This week, General Electric announced the winners of the first round of their Ecomagination Challenge. They announced this initiative back in July, with the intent to drive smart grid innovation via a $200 million pool of seed capital. Most of this money comes from GE, but is topped up with funds from tech VCs like Continue reading →
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced that five smart grid projects would receive more than $19 million in funding. The projects selected for these awards will help prepare the nation’s grid infrastructure to better handle clean energy technology. via DOE: $19 million for smart grid projects | MNN – Mother Nature Network.
Several San Diego companies working on smart-grid projects are benefiting from federal grants announced this week. San Diego-based On-Ramp Wireless is getting $2.1 million for a $2.8 million project to build and test a wireless sensor that can monitor underground circuits. It will test the sensors on distribution grids operated by San Diego Gas & Continue reading →
As part of the $200 million “GE ecomagination Challenge,” GE and its venture capital partners has awarded $55 million to several leading power grid technology companies. This is the first of several rounds of innovation funding planned by GE and its venture capital partners to drive the development and deployment of power grid technology through Continue reading →
The TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford awarded four grants totalling $1.2 million to fund the creation of a more efficient “smart power grid” energy system for using electricity. via $1.2 Million Grant Funds ‘Smart Power Grids’ – Palo Alto, CA Patch.
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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. via North American Windpower: Content / FYI / University Researchers To Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →
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 Continue reading →



