Smart Grid Blog

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.

via Utilities call for wireless spectrum for the Smart Grid | VentureBeat.

On Tuesday, the Federal Communications Commission joined the alphabet soup of federal agencies that’s contemplating what its role might be in bringing our electric grid a bit of intelligence. It’s not unreasonable—smart grid devices are all about starting a two-way conversation between utilities and their distribution equipment and end-user devices. But the FCC held the hearing as part of its broadband initiative, and the hearings allowed those in the industry to press the Commission to allocate the smart grid a chunk of spectrum in order to provide its components guaranteed wireless broadband.

Not everyone at the hearing felt it was necessary; at least one person providing testimony suggested that existing cellular networks could easily absorb the added bandwidth. But many of those providing testimony pointed out that deadzones and strangled bandwidth might be acceptable to cellular providers, but wouldn’t be tolerated by utilities.

The most forceful argument against giving the utilities some of their own spectrum came from Henry Jones of SmartSynch, who said that cellular providers are already giving wireless access to millions of diverse devices around the country. Most of the current smart grid applications require very little bandwidth, and Jones said his calculations indicated that plugging all the potential meters in would only add 0.0002 percent to AT&T’s bandwidth requirements. “Allocating scarce resources just for utility purposes is not necessary,” he argued, “We already have multiple smart grid broadband networks available.”

via Utilities may get dedicated chunk of spectrum for smart grid – Ars Technica.

With the hustle and bustle of everyday activities, people often to forget to adjust home appliances when leaving for work in the morning. Not only does this cause unnecessary expense for the homeowner, but creates an inefficient energy management system that falls short environmentally.

Henning Schulzrinne (News – Alert), a professor at Columbia University, told TMC in an interview that home energy management systems brought on by the smart grid are beneficial both financially and environmentally.

“With proper energy management, homes can be more energy-efficient, comfortable and secure,” Schulzrinne said. “For example, occupancy sensors, combined with schedule predictors, can turn down heating or air conditioning when people are at work, reducing energy expenses.”

With a system like this, there will be no more worrying about whether you remembered to turn the heat off before you ran out of your house in the morning.

via Green Technology -Smart Grid Session Topic: Energy Management in the Home.

A ’smart grid’ electricity network and the use of ’smart meters’ should save consumers money on their energy bills, according to a government minister.

The grid can “intelligently integrate the actions of all users connected to it in order to maximise efficiency in delivery of sustainable, economic and secure electricity supplies,” Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, Minister of State at Department of Energy and Climate Change, said in a written parliamentary answer.

Parliament is on recess until October 12th, but the text of all House of Lords written answers and statements are being posted on Parliament’s website.

“The use of smart meters gives consumers better information and control on energy usage, helping people to manage their energy demand and bills,” Lord Hunt said in answer to Lord Hylton’s question.

“The rollout of smart meters will be an important step towards development of a smart grid.

via ‘Smart meters’ could save on energy bills by 2020 « i spy strangers.

Progress Energy announced that it applied for $200 million in U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) federal infrastructure funds for the development of an electric Smart Grid in the Carolinas and Florida. The DOE grant would be shared equally between the two states.

A “Smart Grid” is a modernized digital electric transmission and distribution system that delivers detailed, real-time energy use information to customers.

Progress Energy is investing in Smart Grid because the electric grid of the future must engage with customers, and allow them to make better educated energy consumption decisions.

The state-of-the-art grid allows utility companies and consumers to monitor and adjust their electricity use, while providing increased flexibly to integrate new renewable energy resources such as solar and wind power, energy storage devices and electric vehicles. It also helps minimize interruptions in electrical service during storms and other routine power outages.

via Progress Energy seeks to add Smart Grid in Florida: Customers will see their real-time energy use | Daily Loaf.

By some accounts, the build-out of the smart grid could be the biggest driver of wealth within the decade and create an even larger market than the emergence of the Internet. And now, in the early rollout phase, thousands of startups and large tech vendors are moving aggressively to sell software, hardware, and consulting services to utilities that are trying to figure out the best way to design smart grid networks and tap into the Energy Department’s stimulus funds.

Sometimes making deals in this massive land grab can be more a matter of who a company knows than how advanced your product’s technology is. Here’s Earth2Tech’s top 15 most influential people in the smart grid space (listed alphabetically, not order of importance.) If you’ve got any of ‘em in your Rolodex, then you’re probably in pretty good shape.

via Earth2Tech’s Top 15 Smart Grid Influencers.

Microsoft puts aside past rivalry with OASIS over document formats, to joins its campaign for smart meter standard.

International standards organisation OASIS has launched a new group aimed at developing standards to promote the adoption of so-called smart energy grids – and welcomed past rival Microsoft on board.

Open standards body OASIS said this week that it has formed the Energy Interoperation Technical Committee to develop web services for dealing with the communication systems for smart grids as well as pricing, reliability and emergency signals.

The announcement comes amid controversy over smart grids, with UK utilities accused of lobbying to limit them. The UK government plans to install them across Britain, and the US is spending $2 billion on smart grids. Meanwhile, US organisations are concerned over security issues.

Microsoft’s support comes despite a past long-running rivalry between Microsoft and OASIS in an unrelated field, where Microsoft’s OOXML document format clashed with OASIS’ OpenDocument Format (ODF).

via Microsoft Joins OASIS Standard For Smart Grids – News – eWeekEurope.co.uk.

You’ve probably heard a little (or maybe more) about the “Smart Grid” — a general term for various methods of making our energy distribution systems more adaptive and flexible, thereby conserving energy through reduced waste and more efficient consumption patterns.

What you might not have heard is the critical role FM radio broadcasting may soon play in this space.

Let’s start with an overview.

Our current power distribution system is essentially a one-way environment — it is designed to deliver power from source to load, and does so in a fairly effective and reliable manner.

But this distribution could be much more efficient and even more reliable if it had an integrated, two-way “backchannel” for monitoring and controlling the distribution in a more adaptive and granular manner.

The Smart Grid adds just such a mechanism through the addition of multiple return and control paths layered atop the existing power-distribution network.

This is not an entirely new idea; electric utilities have had it in mind almost since their beginnings, but its broad application has been elusive.

Today’s technology and generally heightened awareness of the need for such energy efficiencies may finally bring the concept to fruition, however, and the Smart Grid is the culmination of that process worldwide.

via Radio’s Part in the ‘Smart Grid’, by Skip Pizzi.

Homeowners desperately need new methods to conserve energy. Utilities desperately need a system with which they can improve service and manage peak demand problems.

Enter the smart grid.

New smart grid technologies provide two-way communications between homeowners’ premises and utility companies’ back-end IT infrastructure. Smart grid initiatives are gaining traction across the country, spurred by growing energy demand, increasing costs and climate change. At the same time, utilities urgently need to manage peak vs. off-peak energy demand to reduce the need for new power plants. To this end, smart grid technologies are, for the first time, enabling homeowners and utility companies to work together to reduce household energy consumption, save money and better manage the grid.

Here’s how: Utilities are deploying advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) systems that combine home area networks (HANs) and neighborhood area networks (NANs) as part of larger smart grid initiatives. AMI extends current smart meter technology by allowing utilities to send and receive information and commands to/from the home for multiple purposes, including time-of-use pricing information, demand response actions or remote service disconnects. AMI networks for demand response include HANs that connect communicating thermostats, load switches, lighting systems and in-home displays to the meters (or separate gateway). NANs aggregate a mesh configuration of up to thousands of household meters for backhaul to the utility’s headquarters.

via ZigBee Smart Energy Technology Spurs Smart Grid Energy Conservation.

Southern California Edison wants A123 Systems to build the world’s biggest lithium-ion grid storage battery, and it’s asking the Department of Energy for $25 million to help.

That’s just one of the new technologies that the utility wants to test in two projects worth an estimated $120 million that Paul De Martini, Southern California Edison’s vice president of advanced technologies, outlined Tuesday.

The other, a roughly $70 million regional smart grid integration project, would include smart appliances, home energy management systems, distribution grid and wireless communications – including WiMax and proprietary 900-megahertz technologies – from General Electric, De Martini said.

IBM and Cisco may also play a part in the project, for which the utility is seeking about $35 million from the DOE.

Both grant requests are aimed at the $615 million smart grid demonstration grant program created in June, he said. That’s the smaller of two programs that have a combined $3.9 billion available to help build smart grid projects (see DOE Issues Rules for $3.9B in Smart Grid Stimulus Grants).

The bigger, $3.4 billion pool for commercial-scale projects has already seen the first application deadline pass (see Green Light post).

via Greentech Media: SoCal Edison Wants A123’s Biggest Grid Battery Ever.

Sensus, a provider of solutions for secure Smart Grid and Advanced Metering Infrastructure systems, and General Electric Energy, a leading supplier of power generation and energy delivery technologies, announce the integration of the Sensus FlexNet(TM) smart grid communications technology with GE smart meters.

“We are delighted to add General Electric smart meters to the list of electric revenue meters already integrated with FlexNet,” said Doug McCall, Director of Marketing at Sensus. “With today’s announcement, our electric utility customers will have another technology leader they may depend on to deliver intelligent FlexNet integrated products to the industry,” he added.

via Sensus Welcomes GE Energy Meters to the FlexNet(TM) Smart Grid Solution of Interoperable Smart Metering.

Governor David A. Paterson today announced the kick-off of the New York State Smart Grid Consortium to foster the development and deployment of new technology aimed at reducing the cost of electricity while increasing reliability. The Consortium will be comprised of leaders from government, utility companies and universities, as well as consumers, and will develop a strategic vision on how best to deploy secure, efficient and reliable smart grid technologies in New York.

New York’s energy grid is the primary delivery tool between energy suppliers and consumers. A “smart grid” uses digital technology to tell suppliers exactly when the electricity is needed. These modern control technologies can improve the efficiency of the entire system from the generators through the transmission and distribution systems down to the customer level. This will improve energy efficiency statewide, which will help control energy costs and create jobs for New Yorkers.

“The creation of the New York State Smart Grid Consortium positions New York to lead the nation in developing innovative smart grid technologies while fostering significant growth in clean energy jobs,” Governor Paterson said. “This unique collaborative brings together all facets of the electric power sector. Together, they will develop and implement a smart grid strategy that will create jobs, improve service and lower electric bills for New Yorkers.” Today’s announcement is Governor Paterson’s latest step to grow New York’s clean energy economy, a core component of his New Economy Jobs Plan, which is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs in New York. Additionally, the development of a smart grid follows a recommendation of the comprehensive draft State Energy Plan, the first step in redefining how the State approaches and satisfies its energy needs. The draft Plan identifies strategies and provides recommendations that once implemented will make energy more reliable, secure and affordable for New Yorkers, address the threat of climate change and result in a cleaner environment.

via ‘Smart Grid’ Consortium Kicks Off.

German engineering giant Siemens is buying Energy4U, a consultancy that helps utilities implement management software that is made by SAP. It’s an example of one way smaller companies and startups can fit into the emerging smart grid industry by helping two giants talk to each other.

Siemens didn’t disclose what it paid for 60 percent of the Essen, Germany-based Energy4U, which serves utilities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Croatia. The acquisition is set for October 1, pending approval by German antitrust authorities.

Siemens and SAP’s relationship in Europe could be compared to the one between transmission and distribution bigwigs like General Electric and ABB and the host of IT giants – IBM, Cisco and Oracle, to name a few – that are now collaborating on smart grid projects in the United States.

via Greentech Media.

American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest generators of electricity in the U.S., told the Federal Communications Commission today during a workshop on smart grid technology that “dedicated licensed spectrum is sorely needed by utilities.” In other words AEP supports the idea of having the government allocate wireless spectrum specifically for utilities to use for smart grid purposes. This would mean either restricting that spectrum to a few select groups, or making it completely off limits for other types of companies and organizations working on things other than smart grid technology.

The argument behind this call from AEP is that as utilities roll out more and more smart grid services, the utilities will need more and more network bandwidth. The fear for some utilities is that heavy use of unlicensed, undedicated wireless spectrum — which can be used by any company if they follow specific rules for using the spectrum — could lead to interference between their smart grid applications and other groups’ uses of the network. In AEP’s presentation for the FCC it wrote: “Dedicated spectrum is much less likely to receive interference and has a remedy procedure if interference is experienced.”

via AEP Calls for Dedicated Wireless Spectrum For Smart Grid.

Some projects are just too big to let the private sector handle them alone. Updating our aging one-way system of centralized power production to a smart grid is one of those projects. Left mostly to its own initiative, the energy industry has done very little in technology innovation during the past fifty years to make the grid more efficient and to accommodate distributed power production.

The need is so clear that even a group that supports limited government agrees that building a smart grid that conserves energy, integrates renewables, and diminishes peak power requires the guiding hand of the federal government.

The Lexington Institute has published a paper that neatly summarizes the smart grid challenges, and concludes that “Just as the grid of today required presidential initiative, the smart grid will take a high-level policy push, too.” The public policy research group, which says it “actively opposes the unnecessary intrusion of the federal government into the commerce and culture of the nation,” adds that “Smart grid will most likely require federal, state and local government incentives” and that “Policy action is worthwhile to move promising technologies closer to full adoption.”

via Smart Grid Needs High-Level Policy Push | CleanTechies Blog – CleanTechies.com.