The electric car is the car of the future, and developments we see happening all around us are making this assertion increasingly more likely. For most people, of course, the fuel of choice is petroleum. It has been this way for more than 100 years. But because of advances in battery technology there are now Continue reading →
Low-cost, durable and fast with a long life-cycle – and it ‘smooths’ intermittent electricity from renewable sources. The CSIRO-developed UltraBattery could be the key component of an Australian smart grid of the future. via How UltraBattery could help our grid — EcoGeneration — The magazine for Australia’s clean energy industry.
If engineers at Clemson University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have their way, the power grid of tomorrow will be governed by a network of living neurons, grown in a Petri dish, and attached to a computer. For now, the researchers have successfully used a simulation of the power grid to “teach” the living Continue reading →
At Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where the nation’s top battery scientists are working to achieve revolutionary advances in battery performance, electric vehicles (EVs) are not just a technology of the future. Growing numbers of employees are already using them to commute to work. To encourage even more to do so, Berkeley Lab has announced that Continue reading →
Consumers are attracted to the ‘smart home’ applications that smart meters open up, according to a report by O2. A YouGov poll commissioned by O2, revealed 60 per cent of consumers felt the idea of a ‘home of the future’ with a range of controllable accessories made smart meters a more appealing concept. via Customers Continue reading →
General Motors started production this week of what it says is the first electric-vehicle drive motor to be designed and manufactured in the United States by a domestic automaker. The electric motor sits under the hood of the battery-powered 2014 Chevrolet Spark EV. Company executives on hand here at this Baltimore-area transmission plant that also Continue reading →
The Advent of Deregulation was supposed to transform Utility Industry from a traditional industry to a competitive entity. We have come long way down in deregulation and still undergoing a transformation, with the focus largely on smart grid initiatives as a larger umbrella to meet the existing and future consumer needs (Basic & Value Added Continue reading →
The growth of solar energy has had a much greater impact on the Dutch energy infrastructure than previously expected and taken into account, SolarPlaza (Rotterdam, The Netherlands), reports in a press release. As solar photovoltaic (PV) panels look set to cover a much greater share of domestic electricity needs in the future, gas and coal plants Continue reading →
Advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) technologies are a cornerstone and one of the most visible elements of the smart grid, writes Frost & Sullivan’s Neha Vikash. Overall, the AMI market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 26.9% and revenues are forecast to reach $3.7 billion in 2016. Despite this, Vikash argues that the transition Continue reading →
A couple of realities have hit the electrical industry hard. First, the megastorm Hurricane Sandy hammered coastal towns and cities, such as New York and Boston, exposing the vulnerabilities of their aging infrastructure, from passive, dumb grid and fragile power lines, to transformers and power stations. Couple the degradation of power distribution with a nor’easter Continue reading →
With nearly two-thirds of DOE AMI grant projects complete as of Dec 31, 2012, utilities who adopted a wait-and-see attitude are anxiously awaiting the business cases that will get them off the dime one way or another. While most are looking for the bottom-line ROI associated with smart grid investment (and rightly so, as any Continue reading →
The first is the growing strength of the microgrid trend. Oh sure, mainstreaming is still two or three years away, but many people now believe microgrids will be a large part of our energy future. More importantly, many people are now underway on pilots and small deployments. The second is the idea of microgrid-as-a-service. Think Continue reading →
The first is the growing strength of the microgrid trend. Oh sure, mainstreaming is still two or three years away, but many people now believe microgrids will be a large part of our energy future. More importantly, many people are now underway on pilots and small deployments. via Smart Grid: How about microgrids as a Continue reading →
The UK’s smart meter rollout is highly unusual. (Please use the Talk Back comment form below if you know of any other spot in the world using a similar approach.) It is a deregulated jurisdiction — a single distribution entity provides the wires but customers can buy power from a long list of different retailers. Continue reading →
Until just recently, electric vehicles were widely regarded as creatures of the future. Like flying cars, rocket-propelled shoes, and robots that do housework—we regularly thought of EVs as things more suited to George Jetson than Fred Flinstone. What we didn’t know—at least what I didn’t know—was that Henry Ford’s wife was driving around in an Continue reading →
With nearly two-thirds of DOE AMI grant projects complete as of Dec 31, 2012, utilities who adopted a wait-and-see attitude are anxiously awaiting the business cases that will get them off the dime one way or another. While most are looking for the bottom-line ROI associated with smart grid investment (and rightly so, as any Continue reading →
The off switch is a fast-growing source of power in some parts of the electricity grid. Grid operator PJM last week released a report, spotted by Greentech Media, detailing the results of its demand-response programs after a new pricing rule was put in place last spring. Since last April, $8.7 million of revenue was generated Continue reading →
The Korea Smart Grid Association is launching a national program to encourage and support the creation of smart grid patents that meet international standards. Energy Korea reported that the organization is supporting companies, universities and research institutions that want international patents. The association is taking the lead in developing technologies and standards that can be Continue reading →
Swapping out old home appliances and replacing them with new “smart” technologies and systems can be a good move by opening up the door to saving a substantial amount of money on utilities. Each household will be different and will require a unique look into the needs and uses of these potential technologies. Not every solution listed here Continue reading →
EnerNOC, Inc. (Nasdaq:ENOC), a leading provider of demand response and energy management applications for the utility enterprise and agricultural sector, today announced a new 10-year contract with PacifiCorp to deliver approximately 185 megawatts of electric reduction capability in Idaho and Utah, with the potential to expand into additional states in the future. PacifiCorp is a Continue reading →
