China: State Grid Company -building a robust smart grid in China by 2020 and plans to invest $600 billion in developing its national smart grid over the next decade

February 23, 2011 | Jeff Ebihara


"State Grid Company had previously set an aggressive target of building a robust smart grid in China by 2020 and plans to invest $600 billion in developing its national smart grid over the next decade. "

Ambient Corporation Reports Record Revenue for 2010.

2011 Positioned to be Another Year of Significant Growth for the Smart Grid Infrastructure Innovator

Form 10-K for AMBIENT CORP /NY on 23-Feb-2011

BOSTON, Feb. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ambient Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: ABTG), a leader in smart grid communications infrastructure, today announced the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC for the year ended December 31, 2010, reporting annual revenues of approximately $20.4 million, with a gross profit of $8.3 million, compared to $2.2 million in revenue and $357,000 in gross profit in 2009.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091012/NE90671LOGO )

Revenues in 2010 resulted from the continued deployment of the Ambient Smart Grid® communications platform.

"We planned for 2010 to be a year of significant growth for Ambient and, despite the fledgling smart grid industry, it did not disappoint, with the addition of 19 new employees and revenue growing to more than $9 million in the fourth quarter," saidJohn J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient.  "In 2010, the Ambient Smart Grid platform was instrumental to the build-out of the smart grid network in the state of Ohio helping to move the smart grid concept from vision to reality.  There is still a lot of work to do, and we look to continue the trends in 2011."

Operations Highlights  

REVENUES. Revenues for 2010 were $20,358,040, compared to $2,193,338, for 2009. Revenues for 2010 and 2009 were attributable to the sales of products, and maintenance to our key customer. Revenues for 2010 and 2009 related to the sales of products totaled $20,282,596 and $2,127,977, respectively. Revenues from the sale of software and services for 2010 and 2009 totaled $75,444 and $65,361, respectively. The increase in revenue during 2010 compared to 2009 reflects an increase in the number of communication nodes delivered as well as increased license fees recorded from the licensing of our AmbientNMS® software.

COST OF GOODS SOLD. Cost of goods sold for 2010 was $12,023,332 compared to $1,836,546 for 2009. Cost of goods sold included all costs related to manufacturing of our products and consisted primarily of direct material costs. Cost of goods sold also included expenses related to the write down of inventory to the lower of cost or market. For 2010 and 2009, cost of goods sold included an inventory write-off of $0 and $151,689, respectively, for excess, obsolete inventory. The increase in cost of goods sold during 2010 reflected the increase in production to fill orders placed by our customer as discussed above in REVENUES.

GROSS PROFIT. Gross profits for 2010 were $8,334,708, compared to $356,792 for 2009. The gross profit on product sales amounted to $11,177,367 during 2010 compared to $291,431 during 2009. The overall gross margins for 2010 increased to 41% compared to 16% during 2009. The increase in the gross margin percentage in 2010 compared to 2009 is a reflection of the maturing of our product offerings, an enhanced ability to plan production and scale based on increased lead-time and transparency in the forecasting and purchasing process of our customer, and a stable and productive relationship with our contract manufacturer.

A more detailed description of Ambient's business, our results of operations and financial statements are contained in the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 23, 2011.

FYI

Ambient Extends Smart Grid Contract With Duke - could worth HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of Dollar for Ambient !!!

http://smartgrid1.blogspot.com/2009/09/ambient-extends-smart-grid-contract.html

Duke Energy Carolinas has state OK to launch its Smart Energy Now pilot

Duke Energy Carolinas gets OK for uptown energy program

State regulators approve initiative that’s key to Envision: Charlotte plan

Charlotte Business Journal - by John Downey, Senior staff writer

Date: Friday, February 18, 2011, 6:00am EST

Duke Energy Carolinas has state OK to launch its Smart Energy Now pilot. The regulatory move clears the way for Duke to sign up uptown’s largest buildings for the energy-saving features that are part of the ambitious Envision: Charlotte initiative.

Envision: Charlotte is a sustainability initiative that Duke Energy Corp., Cisco Systems Inc. and Charlotte Center City Partnersunveiled last year at the Clinton Global initiative. It is designed around establishing a smart grid uptown to reduce energy use among the largest buildings in the urban core by about 20% over the next five years. It also includes initiatives to ...  http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/print-edition/2011/02/18/duke-gets-ok-for-uptown-energy-program.html

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Duke Energy To Merge with Progress Energy

01/11/2011 10:45 AM from:  http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.display/id/21695

"The combined company, to be called Duke Energy, will be the country’s largest utility, with approximately $65 billion in enterprise value and $37 billion in market capitalization.

It will also have the country’s largest regulated customer base, providing service to approximately 7.1 million electric customers in six regulated service territories North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.

Duke Energy is aggressively pursuing smart grid deployments with commercial partners Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), Echelon (Nasdaq: ELON) and Ambient (ABTG.OB). "

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" new report by Innovation Observatory, more than $378 billion will be collectively invested in building electricity smart grids by 2030"

February 16, 2011

China Set to Overtake US Smart Grid Capex by 2016

By Mini Swamy

TMCnet Contributor

Utilities worldwide are focusing on building smart grids, and global smart grid investment is also increasing. In fact, according to a new report by Innovation Observatory, more than $378 billion will be collectively invested in building electricity smart grids by 2030. While this is indeed heartening news, the fact that 10 countries will accountfor 80 percent of the investment is a sobering thought.

The U.S. government definitely means business for its stimulus funding will trigger a mass market rollout of advanced metering infrastructure. If that happens, then over the next five years, the United States is all set to dominate global capex. By 2030, it is expected to spend almost $60 billion on smart meters, grid automation, IT systems, home area network equipment and other allied aspects.

However, by 2016, the market scenario is likely to shift with the focus being on China, where annual smart grid capex is likely to overtake that of the United States. Catherine Viola, the report's co-author, said, “China's plans for wide-scale smart meter deployment will see it install over 360 million smart meters by 2030, and we expect China's overall spend on smart grid development to reach US$99 billion by that date – more than a quarter of the global total.”

Turning attention to the emerging market forces, Viola predicted that India and Brazil, who have announced massive smart meter roll-out projects, are likely to figure in the top 10 countries for smart grid investment occupying the third and sixth spot, respectively. While Brazil expects to replace 63 million electricity meters with smart meters by 2021, India has set its target for over 130 million smart meters.

France, Germany, Spain and the U.K. are the leading European countries in terms of investment in smart grid infrastructure, while Japan and South Korea complete the top 10.

Looking at the sheet scale of investment, there's bound to be stiff competition to win contracts with utilities. Technology suppliers cannot adopt the “one size fits all” attitude, for they need to tailor their strategies for different geographic regions, and adopt different approaches depending on local factors, their size and their legacy industry expertise.

Crucial information for investors, suppliers, vendors and metering manufacturers is available at the Innovation Observatory website. The 45-slide report is available for payment. Innovation Observatory researches, analyzes and interprets fast-moving technology markets to help companies and other organizations understand how technology markets evolve

Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG) - a Smart Grid company plans for NASDAQ listing!!!

"The Reverse Split/Share Reduction Amendment was approved by the Board and the Majority Stockholder with the goal of increasing the chances of the Company successfully listing the Common Stock on The NASDAQ Stock Market, particularly The Nasdaq Capital Market.  The Company believes that, given its current size and balance sheet position, it would meet all of the quantitative listing requirements for The Nasdaq Capital Market, other than those relating to the minimum bid price for listed shares (which is $4 per share), and that a Reverse Stock Split in the appropriate ratio would increase the likelihood that it would meet the quantitative requirements relating to share price.   The Company further believes that listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market would enhance its visibility, institutional investor profile and commercial credibility.   Of course, there can be no assurance that the Reverse Stock Split will allow the Company to meet the quantitative requirements relating to share price, that the Company will achieve or maintain compliance with any of the other requirements or that its listing application will otherwise be successful."


more: http://www.dailyfinance.com/company/ambient-corporation/abtg/nab/PROXY/11618164/html/sec-filings


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Read: Cisco ties knot with Control4 for smart home

February 15, 2011 5:32 AM PS by Martin LaMonica


Cisco Systems has invested in Control4 and intends to use Control4's home automation software in large deals with utilities and cities.

The deal, announced today, calls for Cisco to sell Control4 products, such as its home energy management dashboard, under the Cisco brand and to create closer ties between the two companies' products. Cisco invested an undisclosed amount but was the lead investor in a recent round of private funding in Salt Lake City-based Control4.

Control4's software is like an operating system for connected devices in a home, including consumer electronics, home appliances, lights, and thermostats, said company CEO Will West. Having access to Cisco's sales force and relationships with cities and utilities will accelerate the move to the connected home and home automation, he said.

Modern Smart Grid Offers Consumers the Power of Choice

Featured In: The Efficiency Zone

Energy Savers Blog | Sunday, February 13, 2011

Home energy assessments are a practical, straightforward way to improve the overall efficiency of your home. Learning how to better manage home energy use can lead to significant cost savings. You may have enlisted the help of a professional auditor to perform the evaluation or relied on an annual, do-it-yourself review—but what if you could monitor your home's energy use on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis?

That's exactly what Smart Grid technology offers—providing both consumers and utilities with the information to better manage electricity use, in real time.

Smart Grid technology is often referred to as 'modernizing the electric grid' and when you think about how your monthly energy bill is determined, it all starts to make sense. Consider the typical process: a reader comes out to record today's index on your meter and subtracts that amount from the index of the previous visit—this calculation can only determine how much energy has been used since the last reading. A smart meter modernizes this process—allowing utilities, and you, to become more aware of how energy is being used, not just by the last utility reading but hour by hour.

The more aware you are of home energy use, the more control you have over your electricity consumption and your budget: you may be more inclined to run the dishwasher during "off-peak" hours when power is cheapest or have the extra motivation to lower the thermostat or unplug appliances not in use.

Small adjustments like these can lead to huge energy savings. A modernized Smart Grid is expected to save consumers $20 billion over the next decade on their utility bills. There are about 8 million smart meters on the market today and installation is ramping-up across the country—a total of 40 million meters are expected to be installed by 2015.

As efforts to use modern technology to improve the effectiveness of the electric grid continue, consumers will not only have more choices when it comes to managing electricity but more opportunities to reap significant savings in the long run.

Interested in learning more? Take a look at this primer on Smart Grid technology.

Erin Pierce works at the Department of Energy as part of the corporate communications team for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energ.

Smart Grid Lessons From the Super Bowl Week Outages in Texas

CHET GESCHICKTER: FEBRUARY 9, 2011

Last week’s events in Texas help illustrate that building an ever-expanding fleet of gas-fired peaking plants may not solve all our electricity needs. Instead, smart homes may be key to our rational energy future. 

Read more:  http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/smart-grid-lessons-from-the-super-bowl-week-outages-in-texas/

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Digital Energy Technology in Your Community- Duke Energy Smart Grid ROLLOUTS !!!

Smart Grid Acquisitions by ABB, GE, Siemens Point to Coming $20 Billion Boom

By Maria Gallucci at SolveClimate

Thu Feb 3, 2011 4:18am EST

Nearly 75% of the smart grid money will come from utilities updating their grids, while industrial giants work to secure their piece of the pie

By Maria Gallucci

No one doubts that any big renewables push — like President Obama's call to get 80 percent of U.S. power from cleaner sources by 2035 — will demand an upgrade of the nation's electrical systems to digital "smart" grids. But is it happening?

New research by Lux Research suggests that the answer is yes. The firm predicts a $20 billion spending surge in smart technologies in the next ten years, led by electric utilities and global grid giants like ABB, who are ready to cash in on the power revolution.

The January report finds that the new digital grid networks will pump out 900 percent more data to electric utility companies by 2020, as they install millions of smart meters, the in-home devices that report energy usage.

To handle the data explosion, utility companies and industrial power firms are expected to nearly triple the current $12.8 billion smart grid market to $34.2 billion by investing in the distribution hardware, management software and information technology (IT) needed.

Nearly 75 percent of that money will come from utilities updating their grids to make way for the smart grid revolution, Steve Minnihan, a Lux Research analyst and the lead author of the report, told SolveClimate News.

Smart Grids: 'Absolutely Essential' for Clean Power

"Smart grids are absolutely essential to the widespread adoption of solar and wind energy," Minnihan said.

More:  http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/03/idUS234503906520110203

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Ambient (ABTG) selects Sierra Wireless (SWIR) AirPrime embedded modules for smart grid communications platform

Sierra Wireless 3G embedded wireless module integrated into the latest version of Ambient’s X-series smart grid communications node, enabling real-time monitoring and communication with the grid

Vancouver, Canada - February 2, 2011

Sierra Wireless (NASDAQ: SWIR - TSX: SW) today announced that Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG) has selected Sierra Wireless AirPrime™ embedded modules to provide 3G wireless connectivity for Ambient’s latest X-series smart grid communications node, used by energy and utilities companies. The X-series smart grid node is part of the Ambient Smart Grid® communications platform, which provides utilities with a critical link in building a modern energy infrastructure that enables connection with micro-generation and renewable energy sources.
 
“Real-time monitoring and communication with the grid enables energy and utility companies to provide better, more responsive service to their customers, but it does more than that. It also enables better use of a wider range of energy sources, like single windmills attached to rural homes that can provide electricity back to the grid in times of low use,” said Ram Rao, SVP and CTO of Ambient Corporation. “Sierra Wireless embedded modules provide us with a reliable, stable connection and the level of product quality that is absolutely needed when dealing with critical infrastructure applications like ours.”

“Ambient is helping to transform energy infrastructure to reduce energy consumption and inefficiencies,” said Mike Ardelan, Vice President of OEM Sales for Sierra Wireless. “This is a perfect example of the myriad ways in which embedded wireless technology can be employed to provide better real-time information that enables companies to better serve their customers and reduce costs. In addition, solutions like this one help to create a more sustainable energy system for the future, which is why we are so pleased Ambient selected Sierra Wireless as its wireless module provider for its newest X-series smart grid communications node.”

Sierra Wireless Solutions for Energy

Sierra Wireless has more than a decade of experience in wireless data communications for utilities and energy infrastructures.  Our seasoned engineering team is experienced in large-scale wireless deployments for utilities around the world in countries including Australia, Canada, China, France, India, Italy, New Zealand, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States. For customers looking to deploy wireless solutions for the energy market, Sierra Wireless offers:

• All the components required for end-to-end solutions, from ruggedized embedded modules, gateways and routers, software suites, and development tools to services platforms.
• Simplified integration and deployment, with proven technologies that allow rapid design and easy integration, as well as a services platform that enables fast deployment and cost-effective maintenance and support.
• A rugged and secure product line designed for long life spans and challenging environmental conditions, tested to military specifications to ensure reliability under extreme temperatures, humidity, and vibration.
• Strong relationships with network operators worldwide to assist customers and partners with network connections and certifications.

Sierra Wireless will showcase solutions for the utility industry at the DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition, held at the San Diego Convention Center from February 1 to 3. Find us in booth 2615.

http://www.sierrawireless.com/en/Newsroom/newsreleases/2011/02-02-2011-Ambient_selects_Sierra_Wireless_embedded_modules_for_smart_grid_communications_platform.aspx

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Ambient Corp. Unveils New Network Management System at DistribuTECH 2011

Conference to provide the first public glimpse of the new AmbientNMS

San Diego, CA, February 1, 2011 – Ambient Corporation (OTCBB: ABTG), a leader in smart grid communications infrastructure, will hold the first public showing of its recently released smart grid network management system, the AmbientNMS®, in Booth #2319 at the DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition in San Diego, CA, February 1-3.

As the cornerstone of Ambient’s smart grid infrastructure, AmbientNMS provides a powerful, open, and intelligent IP communications platform for the deployment of smart grid applications. AmbientNMS can be scaled to accommodate a larger number of Ambient nodes and related endpoints.

The upgraded capabilities in AmbientNMS include customized lists and maps, data traffic prediction, control modules, and new aggregation tools. These upgrades are part of Ambient’s continual process to enhance their smart grid communications platform.

“With deployments of our Ambient X-3100 continuing to increase, the new network management system enhances scalability and also provides more of a platform-type framework for network operations,” said John J. Joyce, President and CEO of Ambient Corporation.

Ambient’s smart grid architecture and solution is designed to promote more reliable, affordable and environmentally friendly energy delivery operations.  Its flexibility and functionality allows for efficient two-way communication, collection, analysis and management of energy data from multiple sources and systems not available today from other vendors.

For more on AmbientNMS and other parts of the Ambient Smart Grid solution, please visit company representatives at the Verizon Wireless booth #2319 during DistribuTECH or go to http://www.ambientcorp.com/products_nms.hmtl.

http://opennetwork.verizonwireless.com/pdfs/VWR60521_Ambient_V3c_chi.pdf

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