Smart Grid Blog

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.

Last week, the Obama administration introduced a proposal that every college student in the country should know about. It represents the nation’s first comprehensive federal program for clean energy education, and it is a critical step toward regaining American leadership in one of the most important industries of our time.

via Innovate America: Educating the Energy Generation | Stanford Daily.

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.

via U.S. Department of Energy Recognizes Itron Smart Grid Solutions for Their Contribution to a Clean Energy Economy | Business Wire.

A sun that shines more than 300 days a year and breezes humming from the peaks to the plains hallmark Colorado’s seasons — and thanks to new technologies they now signal job growth in our state. But Colorado’s leaders, at the state and federal level, must push for smart energy policies if we’re to maintain our edge.

via Producing clean energy and providing good jobs – The Denver Post.

2009 will be remembered for many things. Perhaps among them, the year clean technology, climate change and various shades of “green” captured the world’s attention in a more meaningful way. Global environmental issues shifted from the fringe into the political mainstream.

via San Diego Business Journal Online – business news for San Diego, California.

Running across the terms smart grid or super grid has become common enough by 2010. What can smart grids do for civil society and our future? In the context of global scale clean energy systems it means everything. In fact in the face of global population growth, without the development of smart grids we might be hooped.

via The Energy Collective | Adaptation | Smart Grids and Solar Power.

In a generally bleak employment picture, the green jobs sector is growing faster than any other. By 2007, a Pew Charitable Trusts report on the Clean Energy Economy counted 770,000 jobs in all 50 states that met the “double bottom line” of economic growth and environmental sustainability. Clean energy economy jobs grew by 9.1% between 1998 and 2007, compared to just 3.7% in overall job growth in those years (before the markets crashed). Venture capital investment — thin on the ground throughout the economy now — totaled $12.6 billion in the clean tech sector between 2006 and 2009.

via The five best cities to land a green job – 7009th Edition | My Low Carbon Home.

An unlikely source of energy has emerged to meet international demands that the United States do more to fight global warming: It’s cleaner than coal, cheaper than oil and a 90-year supply is under our feet.

It’s natural gas, the same fossil fuel that was in such short supply a decade ago that it was deemed unreliable. It’s now being uncovered at such a rapid pace that its price is near a seven-year low. Long used to heat half the nation’s homes, it’s becoming the fuel of choice when building new power plants. Someday, it may win wider acceptance as a replacement for gasoline in our cars and trucks.

via The Associated Press: Gas could be the answer in global warming fight.

Gary Nystedt was brainstorming with a group of colleagues at a solar energy conference a few years ago when the idea hit him.

What if Ellensburg put up solar panels in a park and invited residents to invest in the system? As a return on their investment in clean energy, residents would get a credit on their electric bill.

via Ellensburg residents invest in solar power park.

Daimler AG plans to start a pilot program for an electric version of its Smart minicar in China next year, joining a growing list of firms evaluating the potential for next-generation clean-energy vehicles in the world’s biggest automobile market.

via Daimler Plans Electric Smart Car for China – WSJ.com.

We’ve mentioned before that climate change and our dependence on foreign oil represent a couple of the gravest fundamental threats to our national security. So—in honor of Veterans Day—here’s a video of some of our men and women in uniform touring the country in support of clean energy:

These vets of Operation Free took to two buses (yes, they were biodiesel), and rolled across the country talking to the public, political leaders, and fellow veterans about the national security implications of climate change and the need for Congress to take action. By all accounts, their message—that climate change is a threat multiplier and that transitioning to clean energy is our best defense—rang loud and clear.

via Veterans Stump for Clean Energy | GOOD.

The Obama White House rolled out a $3.4bn in smart grid funding today, impacting every state except Alaska.

There has been talk of a smart grid announcement by the White House for a few days now. The well-connected Washington journo Mike Allen at the Politico led yesterday, in his daily Playbook column, with news that President Obama would overnight in Miami to make a smart grid announcement the next day “that will be the largest stimulus investment so far in clean energy.”

via Green Energy Reporter » White House Announces Largest Single Smart Grid Investment.