At Greentech Media, we get a lot of questions asking us, who exactly is included in the The Networked Grid Top 150 Smart Grid Vendors, and why? Every year, GTM Research takes an in-depth look at the end-to-end smart grid vendor landscape and profiles and ranks the top 150 smart grid companies across twelve key Continue reading →
The utility industry is being disrupted on every side, prompting worries about its stability. A new policy paper from the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), an association of shareholder-owned U.S. electric companies, details the “disruptive challenges” the sector faces. These private, for-profit companies, also known as investor-owned utilities or IOUs, serve about 70 percent of the Continue reading →
You can’t throw a stone at smart grid conference these days and not hit a panel talking about microgrids. The chatter is incessant, but the actual work done to date has been far more limited. Deep-pocketed players, like the U.S. Department of Defense, universities and large corporations, are all investigating microgrids, but only a few Continue reading →
ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, today announced it has been named by Greentech Media as one of “The Networked Grid Top 10 Smart Grid Vendors for 2013.” This latest recognition is based on a new report published by GTM Research on today’s smart grid landscape involving the top 150 smart grid-related companies, Continue reading →
On-Ramp Wireless, developer of wireless solutions for energy automation and M2M communications, was recognized as one of the Top 10 Smart Grid Vendors to Watch in 2013 by Greentech Media Research, a leading green energy research and market analysis group. The On-Ramp Total Reach Network was the only communications solution to be recognized, reflecting the Continue reading →
For most smart grid technologies — from distributed intelligence on the grid to two-way digital meters — there is a clear arc of adoption by utilities. For most of these technologies, it’s still early days, said David Groarke, senior smart grid analyst at GTM Research, during the opening keynote at The Networked Grid outside of Continue reading →
Solar and wind energy require a lot of upfront capital, but provide steady, predictable returns over 25-year-plus project lifetimes. These are the kind of assets in demand by often-conservative institutional investors. Managers of pension, insurance, sovereign wealth and endowment funds control an estimated $71 trillion in potential investments in search of low-risk, modest-return opportunities. via Continue reading →
The Networked Grid 2013, Greentech Media’s annual smart grid showcase and networking event, gets underway two weeks from today. Here’s to hoping the sun is shining, the wind is blowing, and the grid is humming at optimal efficiency — or, barring that, here’s to a lively set of discussions on how to handle these grid Continue reading →
Every new year brings the promise of being one step closer to a futuristic home. Nowhere is that dream more alive than at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Like last year, the offerings at this year’s CES show the evolution of the connected home, where convenience, money savings, security and the elusive cool Continue reading →
Utility companies deploying smart-grid analytics can expect to realize a return of $121.8 billion on investments of $20.6 billion made between 2012 and 2020, according to new research from Greentech Media. According to the market-research company, with the introduction of ‘big data’ and analytics, smart-grid technology has the potential to completely re-invent the utility business Continue reading →
A few months ago, we installed a backup generator for a customer in the food distribution business. Their decision to add the generator was ultimately prompted by yet another New England storm that left them without power. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many folks are wishing they had made the same decision. The psychology involved Continue reading →
It is no secret that the crux of India’s power problems lies in supply shortages. Power plants, many of them aging and many of them fueled by coal, cannot keep up with the country’s upwardly mobile population. Even with soaring demand for air conditioning and televisions, nearly a third of the country’s 1.2-billion-strong population lives Continue reading →
There are many promises that a smarter grid could unlock. One is a more efficient, reliable electricity delivery system. Another is a connected world where our homes and offices can talk to the grid in real time, shedding load to avoid summer blackouts. Smart meters, in particular, will give us all insight into our energy Continue reading →
Question: What will it take to begin unlocking the true value of the smart grid? Answer: The meaningful analysis of big data that comes from the underlying infrastructure and ever-growing number of connected consumers. New hardware is essential for massive infrastructural shifts that underpin systems such as the smart grid, but software (in this case Continue reading →
From heat waves and thunderstorms to worker lockouts and emergency nuclear plant shutdowns, the summer of 2012 is shaping up to be a tough one for U.S. utilities. That, in turn, could give new smart grid deployments a chance to prove whether or not they’re up to the task of beating the heat. Take demand Continue reading →
If you have been following the OpenADR specification, you may have been waiting patiently for OpenADR-certified products to hit the market late last year. That didn’t happen — but the OpenADR standard is evolving and certification for products is coming within the next two months. Demand response is evolving on all fronts, including the markets Continue reading →
Maybe the cable company will run your home energy network. GreenPeak certainly thinks so. The Dutch semiconductor manufacturer makes low-power wireless ZigBee chipsets for networked building devices, including, since January, remote controls for Comcast’s Xfinity TV service. Most of GreenPeak’s business is in this super low-power communications category, and very little is focused on energy Continue reading →
Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) has been recognized by Greentech Media as having one of the Top Ten Utility Smart Grid Deployments in North America. OG&E is currently in the process of implementing a new way of controlling voltage—volt/VAR (VVO) optimization—across 400 circuits in order to achieve a 75-megawatt load reduction within the next eight Continue reading →
Earlier this month, Greentech Media released their “Top Ten Utility Smart Grid Deployments in North America.” These are utilities that deserve recognition—while most experts agree that bringing the transformative power of information technology to the grid is critical to achieving a clean, low-carbon economy, being an early adopter means carrying a certain amount of risk. Continue reading →
Move over California. Scotland has ambitious smart grid plans, to say the least. The country will need to see those plans through if it is going to reach its 2020 goal of having 100 percent of its energy capable of being provided by renewables. The recently released Scottish Smart Grid Sector Strategy includes jobs for Continue reading →
