As a green consumer you’ve probably heard the term “Smart Grid” more than once, But you may not have had the time to learn much about it. “Smart Grid 101” is a 5 part series where you can learn what the smart grid is and why we need it, discover the technology that will drive it, learn how the smart grid will impact electric vehicles, get a global progress update, and even find out what you can do to support the transition to smart grid.
via Smart Grid 101.
RechargeIT is an effort within Google.org that aims to reduce CO2 emissions, cut oil use, and stabilize the electrical grid by accelerating the adoption of plug-in electric vehicles. We have a demonstration fleet of plug-ins at our headquarters in Mountain View and make publicly available the statistics on the performance of those cars. Our vision is that one day millions of cars will be plugging into a greener grid.
Since the inception of RechargeIT in 2007, we’ve been pleased to see great progress in this field:
via RechargeIT.org.
Intel researchers are exploring nanoscale materials as an alternative to create ultracapacitors with a greater energy density than today’s Li-ion batteries. If successful, the new materials could be mass produced in volumes to power systems ranging from mobile devices to electric vehicles—even smart grid storage units.
Researchers in California are developing a new scheme which would enable electric car owners to sell electricity back to power companies.
They say that the scheme would greatly reduce the running costs of electric cars.
Pallab Ghosh reports from California.
A SECRET EnergyAustralia plan, backed by the NSW government, would transform large sections of the state’s power grid so electric cars could plug into home power points and households could monitor the greenhouse gas output of individual appliances.
The proposal is part of a bid lodged with the federal government’s $100 million “smart grid, smart city” fund, and would start rolling out this year if successful. It would provide a glimpse of a future energy system in the trial areas of central Sydney, the upper north shore, Newington, Newcastle and Scone in the Hunter Valley.
Contests like the X Prize use the power of prize to throw the doors open on a problem to get all of us, or some among all of us, to go to work on a solution. (The secrets of crafting a prize are revealed by X Prize Founder Peter Diamandis here). The Automotive X Prize will award $10 million this year to the team that best addresses the challenge of developing a production scale vehicle that gets a least 100 miles per gallon.
So, what might an Automotive X Prize 2015 winner look like? Poking around on the internet, here’s some promising stuff that might fructify in that car five years hence…
The report Smart Grid Cyber Security analyses smart grid cyber security market trends in terms of business drivers, technologies, standards, objectives, and business requirements. The report segments the cyber security market by five major smart grid application areas: transmission upgrades, substation automation, distribution automation, electric vehicle management systems, and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).
via Security News – Smart Grid Cyber Security Market to Reach $3.7 billion by 2015 Says New Report.
Honda today began operation of a next generation solar hydrogen station prototype at the Los Angeles Center of Honda R&D Americas, Inc., intended for ultimate use as a home refueling appliance capable of an overnight refill of fuel cell electric vehicles.
via Dream-car.tv » Blog Archive » Honda Begins Operation of New Solar Hydrogen Station.
Plugging in an all-electric car today may blow the fuse box in your home or even black out the neighborhood — and your utility has no way to anticipate or prevent it.
Utilities, car companies, “smart meter” startups and others are struggling to make sure that tomorrow is different.
via Electric cars crash into grid – San Francisco Business Times:.
Consert, Inc., based in Raleigh, N.C., provides a market-driven, incentive-based solution to utilities, residences and small businesses by which they can conserve energy, save money, eliminate the need for new construction of peak-consumption generator facilities and begin the transition to alternative, renewable energy sources. In addition to a patent-pending method to locate, measure, aggregate and verify carbon savings, a Consert smart grid can report and manage alternative energy sources which facilitates the installation of solar and wind generators as well as the adoption of plug-in hybrid vehicles.
EnerDel just announced that it will be collaborating with ITOCHU Corporation on another smart grid battery storage project, this time for a major Tokyo apartment building. The system will link renewable, high speed charging outlets for electric cars with the power grid, and is the second such project the two companies have undertaken together.
Raising new and growth capital may remain a challenge for some industries in 2010, but for “clean and green” investors, the stockpiles of cash are mounting.
Last summer, Vinod Khosla announced the final closing of Khosla Venture’s latest “cleantech” fund with $1 billion. A few months later, Westly Group closed on a $120 million fund that will emphasize, among other green plays, electric cars. We like the strategy behind these funds – they understand the multiplier effect of the emerging smart and green ecosystem connecting smart cars to the smart grid via battery and wireless technologies, making driving less costly – more environmentally friendly – and much, much safer.
via Smart Grid, Electric Autos and Batteries – Ecosystem Investment Strategies.
Just before Christmas I had a chat with Ford’s head of battery electric vehicle applications, Greg Frenette. We discussed how Ford has been working with utilities and industry organisations to ready its electric vehicles for deep integration into smart grids.
It was fascinating for me to see just how far Ford have proceeded with their thinking on this.
via Ford discusses their Electric Vehicle and smart grid integration plans.
“Fiscal 2009 marked a turning point for Electrovaya,” said chief executive Sankar Das Gupta in a statement. “Over the course of the past year we have increased our presence in the global market for lithium ion batteries used for electrification of vehicles and for smart grid applications.” He emphasized that Electrovaya, for the first time, showed a profit in its most recent quarter 0f $549,000, what Das Gupta hailed as a “significant achievement.”
via The Energy Collective | Electrovaya could be poised for breakout year.
Auto makers hope to ratify in January the first draft of a standard that will link electric vehicles to the smart grid. Over the next year, the group aims to define a suite of five standards including ones describing ways to link electric cars to home networks.
“All the car makers are in our group and similar efforts at the ISO and IEC,” said Rich Scholer, chairman of the J2293 task force at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) that is developing the standards.
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