The ins and outs of tomorrow’s energy grid will be tested on an unprecedented scale in Chicago. Local utility ComEd, a subsidiary of Exelon Corporation, will use $5 million in Recovery Act funding to institute the program, which will initially outfit 8,000 homes with advanced smart meters in order to test how well consumers manage their energy consumption when monitoring and programming are available. The project will also include outfitting 100 homes with distributed solar power systems, creating “mini-utilities” through which ComEd can glimpse the smart home of the future.
arra
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has placed an unprecedented focus on state and local energy issues. With half of the approximately $580 billion in ARRA funding having been pegged for states and localities, those efforts that, over time, best pool and manage regional resources will charge ahead of the pack to fruition. That all-important word — collaboration — sets the stage for successful working relationships.
Prof. Obama’s lecture on business to the Business Roundtable | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times
A competitive America is also America that finally has a smart energy policy. We know there’s no silver bullet here. We understand that to reduce our dependence on oil and the damage caused by climate change, we're going to need more production in the short term, we're going to need more efficiency, and we need more incentives for clean energy.
And already, the Recovery Act has allowed us to jump-start the clean energy industry in America -– an investment that will lead to 720,000 clean energy jobs by the year 2012. To take just one example, the United States used to make less than 2 percent of the world’s advanced batteries for hybrid cars. By 2015, we’ll have enough capacity to make up to 40 percent of these batteries.
via Prof. Obama’s lecture on business to the Business Roundtable | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times.
You may already know this, but our power grid system has been largely left alone for half a century. We’re using inefficient grid technology to try to thread power across our country and in the process are losing precious energy and a lot of cash. As part of the infamous American Reinvestment and Recovery Act–or Stimulus–Obama smartly set aside 3.4 billion dollars to invest in smart grid technology in 2010 and beyond. That block of funding was matched by industry money and private investment to total over $8 billion in funding for everything from installation of smart meters to funding for manufacturing processes.
via 8 Billion Dollars in Stimulus Funds to Jump Start “Power Grid 2.0″ in US | Inhabitat.
Bids are out for construction of the second phase of St. George’s SunSmart solar facility, which could more than double the output of the 100-kilowatt facility.
Using $190,000 allocated to the city as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the plan is to build up to another 150 kilowatts of capacity at SunSmart, which has been recognized as a unique attempt to help the public get involved with renewable energy. The solar farm, developed as a way to take advantage of the area’s average of more than 310 days of sunlight per year, produces only a fraction of the power used in the city, but received much acclaim over the past year from groups pursuing more renewable energy options.
via Solar farm to double in size | thespectrum.com | The Spectrum.
The United States is in the midst of the largest energy grid modernization in its history. Last June, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, President Obama announced the availability of $3.4 billion in grants to invest in smart grid technologies and the nation’s electric transmission infrastructure. Since then, 100 grant awards have been announced, ranging from $400,000 to $200 million. When combined with matching private investments, more than $8 billion will be spent in the next several years to start modernizing the U.S. energy grid.
The Smart Grid Investment Grant (SGIG) program funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has raised the bar for smart meter projects.
Grant or no grant, UtiliPoint International feels that utilities looking for investment approval must now meet the raised expectations of customer and regulatory organizations for Smart Grid projects.
After years of talking about a needed overhaul of the United States’ electrical infrastructure, the federal government decided to do something about it by awarding US$3.4 billion in smart-grid project grants on Oct. 27.
Billed as “the largest single energy-grid modernization investment in U.S. history,” the funding under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act is designed to expedite the country’s transition to a smarter, more robust, more efficient and more reliable electrical system.
Instrumental in helping secure the funding, U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen had a first-hand look Friday at how the N.H. Electric Cooperative will integrate “smart grid” technology to improve the way it does business, giving its members a better understanding of, and control over, the energy they use.
via Sen. Shaheen visits N.H. Electric Cooperative’s ’smart grid’ – Fosters.
The US Department of Energy (DoE) has released a list of smart grid stimulus grant awardees covering all major technology sectors related to the smart grid. On October 27, the Obama administration announced a grant of $3.4 billion for the single largest energy grid modernization program in the United States in recent history. This grant, a part of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), will be matched by industry funding of $4.7 billion to create a private –public investment of more than $8 m.
Itron (NASDAQ:ITRI) smart grid solutions have been recognized for their contribution to a robust clean energy economy by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The acknowledgement came as part of President Obama’s announcement to award $2.3 billion in Recovery Act Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credits for clean energy manufacturing projects across the United States.
PennWell Corp. Finalizes Utility Executive Conference Program — TULSA, Okla., Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ –
PennWell Corp., a diversified global media and information company, has finalized the content for its new executive conference that will focus on equipping executives with knowledge about creating a sustainable energy future. The new administration’s energy priorities, the 2009 Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and advancing technologies have catapulted the smart grid and a sustainable energy future into the public arena in recent months. This new event, the Electric Light & Power Executive Conference, will be the only executive-level conference to address the questions surrounding these topics.
via PennWell Corp. Finalizes Utility Executive Conference Program — TULSA, Okla., Jan. 13 /PRNewswire/ –.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Dec. 18 announced award selections for $60 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support transmission planning for the country’s three interconnection transmission networks.
via DOE Spends $60 M of ARRA Funds on Grid Connections — Environmental Protection.
New legislation in the United States will create 253,000 jobs in power generation from renewable energy systems, and could add 469,000 more jobs, according to a report.
The US government “is laying the foundation for a clean energy economy that will create a new generation of jobs, reduce dependence on oil and enhance national security,” Vice President Joe Biden says in a progress report of the Recovery Act.
via Renewable Energy Focus – US Recovery Act will create 900,000 new jobs in renewable energies.
The Obama administration begins dispensing $7.2 billion in grants and loans, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, to expand broadband access and adoption across the country.
Vice President Joe Biden announced Dec. 17 an initial $183 million investment in 18 broadband projects benefiting 17 states to lay a new foundation for high-speed Internet economic growth. Over the next 75 days, another $2 billion will be made available on a rolling basis to communities that currently have little or no access to the technology.
via Feds Open Broadband Cash Pipeline – Government IT from eWeek.
