capable of only testing equipment on a periodic basis. Utilizing PLC
technology will allow for continuous monitoring of the system, improving system
reliability and reducing outages by enabling maintenance of suspect equipment
prior to failure. Once an incipient problem is identified by the monitoring system,
Con Edison can dispatch crews to the approximate location and repair the
equipment before a power quality event occurs.
As well as monitoring faults, the PLC technology will provide the utility with an
indication of general circuit health and enable the utility to assess the situation,
and take appropriate action if warranted prior to potential failure. The PLC
network provides a communication path which allows for added utility services
such as Automatic Meter Reading and micro-electro-mechanical-system
(MEMS) sensors to monitor powerline sag height.
Con Edison estimates that 24 jobs may be created to install the technology as
well as 50 ongoing operating and maintenance jobs in Con Edison’s territory
alone. It is estimated that savings of potentially thousand per commercial
customer, per incident, can be realized through both reduced utility costs and
customer related power quality issues.
Benefits Include:
• Improved system reliability through monitoring of incipient problems.
• Improved system information (ie. Current, line sag, etc.) for operators.
Results to Date:
• System installed on Con Edison electrical grid in Briarcliff Manor, NY
• Monitoring of powerline system underway
Contact: John Love, ext. 3317
Industrial R&D – Emerging Technologies
SBC Funded
For more information about these services, contact NYSERDA
toll free 1-866-NYSERDA, locally (518) 862-1090,
or e-mail: info@nyserda.org
www.nyserda.org
Improving Customer System Reliability Power Quality to
Locate Incipient Faults
Due to limited system monitoring technology for overhead powerlines, most
utilities are unable to continuously monitor system performance. As a result,
utilities are often unaware of distribution equipment problems until a failure
occurs. To help improve system reliability Con Edison partnered with Ambient
Corporation, a Powerline Communication (PLC) technology manufacturer, to
develop and test real-time feeder monitoring technology. The PLC technology
continuously and non-destructively monitors the powerline system in order to
identify and predict power quality problems throughout the system, that might
affect quality of service to the customer.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Metcalfe on Smart Grid: If It Works, We’ll Use More Energy Not Less
Fri Aug 14, 2009 3:00am EDT
By Katie Fehrenbacher - Earth2Tech
Ethernet inventor turned cleantech venture capitalist Bob Metcalfe has always been one to peer into the future and make aggressive predictions. It turns out he was right about a lot to do with the Internet, including Metcalfe’s Law, which essentially says the value of a network goes up in proportion to the number of users. While it’s still unclear whether or not he has an equally good handle on predicting what the future of energy will look like, that’s not stopping him from trying. One of his more aggressive energy predictions: If the smart grid works like it should, we’ll be using more energy, not less, in the future, he tells Forbes in an interview this week (hat tip GigaOM Pro, subscription required). He said as much at our Green:Net 09 conference in March, too.
On the face of it, the statement sounds ridiculous — the smart grid will be adding digital intelligence to help utilities better manage and conserve power. But Metcalfe is not looking forward one decade, but more like six decades. His argument is that far into the future the smart grid will enable the use of all clean energy and because it’s renewable (not finite) it will be cheap and abundant. At Green:Net he called it “a squanderable amount of cheap and clean energy.”
It’s a nice idea. After spending the next century conserving and cutting back on our lifestyles in order to fight climate change and keep carbon emissions out of the atmosphere, I’d look forward to an era in which people can once again be glutenous energy hogs because energy is no longer dirty or finite. In that world, all hail the electric Hummer, because the power grid would be 100 percent clean.
His argument is also based on studying the history of the Internet. He uses the example that the architects of the Internet built efficiency and conservation features into the early Internet to preserve bandwidth, but that nowadays we use much more bandwidth than was ever expected. The same goes for cheap and clean power, is his argument.
But to be honest I’m not sure energy will ever be 100 percent clean. How long until people stop using natural gas (a fossil fuel) for power? Probably longer than a century; the policymakers in Washington have lately taken to lauding it for vehicle transportation and power plants. So for the foreseeable future, let’s consider energy conservation the top priority — which everyone who’s building out the beginnings of the smart grid clearly does.
By Katie Fehrenbacher - Earth2Tech
Ethernet inventor turned cleantech venture capitalist Bob Metcalfe has always been one to peer into the future and make aggressive predictions. It turns out he was right about a lot to do with the Internet, including Metcalfe’s Law, which essentially says the value of a network goes up in proportion to the number of users. While it’s still unclear whether or not he has an equally good handle on predicting what the future of energy will look like, that’s not stopping him from trying. One of his more aggressive energy predictions: If the smart grid works like it should, we’ll be using more energy, not less, in the future, he tells Forbes in an interview this week (hat tip GigaOM Pro, subscription required). He said as much at our Green:Net 09 conference in March, too.
On the face of it, the statement sounds ridiculous — the smart grid will be adding digital intelligence to help utilities better manage and conserve power. But Metcalfe is not looking forward one decade, but more like six decades. His argument is that far into the future the smart grid will enable the use of all clean energy and because it’s renewable (not finite) it will be cheap and abundant. At Green:Net he called it “a squanderable amount of cheap and clean energy.”
It’s a nice idea. After spending the next century conserving and cutting back on our lifestyles in order to fight climate change and keep carbon emissions out of the atmosphere, I’d look forward to an era in which people can once again be glutenous energy hogs because energy is no longer dirty or finite. In that world, all hail the electric Hummer, because the power grid would be 100 percent clean.
His argument is also based on studying the history of the Internet. He uses the example that the architects of the Internet built efficiency and conservation features into the early Internet to preserve bandwidth, but that nowadays we use much more bandwidth than was ever expected. The same goes for cheap and clean power, is his argument.
But to be honest I’m not sure energy will ever be 100 percent clean. How long until people stop using natural gas (a fossil fuel) for power? Probably longer than a century; the policymakers in Washington have lately taken to lauding it for vehicle transportation and power plants. So for the foreseeable future, let’s consider energy conservation the top priority — which everyone who’s building out the beginnings of the smart grid clearly does.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Itron Unveils Automated Smart Meter Manufacturing Operation (ITRI)
[August 12, 2009]
Itron Unveils Automated Smart Meter Manufacturing Operation (ITRI)
Aug 12, 2009 (SmarTrend(R) News Watch via COMTEX) -- 8/12/2009 - Itron Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) unveiled the new automation technology it will use to increase production of its OpenWay CENTRON smart meters. President and CEO Malcolm Unsworth said, "OpenWay has been specifically designed to offer robust data collection, customer empowerment and smart grid realization--it's part of our commitment to bringing to market the very best in smart metering technology. Our new automation system and enhanced manufacturing strategies further reflect this commitment." Itron holds a leading position in contracted market share for smart grid AMI implementations in North America. The Oconee manufacturing facility in West Union, South Carolina employs about 600 part-time and full-time employees.
read: Ambient, Itron team up for
end-to-end smart grid play
Itron Unveils Automated Smart Meter Manufacturing Operation (ITRI)
Aug 12, 2009 (SmarTrend(R) News Watch via COMTEX) -- 8/12/2009 - Itron Inc. (NASDAQ:ITRI) unveiled the new automation technology it will use to increase production of its OpenWay CENTRON smart meters. President and CEO Malcolm Unsworth said, "OpenWay has been specifically designed to offer robust data collection, customer empowerment and smart grid realization--it's part of our commitment to bringing to market the very best in smart metering technology. Our new automation system and enhanced manufacturing strategies further reflect this commitment." Itron holds a leading position in contracted market share for smart grid AMI implementations in North America. The Oconee manufacturing facility in West Union, South Carolina employs about 600 part-time and full-time employees.
read: Ambient, Itron team up for
end-to-end smart grid play
NV Energy Seeks $138M for Smart Grid Infrastructure
August 11, 2009 05:57 PM Eastern Daylight Time
NV Energy Seeks $138M for Smart Grid Infrastructure
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NV Energy (NYSE: NVE) announced today that it has applied for a $138 million grant in stimulus funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) to support the company’s Advanced Service Delivery (ASD) Project, which will help build a modern Smart Grid infrastructure for the state of Nevada.
NV Energy’s ASD project is a Smart Grid strategy integrating customers and the utility through advanced technologies, enabling customers to take ownership of their energy usage. ASD links NV Energy’s customers to the grid in their homes, their workplaces and their vehicles.
"In addition to the many benefits for our customers, the Smart Grid will provide better management of energy resources statewide and improve system reliability through proactive management of current system conditions," said Michael Yackira, president and CEO of NV Energy.
NV Energy applied for federal funding as a Smart Grid Investment grant through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.
"This is a great example of how stimulus dollars can reach the economy while serving critical needs of our customers," Yackira said.
Should the grant be awarded, the statewide project will be implemented from 2010-2012, link 1.45 million electric and gas meters across 54,600 square miles of service territory, and benefit 2.4 million Nevadans.
Despite their installation costs, the smart meters may help save money by offering real-time information to encourage customers to shift energy use away from peak afternoon hours. This data will allow customers to control their energy usage, bill levels, attitudes and behavior, leading to making energy management an everyday habit.
Yackira added that the letter of endorsement the company received from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada supporting the company’s grant application is a valuable part of the application process and ongoing efforts to bring new technology to Nevada’s utility infrastructure.
The DOE has set aside $3.4 billion for the Smart Grid integration, with up to $200 million per grant application. Utilities can request up to 50% of the costs of investments to deploy smart grid technologies within their territories.
Headquartered in Las Vegas, NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, are doing business as NV Energy. Serving a combined 54,500-square-mile service territory that stretches north to south from Elko to Laughlin, NV Energy provides a wide range of energy services and products to approximately 2.4 million citizens of Nevada as well as approximately 40 million tourists annually.
NV Energy Seeks $138M for Smart Grid Infrastructure
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NV Energy (NYSE: NVE) announced today that it has applied for a $138 million grant in stimulus funding from the Department of Energy (DOE) to support the company’s Advanced Service Delivery (ASD) Project, which will help build a modern Smart Grid infrastructure for the state of Nevada.
NV Energy’s ASD project is a Smart Grid strategy integrating customers and the utility through advanced technologies, enabling customers to take ownership of their energy usage. ASD links NV Energy’s customers to the grid in their homes, their workplaces and their vehicles.
"In addition to the many benefits for our customers, the Smart Grid will provide better management of energy resources statewide and improve system reliability through proactive management of current system conditions," said Michael Yackira, president and CEO of NV Energy.
NV Energy applied for federal funding as a Smart Grid Investment grant through the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act.
"This is a great example of how stimulus dollars can reach the economy while serving critical needs of our customers," Yackira said.
Should the grant be awarded, the statewide project will be implemented from 2010-2012, link 1.45 million electric and gas meters across 54,600 square miles of service territory, and benefit 2.4 million Nevadans.
Despite their installation costs, the smart meters may help save money by offering real-time information to encourage customers to shift energy use away from peak afternoon hours. This data will allow customers to control their energy usage, bill levels, attitudes and behavior, leading to making energy management an everyday habit.
Yackira added that the letter of endorsement the company received from the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada supporting the company’s grant application is a valuable part of the application process and ongoing efforts to bring new technology to Nevada’s utility infrastructure.
The DOE has set aside $3.4 billion for the Smart Grid integration, with up to $200 million per grant application. Utilities can request up to 50% of the costs of investments to deploy smart grid technologies within their territories.
Headquartered in Las Vegas, NV Energy, Inc. is a holding company whose principal subsidiaries, Nevada Power Company and Sierra Pacific Power Company, are doing business as NV Energy. Serving a combined 54,500-square-mile service territory that stretches north to south from Elko to Laughlin, NV Energy provides a wide range of energy services and products to approximately 2.4 million citizens of Nevada as well as approximately 40 million tourists annually.
Sprint Supports Utility Smart Grid Initiatives across America
Source: Sprint
On Tuesday August 11, 2009, 12:00 pm EDT
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For many years, Sprint (NYSE:S - News) has been supplying embedded CDMA & iDEN based communication technologies for a variety of machine to machine (M2M) applications within the energy and water industries. Today, Sprint takes the lead again with innovative telecommunications products, competitive data services, secure IT solutions, and strong partnerships to support a wide range of utility automation initiatives in meeting the U.S. energy challenges of the 21st century. The importance of securing and strengthening our national electric grid was recently highlighted by the Energy Information and Security Act of 2007 and re-affirmed through the 2009 ARRA “Stimulus” funding opportunities offered by the Department of Energy under the Smart Grid Investment and Development Grant Programs. Sprint intends to play a key role as a telecommunications provider in helping to achieve this national objective.
“While our competition is just recognizing this space, Sprint has been supporting utility automation for years and most recently the Smart Grid ecosystem, as a key wireless and wireline provider,” says Paget Alves, President -- Business Markets Group, Sprint. “Sprint has been at the forefront of advanced telecommunications technologies, a strong proponent of interoperable communications, and provider of secure network connectivity and advanced IT solutions necessary for the operation of the electric Smart Grid today. As the wireless partner of choice for some of the largest utilities in the country, we continue to work with key industry partners to offer utilities innovative solutions to manage their critical communication infrastructure, deliver real-time data services and assist them in achieving optimal energy delivery and service quality.”
Sprint is now focused in supporting our electric customers with their Smart Grid initiatives, including key applications such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), SCADA, Demand-Response (DR) Distribution Management System (DMS) and M2M applications. The underlying foundation of Smart Grid initiatives involves advanced communications, information technology, distributed sensing, and comprehensive data management overlayed to the electric grid to enhance reliability, optimize energy delivery, empower the consumer, and minimize the environmental impact of the industry.
As a commercial carrier operating multiple digital networks and delivering 2.5G, 3G, and now 4G mobile broadband services, Sprint is now playing a critical role in such utility initiatives. Additionally, through its Converged Network Services group, Sprint is able to design custom network solutions, extend coverage, and integrate complex network solutions to meet the demanding requirements of our customers for such mission critical applications.
“With the recent focus of President Obama and his team on energy independence and Smart Grid initiatives, Sprint has become even more engaged with electric utilities as well as government agencies, industry alliances and key technology partners in this space,” said Alves. “To help facilitate the extensive ecosystem of smart devices, enable key application providers and provide secure IP based communications solutions, Sprint also offers the most comprehensive Open Device Initiative of any carrier, with the sole focus of certifying wireless devices quickly at minimal costs to our partners and meeting the needs of our utility customers in this critical time of transition.”
Combined with the expertise of Sprint’s Business Markets Group team and a large portfolio of differentiated solutions powered by Sprint’s Now Network, Sprint is in a unique position to provide customized offerings for public and private utilities in the Smart Grid space. For more information on Sprint business solutions, visit http://www.sprint.com/business/ or contact your Sprint account team.
In addition to providing smart grid product and service offerings, Sprint has announced several industry leading environmental programs including:
Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Sprint was recently awarded $7.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its use of hydrogen fuel cells as back-up power to cell sites on their network. Currently Sprint has over 250 hydrogen fuel cells deployed at cell sites across their network.
Wireless Recycling: Sprint’s industry leading wireless reuse and recycling program were created to prevent thousands of tons of wireless equipment from entering the waste stream. Since 2001, Sprint has collected more than 17 million phones to help conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent air and water pollution. Sprint’s goal, an industry first, is to achieve a 90 percent recycling collection rate. This ambitious goal, set for 2017, translates to Sprint collecting nine phones for reuse and recycling for every 10 phones that we sell. Early results are promising: In 2008, Sprint’s wireless recycling collection rate stood at 34 percent, three times the national average.
Eco Friendly Products and Services: Sprint recently announced the availability of Samsung Reclaim™ on August 16th, the first phone in the U.S. constructed from eco-friendly bio-plastic materials. Made from 80 percent recyclable materials, Samsung Reclaim is a feature-rich messaging phone that offers environmentally conscious customers a perfect blend of responsibility without sacrificing the latest in network speeds and must-have features. Sprint is also the first major U.S. wireless carrier to offer a solar-powered cell phone charger and also offers cell phone carrying cases made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles. Sprint also offers a suite of enterprise location-based applications that can help businesses reduce their impact on climate change through more accurate management of fleets, cargo and assets.
Sprint’s green-themed website, www.sprint.com/green, details Sprint’s green mobile applications and helps customers learn about Sprint’s sustainability initiatives, including online bill pay, wireless recycling programs and acquiring green tips, such as using mobile GPS to calculate the quickest route to save gas. Customers can receive Sprint updates on specific company-wide environmentally-responsible initiatives on Twitter via @SprintGreenNews.
For more information about Sprint’s environmental initiatives visit http://www.sprint.com/responsibility/index.html.
On Tuesday August 11, 2009, 12:00 pm EDT
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--For many years, Sprint (NYSE:S - News) has been supplying embedded CDMA & iDEN based communication technologies for a variety of machine to machine (M2M) applications within the energy and water industries. Today, Sprint takes the lead again with innovative telecommunications products, competitive data services, secure IT solutions, and strong partnerships to support a wide range of utility automation initiatives in meeting the U.S. energy challenges of the 21st century. The importance of securing and strengthening our national electric grid was recently highlighted by the Energy Information and Security Act of 2007 and re-affirmed through the 2009 ARRA “Stimulus” funding opportunities offered by the Department of Energy under the Smart Grid Investment and Development Grant Programs. Sprint intends to play a key role as a telecommunications provider in helping to achieve this national objective.
“While our competition is just recognizing this space, Sprint has been supporting utility automation for years and most recently the Smart Grid ecosystem, as a key wireless and wireline provider,” says Paget Alves, President -- Business Markets Group, Sprint. “Sprint has been at the forefront of advanced telecommunications technologies, a strong proponent of interoperable communications, and provider of secure network connectivity and advanced IT solutions necessary for the operation of the electric Smart Grid today. As the wireless partner of choice for some of the largest utilities in the country, we continue to work with key industry partners to offer utilities innovative solutions to manage their critical communication infrastructure, deliver real-time data services and assist them in achieving optimal energy delivery and service quality.”
Sprint is now focused in supporting our electric customers with their Smart Grid initiatives, including key applications such as Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), SCADA, Demand-Response (DR) Distribution Management System (DMS) and M2M applications. The underlying foundation of Smart Grid initiatives involves advanced communications, information technology, distributed sensing, and comprehensive data management overlayed to the electric grid to enhance reliability, optimize energy delivery, empower the consumer, and minimize the environmental impact of the industry.
As a commercial carrier operating multiple digital networks and delivering 2.5G, 3G, and now 4G mobile broadband services, Sprint is now playing a critical role in such utility initiatives. Additionally, through its Converged Network Services group, Sprint is able to design custom network solutions, extend coverage, and integrate complex network solutions to meet the demanding requirements of our customers for such mission critical applications.
“With the recent focus of President Obama and his team on energy independence and Smart Grid initiatives, Sprint has become even more engaged with electric utilities as well as government agencies, industry alliances and key technology partners in this space,” said Alves. “To help facilitate the extensive ecosystem of smart devices, enable key application providers and provide secure IP based communications solutions, Sprint also offers the most comprehensive Open Device Initiative of any carrier, with the sole focus of certifying wireless devices quickly at minimal costs to our partners and meeting the needs of our utility customers in this critical time of transition.”
Combined with the expertise of Sprint’s Business Markets Group team and a large portfolio of differentiated solutions powered by Sprint’s Now Network, Sprint is in a unique position to provide customized offerings for public and private utilities in the Smart Grid space. For more information on Sprint business solutions, visit http://www.sprint.com/business/ or contact your Sprint account team.
In addition to providing smart grid product and service offerings, Sprint has announced several industry leading environmental programs including:
Use of Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Sprint was recently awarded $7.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its use of hydrogen fuel cells as back-up power to cell sites on their network. Currently Sprint has over 250 hydrogen fuel cells deployed at cell sites across their network.
Wireless Recycling: Sprint’s industry leading wireless reuse and recycling program were created to prevent thousands of tons of wireless equipment from entering the waste stream. Since 2001, Sprint has collected more than 17 million phones to help conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent air and water pollution. Sprint’s goal, an industry first, is to achieve a 90 percent recycling collection rate. This ambitious goal, set for 2017, translates to Sprint collecting nine phones for reuse and recycling for every 10 phones that we sell. Early results are promising: In 2008, Sprint’s wireless recycling collection rate stood at 34 percent, three times the national average.
Eco Friendly Products and Services: Sprint recently announced the availability of Samsung Reclaim™ on August 16th, the first phone in the U.S. constructed from eco-friendly bio-plastic materials. Made from 80 percent recyclable materials, Samsung Reclaim is a feature-rich messaging phone that offers environmentally conscious customers a perfect blend of responsibility without sacrificing the latest in network speeds and must-have features. Sprint is also the first major U.S. wireless carrier to offer a solar-powered cell phone charger and also offers cell phone carrying cases made from 100% recycled plastic water bottles. Sprint also offers a suite of enterprise location-based applications that can help businesses reduce their impact on climate change through more accurate management of fleets, cargo and assets.
Sprint’s green-themed website, www.sprint.com/green, details Sprint’s green mobile applications and helps customers learn about Sprint’s sustainability initiatives, including online bill pay, wireless recycling programs and acquiring green tips, such as using mobile GPS to calculate the quickest route to save gas. Customers can receive Sprint updates on specific company-wide environmentally-responsible initiatives on Twitter via @SprintGreenNews.
For more information about Sprint’s environmental initiatives visit http://www.sprint.com/responsibility/index.html.
Progress Energy Seeks $200 Million Federal Grant to Advance Electric 'Smart Grid' in Carolinas and Florida
Press Release
Source: Progress Energy
On Wednesday August 12, 2009, 9:00 am EDT
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN - News) announced today that it has applied for $200 million in federal infrastructure funds in support of the company's investment in an electric Smart Grid in the Carolinas and Florida.
The company submitted its application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which will award $4.5 billion in Smart Grid grants nationwide as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
"Smart Grid" is a term used to describe a modernized electric transmission and distribution system -- enabled by digital technology -- that delivers detailed, real-time information about energy use to customers.
This advanced, state-of-the-art grid will allow utility companies and consumers to continuously monitor and adjust their electricity use, while providing a pricing and control system to flexibly integrate new renewable energy resources such as solar and wind power, energy storage devices and electric vehicles. A smarter grid also will help minimize interruptions in electrical service during storms and other routine power outages.
Progress Energy is already investing a planned $320 million in Smart Grid to enhance the electricity delivery system at the company's two electric utilities: Progress Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Florida. If approved, the $200 million DOE grant would be shared equally on Smart Grid projects in the Carolinas and Florida and would advance additional Smart Grid investments.
"Smart Grid will enable us to enhance and improve service to our customers," said Bill Johnson, chairman, president and CEO of Progress Energy. "It will allow our customers ultimately to have more direct control of their energy use and their bill through pricing signals and pre-pay options. Leveraging this technology, Progress Energy will partner with our customers to help them manage their usage based on personal preferences and household needs. The end result will be improved system efficiencies, energy conservation and a cleaner environment."
Progress Energy is a fully integrated utility, so it can leverage the value Smart Grid offers all the way from its generating plants, across its transmission and distribution systems to its customers' homes and businesses. The company maintains a network of about 11,000 miles of electric transmission lines and 100,000 miles of distribution lines across 54,000 square miles in the Carolinas and Florida.
"Smart Grid will enhance power quality and service reliability while helping us secure the energy future for our customers," Johnson said. "Our company is committed to a balanced solution strategy to meet the future energy needs of our customers at a time of rising energy costs and concerns about climate change. This balanced approach includes aggressive energy efficiency, investments in renewable and alternative energy, and state-of-the-art plants and facilities. The Smart Grid is a fundamental tool to help us meet these objectives."
IBM and Telvent are strategic partners with Progress Energy in pursuit of the DOE grant. IBM is supplying consulting, as well as optimization software and services for coordination and prioritization of advanced load shaping and efficiency. Telvent is providing the Smart Grid's distribution supervisory control and data-acquisition system (SCADA), which is capable of gathering real-time data, controlling devices interactively, and producing reports on equipment in distribution substations and on the grid. Telvent is also supplying the new distribution management system that will provide real-time energy information and lays the foundation for reliable integration for customer-owned distributed energy resources.
Progress Energy is investing in Smart Grid because the company recognizes that the electric grid of the future must engage broadly with customers, reacting to their energy consumption decisions and accommodating independent alternative supply and energy storage options.
"All of these new intelligent capabilities bring value, but also complexity," Johnson said. "The grid must be prepared for this evolving complexity and respond dynamically to these advanced, innovative capabilities."
Source: Progress Energy
On Wednesday August 12, 2009, 9:00 am EDT
RALEIGH, N.C., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN - News) announced today that it has applied for $200 million in federal infrastructure funds in support of the company's investment in an electric Smart Grid in the Carolinas and Florida.
The company submitted its application to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which will award $4.5 billion in Smart Grid grants nationwide as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
"Smart Grid" is a term used to describe a modernized electric transmission and distribution system -- enabled by digital technology -- that delivers detailed, real-time information about energy use to customers.
This advanced, state-of-the-art grid will allow utility companies and consumers to continuously monitor and adjust their electricity use, while providing a pricing and control system to flexibly integrate new renewable energy resources such as solar and wind power, energy storage devices and electric vehicles. A smarter grid also will help minimize interruptions in electrical service during storms and other routine power outages.
Progress Energy is already investing a planned $320 million in Smart Grid to enhance the electricity delivery system at the company's two electric utilities: Progress Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Florida. If approved, the $200 million DOE grant would be shared equally on Smart Grid projects in the Carolinas and Florida and would advance additional Smart Grid investments.
"Smart Grid will enable us to enhance and improve service to our customers," said Bill Johnson, chairman, president and CEO of Progress Energy. "It will allow our customers ultimately to have more direct control of their energy use and their bill through pricing signals and pre-pay options. Leveraging this technology, Progress Energy will partner with our customers to help them manage their usage based on personal preferences and household needs. The end result will be improved system efficiencies, energy conservation and a cleaner environment."
Progress Energy is a fully integrated utility, so it can leverage the value Smart Grid offers all the way from its generating plants, across its transmission and distribution systems to its customers' homes and businesses. The company maintains a network of about 11,000 miles of electric transmission lines and 100,000 miles of distribution lines across 54,000 square miles in the Carolinas and Florida.
"Smart Grid will enhance power quality and service reliability while helping us secure the energy future for our customers," Johnson said. "Our company is committed to a balanced solution strategy to meet the future energy needs of our customers at a time of rising energy costs and concerns about climate change. This balanced approach includes aggressive energy efficiency, investments in renewable and alternative energy, and state-of-the-art plants and facilities. The Smart Grid is a fundamental tool to help us meet these objectives."
IBM and Telvent are strategic partners with Progress Energy in pursuit of the DOE grant. IBM is supplying consulting, as well as optimization software and services for coordination and prioritization of advanced load shaping and efficiency. Telvent is providing the Smart Grid's distribution supervisory control and data-acquisition system (SCADA), which is capable of gathering real-time data, controlling devices interactively, and producing reports on equipment in distribution substations and on the grid. Telvent is also supplying the new distribution management system that will provide real-time energy information and lays the foundation for reliable integration for customer-owned distributed energy resources.
Progress Energy is investing in Smart Grid because the company recognizes that the electric grid of the future must engage broadly with customers, reacting to their energy consumption decisions and accommodating independent alternative supply and energy storage options.
"All of these new intelligent capabilities bring value, but also complexity," Johnson said. "The grid must be prepared for this evolving complexity and respond dynamically to these advanced, innovative capabilities."
Monday, August 10, 2009
Ambient Corporation recently provided a letter of support for Duke Energy’s application of $214 million in DOE Smart Grid Investment Grant Funding Opp
August 10, 2009 -Duke Energy Applies for $214 million in Stimulus Funding
Long-time Ambient customer, Duke Energy, is continuing deployment of its smart grid, or “energy internet”, projects as described in an announcement last week detailing plans to apply for DOE stimulus funding. . Ambient Corporation recently provided a letter of support for Duke Energy’s application of $214 million in DOE Smart Grid Investment Grant Funding Opportunities (DE-FOA-0000058).
Duke Energy and Ambient have worked together on smart grid development and deployment projects for several years. In making this announcement, Duke detailed plans to accelerate its modernization programs in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky in what the company describes as “one of the largest smart grid initiatives in the country.”
Long-time Ambient customer, Duke Energy, is continuing deployment of its smart grid, or “energy internet”, projects as described in an announcement last week detailing plans to apply for DOE stimulus funding. . Ambient Corporation recently provided a letter of support for Duke Energy’s application of $214 million in DOE Smart Grid Investment Grant Funding Opportunities (DE-FOA-0000058).
Duke Energy and Ambient have worked together on smart grid development and deployment projects for several years. In making this announcement, Duke detailed plans to accelerate its modernization programs in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky in what the company describes as “one of the largest smart grid initiatives in the country.”
UPDATE 2- Echelon shares jump 40 pct on deal with Duke
Echelon shares jump 40 pct on deal with Duke
Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:55am EDT
Echelon to supply smart meters to Duke Energy
* Says deal could represent rev opportunity of $150 mln (Recasts, adds share prices and byline)
By Poornima Gupta
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Echelon Corp (ELON.O) shares soared 40 percent Monday on news that the company has entered into a long-term agreement to supply "smart meters" to electric utility Duke Energy Corp (DUK.N).
Echelon said the deal could represent a revenue opportunity of $150 million. The initial order is worth $15.8 million, with deliveries expected to begin at the end of the quarter, it said.
Echelon's smart meters allow households to monitor electricity usage while also sending data back to power providers.
Duke, the third-largest U.S. electric power company, plans to install more than 700,000 smart meters in Ohio and is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to install smart grid technology, including about 800,000 smart meters, Echelon said.
The creation of a "smart grid" is considered by some to be essential to bringing the U.S. power delivery system into the 21st century. Experts envision a network that will wring new efficiencies out of thousands of miles of power lines and open the door to more development of renewable electricity sources, the introduction of "smart" appliances that turn themselves on and off, and a fleet of electric cars.
Duke is laying the groundwork to bring large-scale smart grid technology to the remaining three states it serves, Echelon said.
Echelon shares were up $3.33 to $11.63 in morning trade on Nasdaq, while Duke Energy shares fell 1.5 percent to $15.43 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Derek Caney and John Wallace)
Mon Aug 10, 2009 10:55am EDT
Echelon to supply smart meters to Duke Energy
* Says deal could represent rev opportunity of $150 mln (Recasts, adds share prices and byline)
By Poornima Gupta
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Echelon Corp (ELON.O) shares soared 40 percent Monday on news that the company has entered into a long-term agreement to supply "smart meters" to electric utility Duke Energy Corp (DUK.N).
Echelon said the deal could represent a revenue opportunity of $150 million. The initial order is worth $15.8 million, with deliveries expected to begin at the end of the quarter, it said.
Echelon's smart meters allow households to monitor electricity usage while also sending data back to power providers.
Duke, the third-largest U.S. electric power company, plans to install more than 700,000 smart meters in Ohio and is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to install smart grid technology, including about 800,000 smart meters, Echelon said.
The creation of a "smart grid" is considered by some to be essential to bringing the U.S. power delivery system into the 21st century. Experts envision a network that will wring new efficiencies out of thousands of miles of power lines and open the door to more development of renewable electricity sources, the introduction of "smart" appliances that turn themselves on and off, and a fleet of electric cars.
Duke is laying the groundwork to bring large-scale smart grid technology to the remaining three states it serves, Echelon said.
Echelon shares were up $3.33 to $11.63 in morning trade on Nasdaq, while Duke Energy shares fell 1.5 percent to $15.43 on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Derek Caney and John Wallace)
Duke Energy was set to sign an agreement today in Beijing with China's largest power company !!!
Duke Inking Tech Pact With China: Groundbreaking Deal Starts Cooperative Push to Cut Pollution That Adds to Climate Change
August 10, 2009 -- By Bruce Henderson, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Aug. 10--Duke Energy was set to sign an agreement today in Beijing with China's largest power company, in what is believed to be the first technology-exchange pact between electric utilities of the two countries.
Charlotte-based Duke, the third-largest U.S. utility, was to sign a one-year memorandum of understanding with China Huaneng Group, which produces 10 percent of that nation's coal-dependent electricity.
Under the agreement, Duke and Huaneng will begin a series of meetings to exchange information and explore long-term initiatives to reduce coal-plant emissions that contribute to climate change. They will also work on wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy.
The United States and China are the world's leading sources of carbon dioxide emissions, together equaling nearly half the global releases of the greenhouse gas.
Duke hopes such agreements can speed the development of technology to capture carbon dioxide from coal-powered plants.
"I have a long-term view that the Chinese have the ability to scale carbon-capture technology faster than we can, and I believe that can help make that concept a reality that much faster," Duke CEO Jim Rogers said from Beijing before signing the agreement.
Rogers said such business-to-business agreements, which he called a "ladder of cooperation," can help pave the way for government policymakers who will negotiate global climate treaties.
"I envision that we will enter into a series of (agreements) over the next few months," he said.
Duke officials were to meet this afternoon with China's State Grid Corp., he said, on smart-grid technology. The technology uses digital communications to more efficiently distribute power.
Duke plans to spend $1 billion over the next five years on smart-grid development, focusing initially on its Midwestern territory. It has been involved in Joint U.S.-China Cooperation for Clean Energy, a nonprofit group that aims international expertise and technology at "greening" China.
A key focus will be capturing and storing carbon from coal plants and turning coal into a synthetic gas, a process that sharply reduces emissions. Duke is building a coal-gasification plant in Indiana and has proposed spending $121 million to study carbon capture and underground storage at the plant.
China Huaneng Group built China's first carbon-capture demonstration project in Beijing. A larger project is under construction in Shanghai, and the company is building a gasification demonstration plant in Tianjin.
"China has committed to rapidly developing clean-energy technologies, as has the United States," Rogers said in a statement. "Working together, the United States and China can commercialize and drive down the cost of these technologies for the benefit of the entire world."
Rogers has spoken admiringly of China's drive to develop its economy while developing cleaner forms of energy. China is furiously building coal-fired power plants but also surpasses the United States in its investment in renewable energy.
"We think this is a very big deal," said John Thompson, an expert on coal power at the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based advocacy group. Such business-to-business relationships, he said, suggest that the two nations can be more partners than adversaries on climate change.
"This is the kind of deal the Obama administration should be pushing when he goes to China" later this year, Thompson said.
China Huaneng Group, which operates 130 power plants, has focused on reducing emissions and developing clean energy. "We look forward to a mutual sharing of information and technology between the two companies and to jointly promote the development of clean energy technology," vice president Huang Yongda said in a statement.
Rogers was in China for a week in July to lay the groundwork for the agreement. The companies might explore forming a formal business relationship in the future, the agreement says.
Duke hopes to reach more such agreements with Chinese utilities.
-----
To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotteobserver.com.
August 10, 2009 -- By Bruce Henderson, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.
Aug. 10--Duke Energy was set to sign an agreement today in Beijing with China's largest power company, in what is believed to be the first technology-exchange pact between electric utilities of the two countries.
Charlotte-based Duke, the third-largest U.S. utility, was to sign a one-year memorandum of understanding with China Huaneng Group, which produces 10 percent of that nation's coal-dependent electricity.
Under the agreement, Duke and Huaneng will begin a series of meetings to exchange information and explore long-term initiatives to reduce coal-plant emissions that contribute to climate change. They will also work on wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy.
The United States and China are the world's leading sources of carbon dioxide emissions, together equaling nearly half the global releases of the greenhouse gas.
Duke hopes such agreements can speed the development of technology to capture carbon dioxide from coal-powered plants.
"I have a long-term view that the Chinese have the ability to scale carbon-capture technology faster than we can, and I believe that can help make that concept a reality that much faster," Duke CEO Jim Rogers said from Beijing before signing the agreement.
Rogers said such business-to-business agreements, which he called a "ladder of cooperation," can help pave the way for government policymakers who will negotiate global climate treaties.
"I envision that we will enter into a series of (agreements) over the next few months," he said.
Duke officials were to meet this afternoon with China's State Grid Corp., he said, on smart-grid technology. The technology uses digital communications to more efficiently distribute power.
Duke plans to spend $1 billion over the next five years on smart-grid development, focusing initially on its Midwestern territory. It has been involved in Joint U.S.-China Cooperation for Clean Energy, a nonprofit group that aims international expertise and technology at "greening" China.
A key focus will be capturing and storing carbon from coal plants and turning coal into a synthetic gas, a process that sharply reduces emissions. Duke is building a coal-gasification plant in Indiana and has proposed spending $121 million to study carbon capture and underground storage at the plant.
China Huaneng Group built China's first carbon-capture demonstration project in Beijing. A larger project is under construction in Shanghai, and the company is building a gasification demonstration plant in Tianjin.
"China has committed to rapidly developing clean-energy technologies, as has the United States," Rogers said in a statement. "Working together, the United States and China can commercialize and drive down the cost of these technologies for the benefit of the entire world."
Rogers has spoken admiringly of China's drive to develop its economy while developing cleaner forms of energy. China is furiously building coal-fired power plants but also surpasses the United States in its investment in renewable energy.
"We think this is a very big deal," said John Thompson, an expert on coal power at the Clean Air Task Force, a Boston-based advocacy group. Such business-to-business relationships, he said, suggest that the two nations can be more partners than adversaries on climate change.
"This is the kind of deal the Obama administration should be pushing when he goes to China" later this year, Thompson said.
China Huaneng Group, which operates 130 power plants, has focused on reducing emissions and developing clean energy. "We look forward to a mutual sharing of information and technology between the two companies and to jointly promote the development of clean energy technology," vice president Huang Yongda said in a statement.
Rogers was in China for a week in July to lay the groundwork for the agreement. The companies might explore forming a formal business relationship in the future, the agreement says.
Duke hopes to reach more such agreements with Chinese utilities.
-----
To see more of The Charlotte Observer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.charlotteobserver.com.
Echelon Signs Agreement to Supply NES Smart Metering System to Duke Energy
Press Release
Source: Echelon Corporation
On Monday August 10, 2009, 7:25 am EDT
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON - News) announced today that it has entered into a long-term agreement with Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - News), the nation???s third-largest electric utility, to supply Echelon???s Networked Energy Services (NES) system as a key part of Duke Energy???s smart grid program. Currently, Duke Energy provides electricity service to approximately 4 million customers in five states ??? North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy has received regulatory approval to deploy smart grid infrastructure in Ohio, and plans to launch a five-year mass deployment of smart grid technology later this year including more than 700,000 electric smart meters in Ohio. In Indiana, Duke Energy is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to install smart grid technology, including approximately 800,000 smart meters. The company is also laying the groundwork to bring large-scale smart grid technology to the remaining three states it serves.
The initial order under this framework agreement totals approximately $15.8 million with deliveries expected to begin at the end of the quarter. Assuming full deployment of the NES system, the states of Ohio and Indiana represent a revenue opportunity to Echelon of over $150 million.
???An essential component of Duke Energy???s smart grid design is a scalable, open, interoperable network that supports not just the initial functions we are deploying today, but allows for additional devices and sensors to be attached to the network in the future,??? said Todd Arnold, Duke Energy???s senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems. ???Echelon???s metering infrastructure is a key enabler of that vision with a smart grid approach that includes smart meters, smart concentrators working in conjunction with the meters, and network operating system software.???
???Duke Energy has described the smart grid as ???one of the greatest advancements of the 21st century,?????? said Ken Oshman, chairman and CEO of Echelon. ???We whole-heartedly share this view. Our NES system embeds the power of control networks into a utility???s core asset ??? the electric grid ??? replacing the meters of the past with the intelligent devices of the future. They provide the intelligent ???end-points??? that not only monitor energy and the health of the grid, but also help utilities and their customers better understand and more efficiently manage energy consumption. We???re excited to be able to help Duke Energy lead the utility industry into the future.???
Also: Duke signs with Ambient
for US$10.7 million
worth of 'smart grid'
April 8, 2008
"Duke Energy signed with Ambient for a utility network to connect 57,000 Echelon power meters. The deal is for engineering and network support, the use of Ambient's network management system called AmbientNMS and for lots and lots of the firm's new X-2000 modular network node.
The new device is not a BPL box -- unless the utility client wants that. It's a modular networking node that can be enabled with BPL and/or WiFi, cellular and other wireless systems; fiber, and even low-bandwidth PLC such as Echelon's LonWorks, Ambient CEO John Joyce told us yesterday."
Source: Echelon Corporation
On Monday August 10, 2009, 7:25 am EDT
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON - News) announced today that it has entered into a long-term agreement with Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - News), the nation???s third-largest electric utility, to supply Echelon???s Networked Energy Services (NES) system as a key part of Duke Energy???s smart grid program. Currently, Duke Energy provides electricity service to approximately 4 million customers in five states ??? North Carolina, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky.
Duke Energy has received regulatory approval to deploy smart grid infrastructure in Ohio, and plans to launch a five-year mass deployment of smart grid technology later this year including more than 700,000 electric smart meters in Ohio. In Indiana, Duke Energy is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to install smart grid technology, including approximately 800,000 smart meters. The company is also laying the groundwork to bring large-scale smart grid technology to the remaining three states it serves.
The initial order under this framework agreement totals approximately $15.8 million with deliveries expected to begin at the end of the quarter. Assuming full deployment of the NES system, the states of Ohio and Indiana represent a revenue opportunity to Echelon of over $150 million.
???An essential component of Duke Energy???s smart grid design is a scalable, open, interoperable network that supports not just the initial functions we are deploying today, but allows for additional devices and sensors to be attached to the network in the future,??? said Todd Arnold, Duke Energy???s senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems. ???Echelon???s metering infrastructure is a key enabler of that vision with a smart grid approach that includes smart meters, smart concentrators working in conjunction with the meters, and network operating system software.???
???Duke Energy has described the smart grid as ???one of the greatest advancements of the 21st century,?????? said Ken Oshman, chairman and CEO of Echelon. ???We whole-heartedly share this view. Our NES system embeds the power of control networks into a utility???s core asset ??? the electric grid ??? replacing the meters of the past with the intelligent devices of the future. They provide the intelligent ???end-points??? that not only monitor energy and the health of the grid, but also help utilities and their customers better understand and more efficiently manage energy consumption. We???re excited to be able to help Duke Energy lead the utility industry into the future.???
Also: Duke signs with Ambient
for US$10.7 million
worth of 'smart grid'
April 8, 2008
"Duke Energy signed with Ambient for a utility network to connect 57,000 Echelon power meters. The deal is for engineering and network support, the use of Ambient's network management system called AmbientNMS and for lots and lots of the firm's new X-2000 modular network node.
The new device is not a BPL box -- unless the utility client wants that. It's a modular networking node that can be enabled with BPL and/or WiFi, cellular and other wireless systems; fiber, and even low-bandwidth PLC such as Echelon's LonWorks, Ambient CEO John Joyce told us yesterday."
Friday, August 07, 2009
Con Edison Requests $172 Million in Smart Grid Stimulus Funding for $410 million company program
Press Release
Source: Consolidated Edison, Inc.
On Friday August 7, 2009, 12:38 pm EDT
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - 08/07/09) - Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - News) announced today that the company has filed the first phase of its applications for smart grid stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The applications request approximately $172 million in federal stimulus dollars to help fund smart grid projects in the service areas of Con Edison Company of New York, Inc. and Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc. Later this month, the company expects to submit applications requesting another $33 million in federal funding for smart grid projects, all to help fund an overall $410 million company program.
A smart grid integrates information and communication technology into electricity generation, delivery, and consumption, making systems cleaner, safer, and more reliable and efficient. The stimulus funds, if secured, would broaden the scope of Con Edison's existing smart grid efforts to modernize the electric grid.
Some items in the funding requests include projects designed to:
Reduce the carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency;
Enhance the detection of electric grid disruptions as they happen;
Increase the number of intelligent systems that can monitor, isolate and correct distribution problems to improve reliability and save money;
Increase the number of smart building technologies that can show customers their energy usage by appliance;
Enhance smart meter infrastructure technology and add more than 40,000 smart meters system wide; and
Accommodate renewable energy resources, such as solar energy, into the electric distribution system.
The DOE plans to distribute $3.9 billion in Recovery Act funds for smart grid projects through two funding opportunities. The first provides $3.3 billion for deploying and implementing smart grid technologies across the country. The second provides $615 million for smart grid pilot projects.
This week's Con Edison filings are for the first opportunity -- the deployment and implementation of smart grid technology. The company has already filed applications with the DOE for federal stimulus funding for solar, wind, and steam system projects. The company's filing later this month would provide funding for smart grid pilot projects.
Con Edison also announced this week that it is already investing $6 million in a Queens smart grid pilot program that incorporates similar projects on a smaller scale. For more information about Con Edison's smart grid efforts, visit www.conEd.com.
Con Edison, O&R and Rockland are subsidiaries of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - News), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at conEd.com.
Source: Consolidated Edison, Inc.
On Friday August 7, 2009, 12:38 pm EDT
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - 08/07/09) - Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - News) announced today that the company has filed the first phase of its applications for smart grid stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The applications request approximately $172 million in federal stimulus dollars to help fund smart grid projects in the service areas of Con Edison Company of New York, Inc. and Orange & Rockland Utilities, Inc. Later this month, the company expects to submit applications requesting another $33 million in federal funding for smart grid projects, all to help fund an overall $410 million company program.
A smart grid integrates information and communication technology into electricity generation, delivery, and consumption, making systems cleaner, safer, and more reliable and efficient. The stimulus funds, if secured, would broaden the scope of Con Edison's existing smart grid efforts to modernize the electric grid.
Some items in the funding requests include projects designed to:
Reduce the carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency;
Enhance the detection of electric grid disruptions as they happen;
Increase the number of intelligent systems that can monitor, isolate and correct distribution problems to improve reliability and save money;
Increase the number of smart building technologies that can show customers their energy usage by appliance;
Enhance smart meter infrastructure technology and add more than 40,000 smart meters system wide; and
Accommodate renewable energy resources, such as solar energy, into the electric distribution system.
The DOE plans to distribute $3.9 billion in Recovery Act funds for smart grid projects through two funding opportunities. The first provides $3.3 billion for deploying and implementing smart grid technologies across the country. The second provides $615 million for smart grid pilot projects.
This week's Con Edison filings are for the first opportunity -- the deployment and implementation of smart grid technology. The company has already filed applications with the DOE for federal stimulus funding for solar, wind, and steam system projects. The company's filing later this month would provide funding for smart grid pilot projects.
Con Edison also announced this week that it is already investing $6 million in a Queens smart grid pilot program that incorporates similar projects on a smaller scale. For more information about Con Edison's smart grid efforts, visit www.conEd.com.
Con Edison, O&R and Rockland are subsidiaries of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - News), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at conEd.com.
Duke Energy seeks $200 million stimulus money for $1 BILLION electric grid modernization !!!
August 7, 2009
Duke seeks stimulus money for 'smart' meters
Duke Energy would accelerate its deployment of more than 800,000 so-called "smart meters" in Ohio and Kentucky, one of the largest such investments in the country, under a $200 million federal stimulus grant request submitted today to the Department of Energy.
Duke joins dozens of other utilities around the country seeking a piece of the more than $4 billion the DOE expects to award by year's end for smart-grid initiatives, using two-way digital communication to improve energy efficiency and reliability by detecting power failures sooner.
"Our goal is to replace today's non-interactive electric grid with a highly interactive two-way communication grid that used advanced digital technology," said Todd Arnold, senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems for the Charlotte, N.C.-based company.
Duke, which has 700,000 electric customers in southwest Ohio and another 100,000 in Northern Kentucky, has deployed 48,000 smart electric meters and 29,000 gas meters in Ohio. It doesn't yet have regulatory authority to begin deployment in Kentucky, a spokesman said.
The utility expected to complete the $1 billion electric grid modernization in its Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana region by 2014. If it receives the federal stimulus money, the deployment could be completed by 2012, Duke said. Besides new customer meters the system includes new switches and sensors on distribution lines.
As part of its request, Duke also is seeking $14 million for smart grid transmission lines and demonstration projects in its North and South Carolina service area.
Duke seeks stimulus money for 'smart' meters
Duke Energy would accelerate its deployment of more than 800,000 so-called "smart meters" in Ohio and Kentucky, one of the largest such investments in the country, under a $200 million federal stimulus grant request submitted today to the Department of Energy.
Duke joins dozens of other utilities around the country seeking a piece of the more than $4 billion the DOE expects to award by year's end for smart-grid initiatives, using two-way digital communication to improve energy efficiency and reliability by detecting power failures sooner.
"Our goal is to replace today's non-interactive electric grid with a highly interactive two-way communication grid that used advanced digital technology," said Todd Arnold, senior vice president for smart grid and customer systems for the Charlotte, N.C.-based company.
Duke, which has 700,000 electric customers in southwest Ohio and another 100,000 in Northern Kentucky, has deployed 48,000 smart electric meters and 29,000 gas meters in Ohio. It doesn't yet have regulatory authority to begin deployment in Kentucky, a spokesman said.
The utility expected to complete the $1 billion electric grid modernization in its Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana region by 2014. If it receives the federal stimulus money, the deployment could be completed by 2012, Duke said. Besides new customer meters the system includes new switches and sensors on distribution lines.
As part of its request, Duke also is seeking $14 million for smart grid transmission lines and demonstration projects in its North and South Carolina service area.
PPL Electric Utilities Proposes $38 million Smart Grid for Harrisburg Area
PPL Electric Utilities Proposes Smart Grid for Harrisburg Area
PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL, has said that it is proposing a $38 million project that would pilot the use of smart technology to strengthen reliability, save energy and improve electric service for 60,000 customers in the Harrisburg area in the US.
PPL Electric Utilities believes that the project, which has been proposed to the US Department of Energy, would enable the company to move power more efficiently, react instantaneously to changes on the delivery system and automatically reroute power around problems that occur.
David DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities, said that the project supports the nation's push for a better, smarter electric grid by deploying the latest in advanced grid devices, computer systems, software and high-speed communications.
The US Department of Energy has pledged about $3.3 billion to spur smart grid development. The company is seeking $19 million in federal funding for the project.
PPL Electric Utilities, a subsidiary of PPL, has said that it is proposing a $38 million project that would pilot the use of smart technology to strengthen reliability, save energy and improve electric service for 60,000 customers in the Harrisburg area in the US.
PPL Electric Utilities believes that the project, which has been proposed to the US Department of Energy, would enable the company to move power more efficiently, react instantaneously to changes on the delivery system and automatically reroute power around problems that occur.
David DeCampli, president of PPL Electric Utilities, said that the project supports the nation's push for a better, smarter electric grid by deploying the latest in advanced grid devices, computer systems, software and high-speed communications.
The US Department of Energy has pledged about $3.3 billion to spur smart grid development. The company is seeking $19 million in federal funding for the project.
Ameren seeks $185 million in stimulus
Thursday, August 6, 2009, 11:35am CDT | Modified: Thursday, August 6, 2009, 11:39am
Ameren seeks $185 million in stimulus
St. Louis Business Journal - by Kelsey Volkmann
Ameren’s Missouri and Illinois utilities applied this week for $185 million in stimulus money for infrastructure upgrades, smart grid projects and electric vehicles.
AmerenUE applied for $140 million in stimulus funding, and Ameren Illinois Utilities applied for $45 million.
AmerenUE’s application includes the following funding requests for a 50 percent federal match:
• $125 million in projects for modernizing the company's Missouri delivery system.
• $15 million for an operating system that would synthesize and provide data to help better manage AmerenUE’s response to service disruptions.
• Matching funds to purchase two plug-in electric trouble trucks.
Of the total $787 billion federal stimulus package, about $43 billion is targeted for energy projects and energy efficiency. About $4.5 billion of that is targeted to support research and development of the nation’s smart grid, which delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology.
Ameren Illinois Utilities seeks $45 million in stimulus to fund smart grid projects to improve electric service reliability. Its smart grid project will cost $83 million, of which $75 million is eligible for a 50 percent federal match of $37.5 million, the utility said.
Ameren Illinois Utilities also said it is requesting $7.5 million for a $15 million advanced distribution management system, a foundation for the smart grid project that will provide a common interface to monitor, control and manage the electrical distribution system and electrical devices.
Ameren Illinois Utilities said it plans to ask the Illinois Commerce Commission to allow the utility to add a charge to customer bills to recover AIU’s portion of the project costs.
St. Louis-based Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE) serves 2.4 million electric customers and 1 million natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area of Missouri and Illinois.
Ameren seeks $185 million in stimulus
St. Louis Business Journal - by Kelsey Volkmann
Ameren’s Missouri and Illinois utilities applied this week for $185 million in stimulus money for infrastructure upgrades, smart grid projects and electric vehicles.
AmerenUE applied for $140 million in stimulus funding, and Ameren Illinois Utilities applied for $45 million.
AmerenUE’s application includes the following funding requests for a 50 percent federal match:
• $125 million in projects for modernizing the company's Missouri delivery system.
• $15 million for an operating system that would synthesize and provide data to help better manage AmerenUE’s response to service disruptions.
• Matching funds to purchase two plug-in electric trouble trucks.
Of the total $787 billion federal stimulus package, about $43 billion is targeted for energy projects and energy efficiency. About $4.5 billion of that is targeted to support research and development of the nation’s smart grid, which delivers electricity from suppliers to consumers using digital technology.
Ameren Illinois Utilities seeks $45 million in stimulus to fund smart grid projects to improve electric service reliability. Its smart grid project will cost $83 million, of which $75 million is eligible for a 50 percent federal match of $37.5 million, the utility said.
Ameren Illinois Utilities also said it is requesting $7.5 million for a $15 million advanced distribution management system, a foundation for the smart grid project that will provide a common interface to monitor, control and manage the electrical distribution system and electrical devices.
Ameren Illinois Utilities said it plans to ask the Illinois Commerce Commission to allow the utility to add a charge to customer bills to recover AIU’s portion of the project costs.
St. Louis-based Ameren Corp. (NYSE: AEE) serves 2.4 million electric customers and 1 million natural gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area of Missouri and Illinois.
PSE&G requests $76M federal stimulus money for $152M smart grid project
PSE&G requests federal stimulus money for smart grid project
by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Friday August 07, 2009, 6:07 AM
Public Service Electric and Gas is asking the U.S. government for $76 million in federal stimulus money to help pay for a project that would improve the electric grid in N.J. and the company says would create as many as 551 jobs, a report in the Courier Post said.
According to the report, work on the $152 million smart grid modernization project would begin within days of getting the grant, upgrading 40 substations throughout the state and installing new technology that expects to reduce the number and duration of power outages in the event of a fault. PSE&G would also purchase more plug-in electric vehicles and work on small-scale wind and solar projects, the report said.
by The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
Friday August 07, 2009, 6:07 AM
Public Service Electric and Gas is asking the U.S. government for $76 million in federal stimulus money to help pay for a project that would improve the electric grid in N.J. and the company says would create as many as 551 jobs, a report in the Courier Post said.
According to the report, work on the $152 million smart grid modernization project would begin within days of getting the grant, upgrading 40 substations throughout the state and installing new technology that expects to reduce the number and duration of power outages in the event of a fault. PSE&G would also purchase more plug-in electric vehicles and work on small-scale wind and solar projects, the report said.
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Duke Energy seeks $200 MILLION federal funds for ‘smart grid’
Thursday, August 6, 2009, 12:34pm EDT
Duke Energy seeks federal funds for ‘smart grid’
Business First of Louisville
Duke Energy Corp. Thursday applied for $200 million in federal infrastructure funds to develop a “smart grid” in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
The company also has sought $14 million in federal funds for smart grid transmission lines in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The smart grid allows utilities, such as Duke, to send signals to specially equipped appliances over transmission lines. The signals allow the utilities to tell the appliances to operate using less power during peak consumption times.
The U.S. Department of Energy will award $4.5 billion in smart grid grants nationwide, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke (NYSE: DUK) intends to transform its entire electricity-delivery infrastructure into a smart grid system, the company said in a news release.
If it receives the federal funds, Duke expects to complete the conversion in Ohio and Indiana by 2012. Duke soon will begin installing 700,000 smart electric meters at homes and businesses in Ohio, according to the release.
The utility is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to install 800,000 smart electric meters in Indiana.
In addition to managing energy consumption by appliances, the new smart grid will prepare the electric grid for widespread use of plug-in electric vehicles, Duke said in the release.
Floyd, Clark, Harrison, Washington and Scott are among the counties Duke serves in Southern Indiana.
Duke Energy seeks federal funds for ‘smart grid’
Business First of Louisville
Duke Energy Corp. Thursday applied for $200 million in federal infrastructure funds to develop a “smart grid” in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.
The company also has sought $14 million in federal funds for smart grid transmission lines in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The smart grid allows utilities, such as Duke, to send signals to specially equipped appliances over transmission lines. The signals allow the utilities to tell the appliances to operate using less power during peak consumption times.
The U.S. Department of Energy will award $4.5 billion in smart grid grants nationwide, funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke (NYSE: DUK) intends to transform its entire electricity-delivery infrastructure into a smart grid system, the company said in a news release.
If it receives the federal funds, Duke expects to complete the conversion in Ohio and Indiana by 2012. Duke soon will begin installing 700,000 smart electric meters at homes and businesses in Ohio, according to the release.
The utility is seeking approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission to install 800,000 smart electric meters in Indiana.
In addition to managing energy consumption by appliances, the new smart grid will prepare the electric grid for widespread use of plug-in electric vehicles, Duke said in the release.
Floyd, Clark, Harrison, Washington and Scott are among the counties Duke serves in Southern Indiana.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Con Edison Launches $6M Smart Grid Pilot Program in Queens- part of ~$375 million in smart grid projects plan- ask for stimulus !!!!!
Con Edison Launches Smart Grid Pilot Program in Queens
NEW YORK, NY, Aug 04, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) ----Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (NYSE: ED: 39.48, n.a., n.a.%) announced today that it is launching a $6 million smart grid pilot program in northwest Queens that will test how various technologies support efforts to modernize the electric grid. It will provide customers with more information about their energy usage, and help customers use energy more efficiently and save on their electricity bills.
Smart grids integrate information and communication technology into electricity generation, delivery, and consumption, making systems cleaner, safer, more reliable and efficient. Con Edison's 18-month demonstration project combines cutting edge technology with existing innovations that allow, for example, the utility to test and evaluate the company's response to customer use and power interruptions.
"New York City will be a model showing how smart grid technologies can work together in dense urban areas," said Kevin Burke, Chairman and CEO of Con Edison. "Smart grids will change the way we manage the grid, and can change the way customers manage their energy usage. Our vision is to identify grid innovations that can be reliable and cost effective, and provide increased flexibility for customers in the ways they make energy choices."
One of the innovations involves a distributed generation project with the City University of New York to study how solar energy can be integrated into the New York City electric grid. The solar energy will be obtained from a 100kW photovoltaic system on the roof of LaGuardia Community College.
"With this 'smart grid' agreement, CUNY is partnering with Con Edison to create a roadmap for New York and an example for the nation as we move toward energy independence," said Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. "The University's faculty and researchers will continue to work closely with Con Edison to identify new solar and renewable energy opportunities."
Con Edison's comprehensive, urban city smart grid pilot will take place within the company's Long Island City network, an 8.3 square-mile-area, which has a customer density mixture representative of other areas in the company's system. The network entirely or partly includes the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside. The location of the smart grid pilot also gives Con Edison greater flexibility by housing necessary equipment on its own property.
Approximately 1,500 customers will receive smart meters, the main component of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). Other AMI features include automatic outage notification, remote meter reading, remote reconnection and the ability to communicate energy usage information via other smart building technology to web portals or in-home displays. The web portals and in-home displays can show energy usage by appliance and nearly 300 eligible customers will test this technology.
The demonstration program also tests the integration of:
-- intelligent underground systems that can monitor, isolate and correct
distribution problems to improve reliability;
-- a commercial customer's energy generator and renewable energy
resources, such as solar energy, into the grid; and
-- plug-in electric vehicles and their charging stations.
The research and development project is the company's first step in an effort to expand smart grid technology throughout New York City and Westchester County. Con Edison will continue working with the state Public Service Commission, other stakeholders, and industry groups to grow and expand smart grid technology across the system.
By the end of this month, Con Edison will file proposals with the U.S. Department of Energy for stimulus funds to help finance approximately $375 million in smart grid projects. Stimulus grants, if secured, will broaden the scope of the company's smart grid efforts. Some of these projects include the addition of more than 40,000 smart meters, more intelligent underground and overhead systems, and a sophisticated command and control network that will serve as the "brain" of an enhanced Con Edison smart grid.
Also, the utility has worked closely with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the non-profit organization that recently delivered a smart grid interoperability roadmap report to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, which will oversee development and implementation of national advanced grid standards.
"We are working with Con Edison on the Queens smart grid project to demonstrate the concept of interoperability that will be critical for widespread deployment of smart grid," said Arshad Mansoor, vice president of Power Delivery and Utilization at EPRI.
"This is another example of Con Edison working with our community to make an innovative national energy movement a reality here in our backyard," said Gayle Baron, president of the Long Island City Business Development Corporation. "We're pleased the Long Island City area has been chosen to be one of a small number of communities around the nation to be included in a comprehensive smart grid project."
"Queens looks forward to hosting new technologies that will serve as the foundation for a New York City smart grid," said Al Pennisi, president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. "We will work closely with Con Edison to stay abreast of innovations that will have a positive impact on our business community, helping them to manage their energy costs or pursue green alternatives."
Con Edison's smart grid pilot project was developed after five years of research and development. Smart grid technology is part of the company's EnergyNY plan (www.coned.com/energyNY), a blueprint that balances energy-efficiency initiatives with infrastructure investments to meet the region's increasing need for energy.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at www.coned.com.
NEW YORK, NY, Aug 04, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) ----Consolidated Edison Company of New York, Inc. (NYSE: ED: 39.48, n.a., n.a.%) announced today that it is launching a $6 million smart grid pilot program in northwest Queens that will test how various technologies support efforts to modernize the electric grid. It will provide customers with more information about their energy usage, and help customers use energy more efficiently and save on their electricity bills.
Smart grids integrate information and communication technology into electricity generation, delivery, and consumption, making systems cleaner, safer, more reliable and efficient. Con Edison's 18-month demonstration project combines cutting edge technology with existing innovations that allow, for example, the utility to test and evaluate the company's response to customer use and power interruptions.
"New York City will be a model showing how smart grid technologies can work together in dense urban areas," said Kevin Burke, Chairman and CEO of Con Edison. "Smart grids will change the way we manage the grid, and can change the way customers manage their energy usage. Our vision is to identify grid innovations that can be reliable and cost effective, and provide increased flexibility for customers in the ways they make energy choices."
One of the innovations involves a distributed generation project with the City University of New York to study how solar energy can be integrated into the New York City electric grid. The solar energy will be obtained from a 100kW photovoltaic system on the roof of LaGuardia Community College.
"With this 'smart grid' agreement, CUNY is partnering with Con Edison to create a roadmap for New York and an example for the nation as we move toward energy independence," said Chancellor Matthew Goldstein. "The University's faculty and researchers will continue to work closely with Con Edison to identify new solar and renewable energy opportunities."
Con Edison's comprehensive, urban city smart grid pilot will take place within the company's Long Island City network, an 8.3 square-mile-area, which has a customer density mixture representative of other areas in the company's system. The network entirely or partly includes the neighborhoods of Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and Woodside. The location of the smart grid pilot also gives Con Edison greater flexibility by housing necessary equipment on its own property.
Approximately 1,500 customers will receive smart meters, the main component of an Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). Other AMI features include automatic outage notification, remote meter reading, remote reconnection and the ability to communicate energy usage information via other smart building technology to web portals or in-home displays. The web portals and in-home displays can show energy usage by appliance and nearly 300 eligible customers will test this technology.
The demonstration program also tests the integration of:
-- intelligent underground systems that can monitor, isolate and correct
distribution problems to improve reliability;
-- a commercial customer's energy generator and renewable energy
resources, such as solar energy, into the grid; and
-- plug-in electric vehicles and their charging stations.
The research and development project is the company's first step in an effort to expand smart grid technology throughout New York City and Westchester County. Con Edison will continue working with the state Public Service Commission, other stakeholders, and industry groups to grow and expand smart grid technology across the system.
By the end of this month, Con Edison will file proposals with the U.S. Department of Energy for stimulus funds to help finance approximately $375 million in smart grid projects. Stimulus grants, if secured, will broaden the scope of the company's smart grid efforts. Some of these projects include the addition of more than 40,000 smart meters, more intelligent underground and overhead systems, and a sophisticated command and control network that will serve as the "brain" of an enhanced Con Edison smart grid.
Also, the utility has worked closely with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the non-profit organization that recently delivered a smart grid interoperability roadmap report to the National Institutes of Standards and Technology, which will oversee development and implementation of national advanced grid standards.
"We are working with Con Edison on the Queens smart grid project to demonstrate the concept of interoperability that will be critical for widespread deployment of smart grid," said Arshad Mansoor, vice president of Power Delivery and Utilization at EPRI.
"This is another example of Con Edison working with our community to make an innovative national energy movement a reality here in our backyard," said Gayle Baron, president of the Long Island City Business Development Corporation. "We're pleased the Long Island City area has been chosen to be one of a small number of communities around the nation to be included in a comprehensive smart grid project."
"Queens looks forward to hosting new technologies that will serve as the foundation for a New York City smart grid," said Al Pennisi, president of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. "We will work closely with Con Edison to stay abreast of innovations that will have a positive impact on our business community, helping them to manage their energy costs or pursue green alternatives."
Con Edison's smart grid pilot project was developed after five years of research and development. Smart grid technology is part of the company's EnergyNY plan (www.coned.com/energyNY), a blueprint that balances energy-efficiency initiatives with infrastructure investments to meet the region's increasing need for energy.
Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies, with approximately $14 billion in annual revenues and $34 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York. For additional financial, operations and customer service information, visit Con Edison's Web site at www.coned.com.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
CenterPoint Energy is applying for $200 million in federal funding for Smart Grid !!!
CenterPoint seeking funds for grid update
By TOM FOWLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 3, 2009, 11:56PM
CenterPoint Energy is applying for $200 million in federal funding to speed up deployment of new grid technology, including the smart meters for which Houston-area customers are paying $3.24 per month.
The funds requested from the U.S. Department of Energy would take two years off what now is planned as a five-year effort to install smart meters on 2.2 million area homes and businesses, according to the company. It also would go toward the installation of equipment to help automate the rerouting of power throughout the area's electricity distribution system during outages.
The capital costs for the smart meter project will be about $640 million, but with financing customers are expected to pay about $976 million in fees. CenterPoint spokeswoman Alicia Dixon said it's still not known how much the stimulus funds would cut total customer costs.
Smart meters can be monitored and controlled remotely and will be able to communicate with a new generation of in-home devices that give customers more information about their power usage and costs.
The meters also will let retail electric companies offer pricing plans that more accurately reflect the higher cost of power generation during peak afternoon hours. As envisioned, the plans would reward customers for shifting their usage to off-peak times, helping to avoid strains on the generation and transmission system and tempering the need for new power plants.
So far CenterPoint has installed 45,000 smart meters in the Houston area.
The Dallas-area electric grid operator, Oncor, is also applying for $200 million to speed along smart grid installation, and another $117 million for other related equipment.
The funds come from the Department of Energy's portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. About $4.5 billion, or 12 percent of the Energy Department's $38.7 billion share of stimulus money, is dedicated to smart grid and electric transmission projects. Of the rest, $16.8 billion is dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs; $6 billion each to loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and the clean-up of old nuclear waste sites; $3.4 billion for carbon capture and storage projects; and $2 billion for research projects.
By TOM FOWLER Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 3, 2009, 11:56PM
CenterPoint Energy is applying for $200 million in federal funding to speed up deployment of new grid technology, including the smart meters for which Houston-area customers are paying $3.24 per month.
The funds requested from the U.S. Department of Energy would take two years off what now is planned as a five-year effort to install smart meters on 2.2 million area homes and businesses, according to the company. It also would go toward the installation of equipment to help automate the rerouting of power throughout the area's electricity distribution system during outages.
The capital costs for the smart meter project will be about $640 million, but with financing customers are expected to pay about $976 million in fees. CenterPoint spokeswoman Alicia Dixon said it's still not known how much the stimulus funds would cut total customer costs.
Smart meters can be monitored and controlled remotely and will be able to communicate with a new generation of in-home devices that give customers more information about their power usage and costs.
The meters also will let retail electric companies offer pricing plans that more accurately reflect the higher cost of power generation during peak afternoon hours. As envisioned, the plans would reward customers for shifting their usage to off-peak times, helping to avoid strains on the generation and transmission system and tempering the need for new power plants.
So far CenterPoint has installed 45,000 smart meters in the Houston area.
The Dallas-area electric grid operator, Oncor, is also applying for $200 million to speed along smart grid installation, and another $117 million for other related equipment.
The funds come from the Department of Energy's portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. About $4.5 billion, or 12 percent of the Energy Department's $38.7 billion share of stimulus money, is dedicated to smart grid and electric transmission projects. Of the rest, $16.8 billion is dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy programs; $6 billion each to loan guarantees for renewable energy projects and the clean-up of old nuclear waste sites; $3.4 billion for carbon capture and storage projects; and $2 billion for research projects.
Monday, August 03, 2009
Nissan to ‘mass market’ electric cars !!!
Nissan to ‘mass market’ electric cars
By Jonathan Soble in Yokohama, Japan
Published: August 2 2009 14:30 | Last updated: August 2 2009 14:30
Pure-electric vehicles could account for 10 per cent of all new car purchases by 2020, Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, predicted on Sunday as he unveiled the Leaf, an emissions-free family hatchback the Japanese carmaker is aiming at mass-market buyers.
Mr Ghosn said at Nissan’s new global headquarters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo: “We don’t see the electric car as a niche car. We see it as a mass-market car.”
Powered by an 80kW electric motor and rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the Leaf will be introduced in Japan and the US late next year. From 2012, when Nissan aims to begin selling the Leaf worldwide, it plans to build 200,000 of thm a year – by far the most ambitious production target for an all-electric vehicle.
Noboru Tateishi, programme director for electric vehicles, said Nissan planned eventually to build the Leaf at its UK assembly plant in Sunderland. So far, the company has designated factories in Oppama, Japan, and Smyrna, Tennessee as initial production sites, although battery production will also take place in the UK and Portugal.
In June, Nissan received a $1.6bn low-interest loan from the US government to retool the Smyrna plant for electric-car production. The British and Portuguese governments also have offered low-interest loans and other incentives.
Nissan said the Leaf could travel at least 160km (100 miles) on a full charge, a range it said exceeded the typical daily driving needs of 70 per cent of car owners.
The car can be recharged in eight hours from a standard home wall socket. It can also be charged to 80 per cent capacity in 30 minutes using a high-powered “quick charger” Nissan is pushing to have installed in petrol stations, car parks and other public facilities.
The question of recharging infrastructure remains a considerable obstacle to the widespread adoption of electric cars, according to analysts.
Nissan still has to win over doubters. CSM Worldwide market research has estimated that global carmakers will together build just 100,000 electric cars by 2015. JPMorgan analysts expect cheaper petrol-electric hybrids to account for 13 per cent of sales by 2020.
Other carmakers are also testing the all-electric market, however. Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors is to begin selling a smaller electric car, the iMiev, in Japan this month. It has priced the car at Y4.6m ($48,600) – about three times more than a petrol version of the same car – and is eyeing annual output of 30,000 units.
Nissan has not set a price for the Leaf but said on Sunday its cost would be “competitive” with “well-equipped” petrol-powered cars in the same class. The price will not include the battery, however, which drivers will lease separately from the carmaker.
By Jonathan Soble in Yokohama, Japan
Published: August 2 2009 14:30 | Last updated: August 2 2009 14:30
Pure-electric vehicles could account for 10 per cent of all new car purchases by 2020, Carlos Ghosn, head of the Renault-Nissan alliance, predicted on Sunday as he unveiled the Leaf, an emissions-free family hatchback the Japanese carmaker is aiming at mass-market buyers.
Mr Ghosn said at Nissan’s new global headquarters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo: “We don’t see the electric car as a niche car. We see it as a mass-market car.”
Powered by an 80kW electric motor and rechargeable lithium-ion battery, the Leaf will be introduced in Japan and the US late next year. From 2012, when Nissan aims to begin selling the Leaf worldwide, it plans to build 200,000 of thm a year – by far the most ambitious production target for an all-electric vehicle.
Noboru Tateishi, programme director for electric vehicles, said Nissan planned eventually to build the Leaf at its UK assembly plant in Sunderland. So far, the company has designated factories in Oppama, Japan, and Smyrna, Tennessee as initial production sites, although battery production will also take place in the UK and Portugal.
In June, Nissan received a $1.6bn low-interest loan from the US government to retool the Smyrna plant for electric-car production. The British and Portuguese governments also have offered low-interest loans and other incentives.
Nissan said the Leaf could travel at least 160km (100 miles) on a full charge, a range it said exceeded the typical daily driving needs of 70 per cent of car owners.
The car can be recharged in eight hours from a standard home wall socket. It can also be charged to 80 per cent capacity in 30 minutes using a high-powered “quick charger” Nissan is pushing to have installed in petrol stations, car parks and other public facilities.
The question of recharging infrastructure remains a considerable obstacle to the widespread adoption of electric cars, according to analysts.
Nissan still has to win over doubters. CSM Worldwide market research has estimated that global carmakers will together build just 100,000 electric cars by 2015. JPMorgan analysts expect cheaper petrol-electric hybrids to account for 13 per cent of sales by 2020.
Other carmakers are also testing the all-electric market, however. Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors is to begin selling a smaller electric car, the iMiev, in Japan this month. It has priced the car at Y4.6m ($48,600) – about three times more than a petrol version of the same car – and is eyeing annual output of 30,000 units.
Nissan has not set a price for the Leaf but said on Sunday its cost would be “competitive” with “well-equipped” petrol-powered cars in the same class. The price will not include the battery, however, which drivers will lease separately from the carmaker.
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