As energy demand grows, the electrical supply industry is seeing rapid development as it evolves to meet new grid requirements. Significant overhaul of grids in both the U.S. and Canada have been reported, with more than 100,000 km of new line expected to be deployed to either replace aging infrastructure or provide added capacity. Total Continue reading →
Solar energy will not become an integral part of the energy supply system in Europe until suppliers, including private residences, have unlimited access to the energy grid. In practice, this would mean that they could supply their self-produced solar energy to the grid at a profitable rate 24/7. This is not yet the case today, Continue reading →
Computer-operated energy networks or “smart grids” are meant to cleverly coordinate energy generation and consumption and reduce fluctuations in supply. But can they really do that? And how feasible is the technology? Jhoy Lavenga can hardly imagine a life without power outages. She sells sardines at the Coron market on the Philippine’s Visayan Islands, and Continue reading →
The Energy Department has recognized the nation’s first commercial enhanced geothermal system (EGS) project to supply electricity to the grid. Based in Churchill County, Nevada, Ormat Technologies’ Desert Peak 2 EGS project has increased power output of its nearby operating geothermal field by nearly 38 percent – providing an additional 1.7 megawatts of power to Continue reading →
New Zealand faces unique energy challenges due to its two-island geographic structure and reliance on renewables to supply electricity. The electricity system in Zealand is based on run-of-the-river hydro plants in the North and South Islands, which complement geothermal and wind generation. via Why Demand Response is Right for New Zealand.
In related news, what was long thought of as “futuristic” is becoming a reality — Amory Lovins’ concept of electric vehicles as an independent energy source for buildings. Energy stored in EVs is used to power homes and buildings. In 2008, Lovins said, “We’re developing the ‘Smart Garage’ — an intelligent interface between electric traction vehicles, Continue reading →
A couple of big players got tapped to supply the full-meal deal after running successful utility pilots. A company in India landed a $60 million contract to build substations in Iraq. Scroll down and over to page 2 for details on those deals and the rest of this week’s roster of smart grid wins. via Continue reading →
If Texas Legislators want to make sure the lights stay on this summer, they have a great opportunity to do so tomorrow, April 9, 2013, while saving electric customers money. There are two critical bills being considered at the legislature in Texas that would expand the use of demand response, a tool that allows customers Continue reading →
ABB says its Emax 2 low-voltage circuit breaker is the world’s first to include integrated energy management capabilities, and that it has the potential for providing real energy savings. Low-voltage breakers are used in environments like commercial and industrial buildings, data centers and ships where protection and control of large quantities of electricity is needed. Continue reading →
With the world’s population expected to exceed nine billion by mid-century, the issue of how to make the most of limited energy resources has risen to the top of the global agenda. There is growing recognition that the smart community is an effective way of tackling this pressing issue. Smart communities are environmentally friendly, economic, Continue reading →
It’s almost a cliché that there’s a “friendly debate” pitting utilities against renewable energy. But concerns on the utility side of the table are real: intermittency, potential destabilization at the feeder level, non-baseload, and peaks in generation that don’t necessarily match demand peaks. Today’s power infrastructure involves unpredictability in both supply and demand that is Continue reading →
Energate announced a strategic partnership with General Electric (NYSE: GE) on Tuesday to supply its residential demand response platform with GE’s PowerOn platform. The agreement will use GE’s demand response management software to control Energate’s platform and accompanying hardware options. via Energate Partners with GE in Residential Demand Response.
Consumer demand response and home energy management provider Energate Inc. is working with GE to supply its demand response platform for residential demand response solutions in conjunction with GE’s Grid IQ Respond Solutions as a Service (SaaS) offering for GE’s PowerOn Precision software platform. The collaboration will use Energate’s CCDR platform, with its range of Continue reading →
What happens when demand outpaces supply? The smart grid industry is facing this exact challenge. The added conundrum is that suppliers need to build on existing systems to accommodate creative forms of energy, such as variable renewable energy (VRE), and also stay within environmental emissions standards. How much VRE can be accommodated through the smart Continue reading →
What happens when demand outpaces supply? The smart grid industry is facing this exact challenge. The added conundrum is that suppliers need to build on existing systems to accommodate creative forms of energy, such as variable renewable energy (VRE), and also stay within environmental emissions standards. How much VRE can be accommodated through the smart Continue reading →
Walmart has worked with SolarCity to install solar panels on 12 Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs throughout Ohio. The solar panel installations will add approximately 6,000,000 kWh of generation production – enough energy to power more than 820 homes – and are expected to supply approximately 5-20 percent of each store’s overall electricity use. “Solar Continue reading →
Americans are accustomed to being told that they are running behind other countries, that other places are doing a better job of educating their young or building high-speed railroads or ensuring access to healthcare. Energy efficiency would seem to be the last area in which the U.S., with its famously well-lit and climate-controlled lifestyle, would Continue reading →
AutoGrid Systems, a leader in Big Data Analytics for the electricity and energy industry, is proud to announce that it will collaborate with Austin Energy, one of the nation’s leading community owned utilities, to deploy and enhance its Demand Response Optimization and Management System (DROMS). Under the initiative, Austin Energy will initially use DROMS to Continue reading →
Call it a smarter way to get ‘powerful.’ The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is taking its first tentative steps into the futuristic world of the ‘Smart Grid’ by rolling out a pilot scheme among its Low Tension (Industrial) category consumers. Testing the waters, the KSEB is looking at how it can improve metering electricity Continue reading →
AutoGrid Systems, a leader in Big Data Analytics for the electricity and energy industry, is proud to announce that it will collaborate with Austin Energy, one of the nation’s leading community owned utilities, to deploy and enhance its Demand Response Optimization and Management System (DROMS). Under the initiative, Austin Energy will initially use DROMS to Continue reading →
