Cleco Corp. says its 277,000 customers will have a better idea of where they’re spending their energy budget once “smart” meters are installed.
President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Madison tells The Town Talk that the Pineville-based utility wants to put $52.9 million of its own money and a $20 million federal grant into the meters.
FirstEnergy Corp. said Thursday that it has won $57.4 million in grants from the Energy Department to improve “smart grid” technologies in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
The money will go toward programs intended to improve the performance of energy distribution systems and provide incentives to customers to reduce energy use.
via FirstEnergy wins $57.4 million in federal grants – BusinessWeek.
Thanks to a $30 million matching grant from the Department of Energy, South Mississippi Electric Power Association and two local distribution cooperatives will make upgrades to their systems.
The Smart Grid grant was awarded last October to SMEPA and five of its members, including Pearl River Valley and Southern Pine electric power associations.
The $61 million project application was submitted in August 2009.
via Grant helps power plants | hattiesburgamerican.com | Hattiesburg American.
Matt Rogers was plucked from a prosperous life as a McKinsey & Co. consultant to head the Obama administration’s $36.7 billion plan to jump-start renewable-energy programs. Yesterday he told a Yale conference that the Department of Energy is well along with that task, having awarded $26 billion in grants, loan guarantees and other support to a plethora of projects, from geothermal projects to home weatherstripping.
via DOE’s $30 Billion Man Speaks « Forbes.com’s The Energy Source.
American Transmission Co. has entered into two agreements with the United States Department of Energy, accepting investment grants totaling $12.7 million to invest in smart grid technologies to be incorporated into ATC’s transmission system.
“We are pleased to enter into these agreements and take part in the effort to more fully deploy smart grid technologies to enhance the operation of our transmission system”
The DOE in October notified ATC that two of its applications for smart grid investment grants were selected for smart grid grant awards. The grants to ATC are among 100 made nationwide – totaling $3.4 billion – by the DOE to advance smart grid technologies.
The state of Kentucky has awarded more than $2 million in smart-grid grants to seven Kentucky electric power generators.
The companies will use the funding to install electric meters that will allow customers to see and control their real-time energy usage from an in-home display. They also will install distribution automation equipment that will reduce system energy losses and improve system reliability, according to a news release from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s office.
via Kentucky awards smart-grid grants: bizjournals.com Business News – MSN Money.
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.
Liberty Lake, Washington-based Itron, a maker of smart utility meters, appears to be a major beneficiary of the first, smart grid grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. According to the City of Glendale, California’s utility, Glendale Water & Power, it was granted a $20M Smart Grid Investment Grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act–a large part which will go towards installing Itron’s OpenWay electric and Itron’s Water SaveSource smart meters.
via Itron Benefits From First Smart Grid Grant | nwinnovation.com.
There have been so many questions around the recent smart grid and broadband stimulus programs that only recently did interested parties stop to ponder whether these monies will be taxable. However, this question recently came to the fore related to smart grid grant money. And now some folks understandably wanted to get a clarification on taxes as they relate to the broadband stimulus program.
via Questions Arise About Tax Status of Broadband Stimulus, Smart Grid Awards.
What will be the “killer app” of Smart Grid?
Recently, President Obama announced grants of $3.4 billion for Smart Grid development. However, studies make it clear that given the mammoth size of the existing transmission and distribution (T&D) system, the new system will be built on the shoulders of the old. The existing T&D infrastructure will dictate the winners and losers in the Smart Grid space. The past is prologue.
Amid historic volatility in energy prices and heightened concern about energy security and climate change, energy management and energy efficiency are hot topics. Tens of millions of smart electric meters are slated for deployment in the next few years. And billions of dollars of funds from the U.S. government are flowing to support smart grid investments and energy efficiency initiatives.
This country is on the cusp of a revolutionary change in how electricity is generated, used and monitored, a seismic shift that will be made possible by the widespread use of smart meters.
In October, President Obama announced $3.4 billion in smart grid grants, with Colorado getting $24.2 million to enable smart meter installation in nearly 120,000 homes.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the winners in the $620 million Smart Grid technologies demonstration project grant sweepstakes. The good news is that unlike the $3.4 billion in Smart Grid investment grants awarded in late October, this round of funding is largely dedicated to projects that push the frontiers.
via Smart Grid: The Three Best Things About Today’s Smart Grid Demonstration Grants.
Secretary of Energy Steven Chu has just announced another $620 million in stimulus funds for 32 smart grid demonstration projects. As we explained this morning, this latest funding combined with the $3.4 billion in smart grid stimulus grants allocated last month, is delivering $4 billion to utilities for smart grid technology. Chu said the $620 million will also be matched by $1 billion from the private sector and the investment will “create thousands of new job opportunities.”
Local utility companies are moving forward with plans to create smart metering systems that officials say could change the way customers use electricity.
Both Lafayette Utilities System and Cleco recently received federal grants to install the meters at homes and businesses. Although certain regulations must be met and processes completed, the plan is for Cleco to receive $20 million in federal money to install the meters for all of its 275,000 customers, while LUS will receive about $11.6 million to install about 57,000 similar devices.
On October 27th, President Obama announced that over $3.4 billion would be allocated through the Smart Grid Investment Grant to 100 projects that will help build a ‘smarter’ electric grid. This stimulus money from the Recovery Act will be matched by industry contributions for a total investment of more than $8 billion – seed money for the colossal project of modernizing our nation’s entire electric grid while it is still running.
Pittsburgh’s BPL Global is emerging as a leader in the bid to help America modernize its aging electricity infrastructure.
With $3.4 billion available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, BPLG is positioned to help utilities and other companies get to work. Last month the first funds were awarded, targeting private companies, utilities and other partners. The grants range from $400,000 to $200 million.
via As billions roll in, BPL Global ready for big “smart grid” energy business.
Members of the Maryland congressional delegation and the U.S. secretary of housing and urban development joined Friday to congratulate Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. for receiving $200 million in federal stimulus grants to support efforts to modernize the electricity grid in Maryland.
The U.S. Department of Energy announced this week that BGE received among the largest subsidies to help provide about 2 million “smart meters” and other technology to display real-time data about consumers’ energy usage in homes and businesses. The data could help consumers make choices to reduce energy use.
President Obama announced Tuesday $3.4 billion in grants for “smart meters,” updated transformers, and other devices that he called the largest energy grid modernization investment in the nation’s history.
The federal money, which was part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package, will pay for a broad range of technologies aimed at making the nation’s power transmission system more efficient, reliable and adaptable to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.
Speaking in front of some of the solar cells that make up nation’s largest solar to electricity plant here, Obama said the investment is long overdue and he called it essential to ushering in a future of clean, renewable energy.
via Obama touts smart grid grants | 44 | washingtonpost.com.
By the time the late August application deadline had expired, a Department of Energy program to distribute $615 million to fund projects demonstrating smart-grid technology had attracted 140 proposals requesting a total of $2.3 billion.
“The response is very encouraging,” said Jen Stutsman, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department. “We expect some very competitive projects.”
With companies required to chip in 50 percent of the cost, the $615 million in grants will support at least $1.2 billion in smart-grid projects.
The term “smart grid” covers a number of approaches to modernizing the nation’s aging electrical infrastructure (see video above). Innovations run the gamut, from home thermostats that automatically adjust in response to overall demands on the grid, to advances in power transmission and energy storage, which will help integrate resources like wind and solar into the nation’s electrical mix.
via A Mad Dash for Smart-Grid Cash – Green Inc. Blog – NYTimes.com.
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