Smart Spending on a Smart Grid
Nov 1, 2010 12:00 PM

By Cathy Swirbul, Contributing Writer

Transmission & Distribution World profiles the utilities receiving the top smart grid investment grants. Their smart grid projects are the foundation on which other projects nationwide will be built.

In October 2009, the U.S. federal government awarded $3.4 billion in investment grants for 100 smart grid projects through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Approximately 30 investor-owned utilities and an equal number of municipals were selected as recipients of the grants, along with a few cooperative utility projects involving dozens of individual co-ops in different states. Industry will match the federal grants for a total investment of more than $8 billion, according to the Department of Energy (DOE).

Specifically, the grant program provides $1 billion for the installation of smart meters and related customer programs that will enable communication between utilities and customers. Approximately $2 billion is allotted for the infrastructure required to support networks of smart grids. Another $400 million will be used to modernize transmission lines, both to limit the losses during transmission and to allow greater long-distance transportation of power. An additional $25 million is earmarked for the development of smart device manufacturing capabilities.

All of the projects receiving the investment grants must be executed by April 19, 2013. The DOE will distribute the grant funds as project work progresses over that time period. As a stipulation of the funding, the companies submit detailed monthly progress reports that include schedule and cost updates to ensure that the work is being completed on schedule and within budget. On a quarterly basis, the companies must report on the number of jobs created. Semi-annually, they must identify the benefits realized from the projects. After April 2013, the companies must report on the project benefits up to two years after completion.

All of the states, with the exception of Alaska, have smart grid projects that received investment grants. The majority of the awardees were utility companies, though hundreds of technology solutions companies will benefit from increased business with utility clients because of the grant funds.

Smart Grid Benefits

In announcing the smart grid investment grants, Energy Secretary Steven Chu explained in a press release how the United States will benefit from smart grid.

“These investments will be used to develop a smart, strong and secure electrical grid that will help integrate renewable resources onto the grid, deliver power more reliably and effectively with less environmental impact, and create new jobs across the country,” said Chu. “By investing in updating the grid now, we will lower utility bills for American families and businesses, lessen our dependence on oil and help advance a clean energy future for the nation.”

more: http://tdworld.com/iep/smart-grid-spending-20101101/

Smart grid efficiency could make 2010's energy usage 'disappear'

Smart grid efficiency could make 2010's energy usage 'disappear'

Whenever smart grid experts talk about transforming the nation’s aging power grid, the focus is usually on the efficiency that will result. And for good reason — the potential gains are so huge, they might just exceed our current electrical usage.

At this week’s Advanced Energy 2010 Conference in New York City, GE’s Bob Gilligan laid out a scenario in which the total U.S. energy consumption and emissions saved between 2010 and 2030 could exceed the entire electrical consumption and electrical CO2 output for all of 2010. “The net result would be like 2010 never happened,” he explained.

Gilligan, vice president of digital energy for GE Energy Services, said that in addition to the energy and pollution savings, that scenario would create 140,000 sustainable new jobs and an electrical landscape that includes 3.3 billion fewer customer outage minutes. These improvements could result in savings of $65.7 billion from reduced power interruptions by 2030.

Granted, all this good news comes with an ever-growing backdrop of bad news. Gilligan noted that as cities continue to grow around the world, they will house more than 60 percent of the world’s population and consume a vast majority of its power by 2030 — something that an electricity infrastructure designed a century ago can’t supply. For example, approximately half of the transformer equipment powering the U.S. grid is currently at or approaching the end of its design life, he said.

This is happening as global electricity demand is forecasted to increase 75 percent by 2030 — with more than 40 percent of our emissions already coming from electricity generation. At the same time, costs are also rising — in the U.S., rates increased an average of 42 percent between 2000 and 2007.

“The good news is that we are not talking gloom and doom,” he said, underscoring that the technology is ready now and deployable. The key to an energy revolution, he says is to take “measured, affordable evolutionary steps.”

If that evolution begins now, Gilligan estimates that the power saved will be equal to the output of 64 average coal plants (500 megawatts each) while the CO2 impact will be the equivalent of taking over 25 million cars off the road. Another upside: “These are conservative adoption estimates,” he said, “so imagine the benefits if we move more quickly.”

Why the Smart Grid Will Fuel the Next Big Business Boom

Why the Smart Grid Will Fuel the Next Big Business Boom
http://us.mobile.reuters.com/article/idU...

Tue Oct 12, 2010 1:00am EDT

There's no question that in order to meet our clean energy goals across the globe, we need a smarter grid. Integrating high percentages of renewable power will require a smarter grid to help manage the challenges presented by the inherent intermittency of wind and solar. 

To greatly reduce our oil imports and carbon emissions, we need greener transportation and electric vehicles, which require grid intelligence to ensure increased demand from vehicle re-charging does not cripple our electric infrastructure.

China's investment in smart grid to reach RMB 2 Trillion in 2011-2015

Saturday, October 09, 2010 5:10 AM

BEIJING, Oct. 9, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- China is expected to invest 300 billion yuan in smart grid each year in the following 10 years. On the entering of the overall construction phase in 2011-2015, total investment in smart grid will approximate to 2 trillion yuan, said insider with the State Grid Corp.
At present, China's smart grid industry exists only on paper. While government authorities are mulling over development plan for smart grid, some local governments have taken the lead in publishing plans for smart grid development.
According to preliminary plan of Chinese government, the development of smart grid will drive the development of a wide range of industry, including new material, electronic and electric device and cell manufacture, new energy power generation, steel manufacture, telecom equipment, smart household appliances, electricvehicle and so on.
Among those, new energy power generation will benefit most from the promotion of smart grid, noted Wang Yeping, deputy chairman of the China Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The Strategic Plan for New Energy Industry to be issued soon will enormously raise the targeted installed capacity of wind power and solar power to 100 million kilowatts and 20 million kilowatts by 2020, respectively.
Another big beneficiary will be electric vehicle. Boosted by smart grid, registered electric vehicle will reach 30 million units in China by 2020, said Zhu Changlin, general manager with Beijing Electric Power Corp.
Xiao Liye, official with China Electric Power Research Institute, believes that the development and construction of smart grid in China will generate 40 trillion yuan of output value in 30 years, and will be a strategic opportunity for China to complete economic restructuring. (Edited by Li Xiaohui, lixh@xinhua.org)

View: Benefits of US-China Private Sector Cooperation in the Power Sector

View Smart Grid pp 26-31
Duke Energy and China !!!

China's investment in smart grid to reach RMB 2 Trillion in 2011-2015

Forbes: Cisco Could Cruise To $27 On Smart Grid Growth !!!

Oct. 7 2010 - 11:00 am

Click here: The modernization of Duke Energy’s power grid is under way in Ohio

Ambient X-3100 Smart Grid Communication Nodes used by Duke Energy- "the “brains” of the smart grid system."!!!
http://www.ambientcorp.com/press_releases/pr_2010_0929_nodes_ohio.html

SMART Grid Communications Nodes- are the “brains” of the smart grid system

How does it(smart grid) work?

It starts by installing communication nodes alongside our transformers. These
devices may not look high-tech, but they are the “brains” of the smart grid system.
They create a virtual energy network – collecting data from the smart meters and
other digital equipment on the power lines, and sending it over a wireless network
back to Duke Energy and then back to the customer. We will install about 10,000
communication nodes in Ohio in 2010.

Gridweek Oct. 18-21, 2010

Gridweek Oct. 18-21, 2010