Smart Grid Blog

I’m beginning to think that even Sarah Palin’s “real Americans” are starting to get it. Granted, it is taking manmade ecological disasters like the BP oil spill to nudge the masses along, but even from my perch on the outskirts of traditionally enviro-resistant Motor City, it is apparent to me that the American masses have begun to embrace and understand the desire and need for wide-scale adoption of clean energy and clean technology.

via Jeff Bocan: Saving the Planet With the Flick of a Switch.

U.S. utilities must correct, update, and integrate customer and infrastructure data before a smart grid can be effectively implemented, according to a benchmark study conducted by Esri. The smart grid, a popular plan to add communication and computer technology to electric networks, promises to make energy cleaner and more reliable.

via Smart Grid Study Identifies Utility Hurdles | Geospatial Industry News – GIS Lounge.

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu hosted a two-day international confab this week in Washington, D.C. that drew representatives from 24 countries to put their heads together on how to speed up a transition to cleaner energy. Representing some 80 percent of the world’s energy consumption and about the same portion of the global greentech market, according to the DOE, as well as about 70 percent of the world’s emissions, the group has also been taking advantage of the event as a soap box for highlighting new energy initiatives.

via 8 Promises from the Capitol’s Cleantech Confab.

Helping Texans better understand and manage their energy use is the drive behind energywisesm, a new section on Reliant Energy’s website. The site features information for all consumers on energy efficiency, smart energy products, smart grid technology and the company’s efforts to support a clean energy future.

“Whether they are a Reliant customer or not, our energywisesm site provides the tools and information to help Texans manage their energy use,” said Bill Clayton, Reliant’s vice president of customer care. “We offer a range of plans and services as well as innovative energy solutions. It’s just one more reason why you can rely on Reliant.”

via Reliant Energy Launches energywisesm Website – Yahoo! Finance.

A new report out by the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA), analyzing the economic and job creation impact of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), finds that the ARRA saved or created millions of jobs. Additionally, one of the areas where Recovery Act funds are stimulating the most private investment is the clean energy sector.

via 2.5 to 3.6 Million Jobs Created or Saved by Recovery Act, Many in Clean Energy : CleanTechnica.

Investors chasing high returns like to get in early on the next big thing. For some pioneering firms in New Jersey, that means multimillion dollar bets on clean energy.

From Short Hills to Princeton, public and private companies are committing their own capital, or that of large investors, to building wind and solar farms and developing other types of renewable power, as well as smart-grid and energy-storage technologies.

via N.J. firms pouring billions into wind, solar ventures | NJ.com.

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts thinks it’s found a way to drive home its argument that clean-energy initiatives are costing Bay State ratepayers billions of dollars: a simple calculator.

The business group, which has been at odds with the Patrick administration over a number of recent environmental issues, plans to unveil later this week an online calculator it says can compute how much new clean-energy programs cost individual companies.

via Business group to unveil Green-O-Meter – BostonHerald.com.

Utilities and solar energy companies have been working together in many parts of the country to put unused roof space and abandoned industrial lots to better use by installing photovoltaic panels to generate clean energy.

However, telephone poles may be playing a greater role in the coming years when it comes to distributed solar plans that generate large amounts of energy with help from existing structures. This allows companies to avoid the costs and regulatory burdens that come with having to acquire new parcels of land for such projects.

via Tampa utility testing pole-mounted solar panels | Cooler Planet News.

Outgoing Colorado governor Bill Ritter has spent his last four years in office promoting renewable energy as both a philosophy and as an economic strategy. Ritter, who had decided not to run for re-election, has signed nearly 60 pieces of clean-energy legislation since taking office in 2007. Some of the laws include offering incentives and loans to homeowners to adopt solar, increasing the percentage of power utilities must from renewables by 2020 from 20 percent to 30 percent and facilitating renewable energy financing by folding it into a home mortgage.

via Colorado Leans Heavily on Smart Energy.

President Barack Obama was on the Gulf Coast again Friday vowing to limit the damage from the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The sad truth is it could take decades for Florida and other gulf states to recover from the 47 million gallons of oil released so far. Yet that is still less oil than America consumes every 90 minutes. The federal and state governments need to focus on shifting to cleaner energy if America ever hopes to lessen its dependence on oil and the possibility of another catastrophe.

via Oil spill must push U.S. toward a clean energy future – St. Petersburg Times.

Arima Photovoltaic and Optical will focus on clean energy, smart grid devices and LED products in the next stage of the company’s development, according to chairman Stephen Lee.

For clean energy, Arima Photovoltaic is betting on CPV (concentration PV) solar cells for power plant use, not for the consumer segment, Lee said, adding that the company will also offer services from plant planning and design to construction.

via Arima Photovoltaic to focus on clean energy, smart grid and LED, says chairman.

Communities across Norfolk could be given the chance to own a share in local wind farm schemes as part of a Conservative plan to win support for cleaner energy.

Conservative shadow energy and climate change secretary Greg Clark joined Norwich North candidate Chloe Smith for a campaign stop at City College Norwich to look at how the college was trying to cut its carbon footprint by using renewable energy sources such as solar power.

via Tories want people to have a share in wind farms – General Election News – Norfolk Election 2010 – General Election 2010 – EveningNews24.

The X PRIZE Foundation, which seeks to encourage innovation through multi-million dollar prize awards, has said it is looking to launch new prizes to encourage clean energy development.

The California-based non-profit that has previously rewarded private missions into space said on Friday it will hand out $100 million in prizes over the next 10 years, for projects in four categories, one of which is Energy and the Environment.

via XPRIZE to offer millions for era-changing clean energy | BrighterEnergy.org.

The X PRIZE Foundation (XPF) is expanding its vision to address worldwide challenges in the areas of Energy & Environment; Exploration of the Oceans and Space; Life Sciences; and Education & Global Development with $100 million in prizes over the next 10 years.

X PRIZE is an educational nonprofit organization whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs, inspiring the formation of new industries, jobs and the revitalization of markets that are currently stalled. Through strategic design of ground-breaking competitions with significant, multi-million-dollar prize purses, X PRIZE intends to spur collaboration to address the issues.

via X PRIZE Foundation Aims to Launch $100M in Prizes Over Next 10 Years, Targeting 4 Key Areas | FavStocks.

Working with the University of Washington (UW) and Northwest power industry organizations, a group of Washington State University (WSU) researchers has received $2.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a program to train engineers in clean energy and smart grid technology.

via North American Windpower: Content / FYI / University Researchers To Receive Clean Energy Grant To Train Engineers.

The job of developing really big clean-energy initiatives is perhaps beyond the capacity of the private sector. Lacking any assurance that radically different new products will be accepted by consumers, the market provides few incentives for companies making money from their current products to take the risk to research radical new energy concepts.

And needless to say, companies that don’t have successful products on the market are not likely to have the money to invest in big ideas. Plus, government priorities don’t include developing saleable products for market.

via ARPA-E Gets Serious About Clean Energy | Smart Journalism. Real Solutions. | Miller-McCune Online Magazine.

Creating a revolution in the way energy is produced and shared, distributed solar energy is one of the top clean energy topics of the day.

Chicago utility company ComEd (an arm of the energy giant Exelon Corporation) has a new pilot project in this field that will outfit 100 Chicago-area homes with solar photovoltaic panels and “at least 50 of those with ’smart’ meters, net metering, battery backup and a grid-tied status that enables them to send unused electricity from their solar energy systems back to the grid.”

via Chicago’s New Distributed Solar Energy Pilot Project : CleanTechnica.

China, one of the most polluted countries on Earth, “is already beating the U.S. to clean energy jobs,” gushes Tony Kreindler of the Environmental Defense Fund, and “is quickly becoming the global powerhouse in clean energy manufacturing and innovation, dwarfing the efforts of America.”

Guess whose fault that is?

via China: Bigger, badder and greener than the U.S.? | Washington Examiner.

A few years from now and the world might experience a change in the ways energy is being used and controlled. Thanks to the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s (SIG) latest initiatives wireless technology is all set to expand its reach into the arena of smart electric grids to pave the way for clean energy.

via SIG’s Clean Energy Initiatives through Application of Bluetooth Technology to Smart Grid.

Referencing a draft technical report submitted as part of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) implementation of the Global Warming Solutions Act, Secretary Ian Bowles says the commonwealth is on its way to achieving a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The act calls for a reduction of GHG emissions of 10% to 25% below 1990 levels by 2020.

via North American Windpower: Content / New & Noteworthy / Report: Massachusetts’ Clean Energy Policies Will Produce Dramatic Reduction GHG Emissions.