What’s a harried grid operator to make of the smart grid as it exists today? So far, we’ve got a lot of smart meters (with or without connections to grid network operations centers), a lot of transmission and distribution grid systems built as one-off, siloed solutions, and perhaps some demand response programs to get power Continue reading →
There are many conceptions of what the smart grid is and what it should do for us, the ratepayers who will finance the necessary upgrades to California’s electrical system. I find the concept of a “smart-grid ecosystem” — with smart customers, smart utilities and smart markets — to be a helpful guidepost as we seek Continue reading →
Nest Labs, maker of the Nest learning thermostat, wants to shake up the residential demand response (DR) market. Nest is taking a three-pronged approach to drive adoption of residential DR services and, of course, sell more of its thermostats: via » Nest Aims to Shake Up Residential DR Navigant Research.
The U.S. electrical grid, the largest interconnected machine on the planet, has powered American economic growth for over a century, but it is fast running up against its limitations. Ever-increasing demand is putting new strains on a system that is struggling to keep up. Outages are still rare, but costly: the Department of Energy estimates Continue reading →
NRG Energy is now selling power services from a fleet of EVs to PJM Interconnection’s frequency regulation market, which balances supply and demand on the grid second-by-second. This is a result of its work proving that electric vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology can sell electricity from electric vehicles (EV) to the power grid. As the adoption of Continue reading →
Energate, Inc., the leading provider of consumer demand response and home energy management solutions, today announced that Newmarket-Tay Power Distribution, will deploy the Energate Foundation(TM) Smart Thermostat and Home Energy Gateway in homes operating over the Sensus open standards-based FlexNet(TM) utility communication network with ZigBee-enabled meters. Ontario has deployed over five million smart meters alongside Continue reading →
The OpenADR Alliance, a nonprofit corporation created to foster the development, adoption and compliance of the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) Smart Grid standard, today announced the addition of several new members to bring total membership to 100. New members from Japan, Europe, and North America – representing utilities, independent system operators (ISO), regulators and Continue reading →
With electricity consumption climbing steadily higher as American homes and businesses rely more and more on an array of new gadgets, utilities have been looking into ways to meet the growing demand. A lot of the attention has focused on the green energy business, or sometimes the booming natural gas industry, but GreentechMedia notes that Continue reading →
The OpenADR Alliance, a nonprofit corporation created to foster the development, adoption and compliance of the Open Automated Demand Response (OpenADR) Smart Grid standard, today announced the addition of several new members to bring total membership to 100. New members from Japan, Europe, and North America – representing utilities, independent system operators (ISO), regulators and Continue reading →
Portugal’s electricity network operator announced that renewable energy supplied 70 percent of total consumption in the first quarter of this year. This increase was largely due to favorable weather conditions resulting in increased wind and water flow, as well as lower demand. Portuguese citizens are using less energy and using sources that never run out Continue reading →
Participation in the Mesa Smart Meter Study continues to grow this week as the final April 28 deadline nears, reported officials at the Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities (DPU.) Project collaborators are recruiting the final residents of North and Barranca Mesa to join this important local demand response study which will have global implications. Continue reading →
As the saying goes, “Everything is bigger in Texas.” While it may be clichéd, I think the expression is right on the money when it comes to describing the Lone Star State’s current, rather large, energy challenges. But it also characterizes something else: the substantial role demand response can play in solving these issues. Texas Continue reading →
YourEnergyBlog, partner of demand response (DR) provider Energy Curtailment Specialists, reports the expectation of another steady summer for DR in 2013. The 2012 summer season was the third-warmest on record, according to weather experts at WeatherBug, which is owned by Earth Networks. July 2012 was officially named the hottest month ever recorded, with over 27,000 Continue reading →
Despite consumer interest in energy-saving solutions, selling products and services and engaging consumers in demand response programs continue to be challenges for service providers, utilities, and device manufacturers. Consumer energy-saving activities such as turning off unused lights and monitoring A/C usage peaked in 2010, and as the economy has slowly recovered, consumers’ energy consciousness has Continue reading →
If Texas Legislators want to make sure the lights stay on this summer, they have a great opportunity to do so tomorrow, April 9, 2013, while saving electric customers money. There are two critical bills being considered at the legislature in Texas that would expand the use of demand response, a tool that allows customers Continue reading →
In an effort to manage the increasing number of energy resources that are outside the traditional generation infrastructure, utilities are turning to the concept of a “virtual” power plant (VPP). This strategy enables the coordination and control of a group of separate, yet related, energy resources as if they were a single entity, allowing for Continue reading →
With the world’s population expected to exceed nine billion by mid-century, the issue of how to make the most of limited energy resources has risen to the top of the global agenda. There is growing recognition that the smart community is an effective way of tackling this pressing issue. Smart communities are environmentally friendly, economic, Continue reading →
It’s almost a cliché that there’s a “friendly debate” pitting utilities against renewable energy. But concerns on the utility side of the table are real: intermittency, potential destabilization at the feeder level, non-baseload, and peaks in generation that don’t necessarily match demand peaks. Today’s power infrastructure involves unpredictability in both supply and demand that is Continue reading →
Viridity Energy inked an agreement with GDF SUEZ Energy Resources, an industrial, commercial and institutional retail electricity provider. The Philadelphia-based startup will offer its load management platform to GDF’s large customers. Viridity doesn’t just offer capacity demand response, but rather turns buildings into virtual power plants that can play in various demand response and ancillary Continue reading →
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) at its March meeting on Monday approved a Weather-Sensitive Emergency Response Service pilot scheme prior to the upcoming summer that will expand its options to reduce electricity use during the peak summer season when power demand is high and supplies are tight. “During the hottest hours of summer Continue reading →
