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.
Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) recently submitted an application for federal grant money to construct a fiber optic mesh data network, or Smart Grid.
PEC said the grid could expand the co-operative’s operating systems and infrastructure to make them faster and more reliable.
In the grant petition, approved by the board, PEC requested matching funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
“This grant will position PEC and its members to take advantage of cutting-edge technology,” said PEC General Manager Juan Garza. “We can use this opportunity to modernize PEC’s communications network, which is necessary for enabling future Smart Grid technologies.”
The Smart Grid would connect electric substations and PEC’s district offices. The upgraded network would also benefit PEC’s plan to implement a new Customer Information System (CIS), a combination of software and services that is one of the key components of PEC’s LINKS project. LINKS includes implementation and integration of a CIS system as well as new enterprise resource planning (ERP) and enterprise asset management (EAM) systems.
Scan our list of the companies lining up to get a piece of the roughly $4 billion in stimulus funds for the smart grid and here’s what you’ll find: utilities far and away dominate the queue. But dig a little deeper and you’ll see that a growing number of startups are finding a stake in the smart grid stimulus funds, either by joining up with various consortia to jointly apply for the grants, or by working on projects with utilities that are contingent on the stimulus funds. For startups that played their cards right, the boost could enable young firms or companies with new technology to leapfrog the competition.
via What the Smart Grid Stimulus Funds Will Do For Startups.
Global defense contractor Lockheed Martin is teaming with Black & Veatch, a major construction and consulting company, to offer utilities a suite of products they can use to improve their smart grid implementations. The idea is that their technology will up efficiency and grid security, making utilities more attractive recipients for grants being doled out by the U.S. Department of Energy.
So far, the DOE has taken a first round of applications for the $4.5 billion it has earmarked for smart grid grants. Lockheed and Black & Veatch have already supported several of these applicants, and say they hope to do the same for utilities applying in subsequent rounds and for loans via the DOE’s renewable energy and advanced energy transmission programs.
The partners, which have not disclosed any financial terms of the deal, say they will focus on improving infrastructure for smart meters, substations and data distribution between energy consumers and utilities. Demand response also factors highly, with the companies providing tools for utilities to balance their grids’ loads during peak energy hours.
Lockheed is no stranger to the utility business, having already worked with several to integrate its information management and cyber security systems. The company says it also offers software for utilities to simulate various scenarios and achieve greater interoperability (a major priority for any smart grid deployment). Black & Veatch also seems like a natural partner, having worked on major telecommunications and transmission construction projects in the past.
via Lockheed to bolster utilities looking for DOE smart-grid funds | VentureBeat.
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