The DistribuTECH Conference and Exhibition is host not only to receptions, conference sessions, live demonstrations of smart grid technology and some of the utility industry’s sharpest minds. The conference, held in San Antonio Texas from January 24-26, 2012, is also where leading companies choose to make announcements that change the industry. Here are a few Continue reading →
News
Global smart grid firms S&C Electric Co. and Alstom Grid announced an integrated solution combining S&C’s IntelliTeam SG Automatic Restoration System and Alstom Grid’s e-terradistribution Integrated Distribution Management System. This new solution, announced at DistribuTECH 2012 in San Antonio, is the outcome of joint research and development to support smart distribution through layered intelligence. The Continue reading →
Maxim Integrated Products (NASDAQ: MXIM) announces that its G3-PLC™ protocol has been approved by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a new low-frequency, OFDM-based narrowband powerline communications (NB-PLC) standard. In partnership with Electricite Reseau Distribution France (ERDF) and Sagemcom, Maxim developed the G3-PLC specification to promote open-endedness and interoperability among smart grid implementations. Currently, the Continue reading →
On Thursday, General Motors announced an alert system under development that would instruct the Chevy Volt to charge only when a relatively high percentage of renewable energy was available. Being plugged in at those times would further minimize the carbon footprint of the plug-in hybrid. Google plans to test the technology, facilitated by the subscription-based Continue reading →
Have you heard the term smart grid? If you answered yes, you are among the 49 percent of American consumers who are at least a little bit familiar with the term. Now comes a bit harder question: Can you explain what the term means? If you said no, you are hardly alone. According to findings Continue reading →
Korean and US researchers are collaborating on smart grid solutions that use wireless sensing and control systems. The engineering department of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) has entered into a 10-year partnership with the government-supported Korea Institute of Energy Research (KIER) in South Korea to develop new technologies with the aim of creating Continue reading →
The Z-Wave Alliance and the OpenADR Alliance are collaborating on compliance and interoperability programs to support the successful market deployment of the OpenADR 2.0 standard. OpenADR Alliance executive director Barry Haaser says the successful adoption of the OpenADR standard in the consumer market “requires a pervasive adoption of high speed Internet and residential energy management. Continue reading →
Many people working in smart grid argue that the smart meter, which got so much attention (and stimulus funds) in recent years, is just an endpoint. Real smart grid is on the grid itself, providing two-way communication and more efficient power flow across the distribution system. But what if the meter can help with some Continue reading →
Ambient has announced that its Smart Grid communications nodes now include Qualcomm’s MDM6600 chipset. This mobile broadband solution adds communications flexibility to the platform and is certified by Verizon Wireless for use in its wireless network. Ambient currently connects over 500,000 smart grid application end points to utility network operation centers. via Ambient Integrates Qualcomm Continue reading →
Global water utilities can now leverage the latest in intelligent water system management with the introduction of the Sensus iPERL™ smart metering endpoint for markets outside of North America. This version of the iPERL sets a new standard in efficient water measurement and low flow accuracy and unlocks the full potential of smart water networks Continue reading →
Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) and Green Mountain Power (GMP) has selected CamAmp to supply its Fusion-LTE router for their mid-tier networks to enable broadband communication for Smart Grid advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and Distribution Automation applications. Fusion-LTE was chosen as the communications link between the electric utilities’ AMI concentrators and their core communications infrastructures Continue reading →
Cisco Systems is shipping its first routers geared for networks of smart meters. The Series 1000 routers are part of a second wave of smart grid systems from a business unit the company set up two years ago to address the emerging market for digital networked utilities. The new routers can aggregate traffic from more Continue reading →
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), coordinator of the U.S. standards and conformity assessment system, is playing a key role in the national push for a robust, reliable, and interoperable smart grid for the United States. Ranking among the administration’s top priorities for the nation, the smart grid is a planned nationwide network that integrates Continue reading →
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) accelerated approach for approving funding of smart grid projects led to inadequate review of cybersecurity plans, warned the DOE’s Inspector General (IG). In the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, DOE received $3.5 billion to fund smart grid projects, which the department awarded to 99 recipients. via Infosecurity – Continue reading →
EnerNOC Inc. and the OpenADR Alliance plan to host a two-day interoperability test event for the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) 2.0 Profile Specification at EnerNOC’s Boston headquarters. During the event, which runs from Jan. 31 through Feb. 1, members of the OpenADR Alliance will conduct connectivity tests between servers and clients and perform dispatch Continue reading →
Home energy management systems and smart thermostats feature a lot of programmable settings that allow users and their utilities to maximize energy savings. Usually these are based on a consumer’s schedule or times of peak energy demand for the utility; but what if a thermostat could pre-program itself based on weather forecasts to optimize both Continue reading →
The energy revolution might not necessarily be televised, but it will increasingly be monitored, measured and automated to push “intelligent efficiency” up to once-unimaginable levels. For an idea of what that revolution could look like, consider a cluster of around 30 commercial and industrial buildings in an area west of London. Part of a £30-million Continue reading →
I am not a fan of the power grid as it currently exists. I’m looking forward to a day when it has been phased out, and replaced with decentralized free energy devices that power every home and business as well as powering transportation, appliances and wireless devices at the point of use, drawing energy from Continue reading →
BMW and Boulder, CO-based energy management company Tendril will build a demonstration home designed to power BMW’s ActiveE electric vehicle while minimizing the home and the car’s carbon footprint, the New York Times reported. The home, which will be built at BMW’s San Francisco Bay Area technology office by this March, will have “smart” thermostats, Continue reading →
Duke Energy Renewables, Integrys Energy Services and Smart Energy Capital have completed two ground-mounted photovoltaic (PV) systems for the Central Regional School District in New Jersey, US. The PV solar arrays at Central Regional Middle School and Central Regional High School can collectively produce about 1.5MW (DC) of zero-emission electricity. via Duke, Integrys, Smart Energy Continue reading →
