Vancouverites are the first in line for Nissan’s new LEAF electric car in 2011 — a year before global distribution. BC Hydro is gearing up for their arrival, blanketing the city with smart meters and upgrading its electricity grid to support the charging needs of the LEAF. Whether this car is a success, however, depends in part on the ability of owners to charge these cars effectively and take advantage of time-ofuse rates.
infrastructure
This year has marked the first year in several that wind installation in the U.S. is on the decline. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reported in July in that only 700 megawatts (MW) of wind energy were added in the second quarter of this year. This is down 57 percent from 2008 and 71 percent from 2009 levels. One of the reasons cited for the decline is a lack of investor confidence in the long-term viability of the industry. This could be overcome, in part, by the passage of a federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES).
via Midwest Wind Summit Focuses on Policy, Infrastructure & Smart Grid – Domestic Fuel.
U.S. utilities must correct, update, and integrate customer and infrastructure data before a smart grid can be effectively implemented, according to a benchmark study conducted by Esri. The smart grid, a popular plan to add communication and computer technology to electric networks, promises to make energy cleaner and more reliable.
via AmeriSurv.com – Smart Grid Study Identifies Utility Hurdles.
This week, research company Berg Insight predicted that installed smart meters will shoot past the 300-million mark worldwide by 2015. That’s a lot of meters. A whole lot. But, are we circling, here? Smart meters may be the heart of the smart grid, but where is the rest of the infrastructure we were promised? How is it developing? Are we going to get that intelligent overlay all the way up the path to the power plant, or is the concept of smart meters the only bit of fruition in our smart grid dreams?
Cumulative global capital expenditure by utilities on intelligent smart grid infrastructure will reach US$376 billion by the end of 2025, according to a new report by Innovation Observatory. This spend is in addition to basic upgrading of transmission and distribution infrastructure – it is for the intelligent smart grid alone.
Light control manufacturer Lutron Electronics Co., Inc., is pleased to announce its association with The Demand Response and Smart Grid Coalition (DRSG) to develop compatible products and help raise awareness of how lighting demand response activities can easily stabilize the grid. The DRSG communicates the opportunities in building the Smart Grid infrastructure and practices that will update the national electricity system and change the way customers best use electricity.
via Lutron Press Releases – Up-to-Date Light Control News and Information.
Trilliant Incorporated, a leader in delivering Smart Grid solutions that enhance energy efficiency, utility operations and renewable resource integration, today announced that it has completed agreements with Central Maine Power (CMP) to provide a complete Smart Grid communications network and advanced meter infrastructure solution. The company will install smart meters for all of its 620,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customer accounts beginning later this summer.
via Central Maine Power Proceeds with Trilliant for Smart Grid Communications Network | Trilliant.
Most of the electric utility infrastructure deployed in the industrialized world was built between 60 to 80 years ago, and was designed to provide customers with as much energy as they could consume, generated from a centralized fossil fuel plant. However, much of the infrastructure is antiquated, and with the continuing increase in demand for power, the grid cannot safely and reliably manage the loads of today and tomorrow without significant upgrades. Furthermore, climate change standards and renewable energy mandates are among the key drivers that are forcing utilities to upgrades their infrastructure to incorporate new generation sources that do not negatively impact the environment. In order to accommodate these renewable sources of energy, which usually produce power on an intermittent basis, utilities are needing to install more accurate measurement, monitoring, control and analysis equipment to ensure these energy sources can be properly and reliably integrated into the grid. These intelligent technological and communication enhancements are usually described as the smart grid.
The brutal heat wave punishing the American northeast has underscored the need for smart grid technologies. Bob Gilligan, vice president of General Electric’s Digital Energy business says it is imperative to invest overhauling the power infrastructure. “As record-breaking temperatures in the northeastern United States have consumers turning up their air conditioners, our overburdened electric grid is taking center stage,” he says. “The heat wave is causing spikes in power demand, increasing the probability of service disruptions. This provides an example of the demand levels the grid can expect to see in the future as penetration of electric heating and cooling continue to expand, and as new demands like plug-in electric vehicles enter the market.”
The development of offshore wind and linked infrastructure is vital to the UK meeting its EU 2020 renewable energy targets, the country’s Department of Energy and Climate Change said in a 2009 Renewable Energy Strategy report handed to the European Commission late Monday.
Up to 33 GW of offshore renewable generation may be developed and most of this would be connected to the onshore electricity grid through offshore transmission cables costing around GBP15 billion ($22.8 billion), DECC said.
No one can say we weren’t warned about energy insecurities. In 1998, President Clinton signed a Presidential Directive that established a national program for critical infrastructure protection. This directive stated that the energy sector of the United States was potentially vulnerable to cyber attack and that the United States would take all necessary measures to swiftly eliminate any significant cybervulnerabilities within this sector.
via Getting Ahead of Ourselves with Smart Energy | Security Management.
IEEE has ratified its IEEE 1815 Distributed Network Protocol (DNP3) standard for electric power systems communications. The new standard is aimed at improving device interoperability and bolstering security protocols.
IEEE 1815 is a multi-layered protocol that enables the optimized and secure gathering, exchange and use of information, particularly in supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. The standard also “preserves previous significant infrastructure investments by remaining backward-compatible with existing object models, while incorporating emerging smart grid and other new technologies,” the IEEE says.
via Renew Grid: Content / New & Noteworthy / IEEE Ratifies 1815 DNP3 Smart Grid Standard.
Concern over potential attacks on the nation’s electrical grid has prompted Unites States legislators to approve The Grid Reliability and Infrastructure Defense Act, better known as The GRID Act. If signed into law, the legislation would give the President sweeping new emergency powers over the U.S electrical grid. In addition, the bill would mandate widespread improvements in the electrical distribution system nationwide.
Rebuild the U.S. electricity grid to support reliance on clean, domestic, renewable energy as an alternative to oil in motor vehicles and as a replacement for unsustainable fossil fuels across the economy. This involves increasing federal backstop authority for planning, siting, and cost allocation in the construction of new transmission infrastructure built to accommodate new renewable energy resources, as well as improved federal standards and cost sharing for implementation of digital smart grid technology within regional electricity distribution networks
via Fix the Real Problem: End America’s Energy Vulnerability.
The gleaming, squeaky-clean future promised by electric cars comes with a burden: The region’s electricity infrastructure will have to be ready to charge all those big, thirsty batteries.
The first thousand-vehicle fleet of Nissan Leafs is scheduled to flutter into San Diego County beginning in December, followed in short order by plug-in hybrids like the Chevy Volt. Though the number of plug-in cars will be small to start, each all-electric car such as the Leaf is equivalent to adding a new house to the grid, said Joel Pointon, electric transportation manager at San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
Over the past few years, the electricity supply industry has become used to gritting its teeth about the schism between infrastructure life-cycles and the short-term interests of politicians. The ongoing ruckus over smart meters is just one more example of the problem.
Part of the difficulty is that the benefits of new developments often take a fair while to be realised whereas the pain of change may be more immediate and strike politicians in their sensitive parts.
via Just how smart are smart meters? | Keith Orchison | Commentary | Business Spectator.
PowerSecure International, Inc. announced its Utility Services unit has been selected by a U.S. utility to provide a total of approximately $30 million of infrastructure services over the next three years.
PowerSecure said its Utility Services team will assist the utility with its plan to upgrade its distribution infrastructure to improve its efficiency and durability. This new award expands and extends the services the Company’s Utility Services unit has been providing the utility over the last twelve months.
via PowerSecure Gets Award to Provide a U.S. Utility with Infrastructure Upgrades | TradingMarkets.com.
National Grid today launched a surprise £3.2 billion rights issue to help fund the building of a high-tech smart grid and replace ageing infrastructure in its electricity network, as it works to meet Britain’s environmental targets.
Chief executive Steve Holliday said the cash call would help fund a steep increase in investment, totting up to £22 billion over the next five years.
via Green energy drive sparks National Grid rights issue | Business.
Energy efficiency obtained through the implementation of active energy monitoring and the pervasive use of a Smart Grid will save on costs and help the environment.
The retail sector, as well as other business enterprises and entities, are implementing smart grid projects in an effort to save on energy costs, move towards energy independence and become a positive influence on the environment by reducing harmful greenhouse gases that lead to global warming.
Grid stress is a real problem. In addition to the economic threat there is a potentially greater national security risk.
As the U.S. Senate prepares to take up the climate bill, power companies anticipate a provision that would limit power plant emissions and impose a federal standard requiring a significant use of renewable energy resources. However, many experts agree that bringing our aging power transmission and distribution infrastructure into the 21st century, a task that could take decades and cost in excess of $100 billion will present a stumbling block to delivering a significant amount of renewable energy.
via Microgrids are key to future energy strategy – TheHill.com.
