Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has selected Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), Hitachi, Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) as contractors for the Smart Community System Demonstration Project in Spain, as the result of a feasibility study which was conducted from March through October 2011 by the three companies. The project, which Continue reading →
infrastructure
Toyota and Yamaha have created a couple of commuter concepts that integrate e-bikes and battery-powered scooters to Toyota’s electric vehicle communications network. Now, e-bikes and e-scooters can share the road and the charging infrastructure, too. via Toyota, Yamaha Bring E-Bikes to Smart Grid | Autopia | Wired.com.
The City of Greenville, Miss., has selected Mueller Systems, a leading provider of innovative water infrastructure products and services and technologically advanced metering systems for water, electric and gas systems, to upgrade its water system with a state-of-the-art advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) network and new water smart meters. Mueller Systems is a subsidiary of Mueller Continue reading →
It has taken a while, but more and more observers are calling the Texas “experiment” with retail competition a success… and even suggesting it may be a model for the rest of the country. In Texas, “wires” companies such as Oncor and Centerpoint are responsible for maintaining the infrastructure and for creating a platform on Continue reading →
Efforts are underway to create a smarter grid by adding intelligence to the electrical infrastructure. According to calculations by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the electrical grid consists of 10,000 generating units with a generation capacity in excess of 1 million MW and more than 300,000 miles of transmission lines. With a growing environmentally Continue reading →
A $2.1-billion program to improve electricity service in rural parts of the US includes only around $40 million in investment in smart-grid technologies. Rather than smart technologies, new transmission and distribution lines dominate the improvements being funded. It’s a noticeable shift in priorities from previous infrastructure investments supported by the 2009 economic stimulus bill, which put Continue reading →
Those three hurdles are on the agenda of just about every utility, vendor and consultant vying to enable the Smart Grid’s potential in the U.S. and to capitalize on its ability to help consumers save energy and understand how much they waste it. But regulators are the gatekeepers and will have the final say. Therein Continue reading →
Manufacturers are being promised improved efficiencies on their critical network infrastructures, following the acquisition of Telvent by Schneider Electric. Michel Crochon, executive vice president of Schneider’s energy business, says that Telvent’s world class infrastructure technology and Schneider’s energy and process management expertise make a powerful combination. via Telvent and Schneider promise more efficient infrastructures.
Right around the time when President Obama started talking about ways to revive the economy, nearly five million televisions across Southern California and Arizona went black. It was ironic that while the president lamented the state of American infrastructure, including roads, bridges, and schools, that the U.S. electric grid gave out, an equally aging piece Continue reading →
For anybody who follows the push to find more efficient ways to power the United States’ infrastructure, one of the many political buzzwords is “smart grid.” Silver Spring Networks is one of those businesses working on smart grid technology and like many, this business started as a small startup with an idea and an uncertain Continue reading →
The risks of brownouts next summer are growing, because of delays in building a high-voltage power line in northern New Jersey. Still, they remain a “very low probability,” executives of the regional power grid told state officials last week. “As we go into 2012, the risks are increasing,” Michael Kormos, senior vice president of operations Continue reading →
As Governments and utilities around the world continue to work on the deployment of the Smart Grid initiative, cyber security issues around such an infrastructure are now top priority in relation to national security and investment. Smart Grid operators must guard against international security threats from hackers, cyber terrorists, and rogue states, etc. SCADA systems Continue reading →
Most critical infrastructure companies in India are government-run organisations with few private enterprises owning this space. A quick look at security attacks reveals that critical infrastructure across the globe has been under attack the last one year. Is India geared to tackle a security attack? via Business Line : Features / eWorld : Infrastructure under Continue reading →
In February, the nation’s top intelligence officials from the Homeland Security Department, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, CIA, FBI and other agencies expressed their concerns about the threat of cyberattacks on our nation. One official said it would be hard to overstate the implications of such an event. At the same time, cybersecurity Continue reading →
The world invested a record-high $243 billion in clean energy last year, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. This amounts to an annual increase of nearly one-third over the total amount invested in clean energy in 2009 ($186.5 billion) – and nearly five times the total amount invested in 2004 ($51.7 billion). via Clean Energy Continue reading →
IT services provider Logica has partnered with Cisco to resell smart grid IP network design and infrastructure services to Australia’s energy and utilities companies. As a Cisco authorised technology provider for Connected Grid, Logica planned to target energy and utilities that were planning network upgrades. via Logica and Cisco partner for smart grids – Networking Continue reading →
The United States could be creating a smart grid power distribution system with a false sense of the threats it will face and of its ability to secure it, a panel of security professionals said Tuesday. The nation’s critical infrastructure has been identified as a high-value target, and the Homeland Security Department has been given the responsibility for Continue reading →
Participants at an IET communications policy panel at the House of Lords stressed the importance of network resilience as more utilities introduce smart meters. Dr. Martyn Thomas, IET’s IT policy panel chairperson, reported that as much as 47 million UK gas and electricity meters will be replaced with smart meters by 2020 at the latest. Continue reading →
Integrating 265GW of wind into Europe’s grids by 2020 would slash €41.7 billion off the cost of electricity each year, according to a report published by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA). “The EU pays the price for its outdated and poorly interconnected energy infrastructure,” the European Commission said last week. via Powering Europe, the Continue reading →
The EISA states that it is “the policy of the United States to support the modernization of the nation’s electricity transmission and distribution system to maintain a reliable and secure electricity infrastructure.” This effectively means that the federal government will take a number of actions to encourage and regulate development of a smart grid. via Continue reading →
