Nissan and Car Charging Group, Inc. (OTCQB: CCGI), a nationwide provider of convenient electric vehicle (EV) charging services, announced a joint initiative to make EV charging more readily available and to expand consumer awareness of the electric car market. CarCharging and Nissan will work together to determine the placement of the chargers, which is expected Continue reading →
Renewable energy is providing clean, reliable electricity across the United States and around the world. It is also growing rapidly, with record numbers of new wind and solar installations coming online in the U.S. over the past few years. We can readily continue this rapid expansion of renewable energy — and accelerate the transition away Continue reading →
The shale gas boom in the United States will play a key role in the development of the nation’s smart electricity grid, affecting almost every part of utility infrastructure decision making in the coming decade-and driving a resurgence in market for related equipment starting in 2015. via Shale Gas Boom Fuels Rebound In Growth For Continue reading →
In the United States, electric vehicles are slowly gaining ground on gas-powered cars. As of March, 2013, there were 34,000 on the road. But if electric vehicles are ever going to overtake their combustion-engine counterparts, the sticker price will have to come down, battery life will have to go up and the charging station infrastructure Continue reading →
As Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp noted in an earlier post, the United States is long overdue for an upgrade to our antiquated electrical grid. A “smart” electric grid allows homes and businesses to use, as well as produce and sell, electricity in a more technologically advanced way; wireless meters are used to transmit Continue reading →
Two new reports issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) focus on the evolution of the United States’ aging power grid into a modern smart energy distribution network and the challenges for the research and development (R&D) community that come with the changes. via New Reports Outline Smart Grid Challenges.
Climate Progress recently reported on a study that found both economic and environmental benefits if homes in the northeastern United States upgraded older heating systems by moving from heating oil to switchgrass. However, one point to emphasize was the findings were specific to those circumstances — the region, the homes, and that particular use. via Continue reading →
Hope springs eternal — and nowhere is it gushing more strongly than with electric vehicle enthusiasts all over the world. In the United States, investors in Tesla Motors, Inc. (NasdaqGS:TSLA), the U.S. maker of electric sports cars, seem to be shrugging off the fact that the company is losing a $100 million a quarter, the Continue reading →
Demand Response in the United States has now grown to a point where it can potentially meet about 9.2% (i.e. 72,000 MW) of peak demand nationwide. That is an increase of 22% from as recently as 2010, according to the annual demand response survey conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In the coming years, Continue reading →
Panasonic System Networks Co., Ltd. (PSN), a Panasonic group company, today announced that its HD-PLC, a Broadband over Powerline Communication (BPL) Technology, has been approved by the NIST SGIP Catalog of Standards of the United States. The company also announced that it has opened its verification test environment for coexistence to the public. There are Continue reading →
HD-PLC Alliance announced that its Broadband Powerline Communication Technology called HD-PLC IEEE 1901 was approved for inclusion in the NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) Catalog of Standards in the United States. The U.S. National Institute of standards and Technology (NIST) initiated in late 2009 the public/private partnership SGIP to coordinate the development of standards Continue reading →
Predictions of continued extreme weather events heighten the need to upgrade the United States’ electricity grid, a White House official said Tuesday. John Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said occurrences such as Hurricane Sandy underscore the vulnerability of the nation’s electricity delivery system. Failing to strengthen the grid Continue reading →
I recently read about how New York is installing thousands of electric vehicle charging stations. Hopefully this will encourage the use of electric cars, as I think they’re an excellent way for the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And of course they can also be used to reduce emissions here in Australia, with Continue reading →
When the lights went off at the Super Bowl, it sparked a cascade of amused commentary on Twitter, but the half-hour outage highlighted a serious problem in the United States: our woefully outdated energy grid, with crumbling infrastructure that is not able to keep pace with energy demands and has a number of key vulnerabilities. Continue reading →
There are plenty of misconceptions about the costs and benefits of renewable energy. But while opinions vary as to the effectiveness of generation sources such as wind and solar, facts are indisputable. And the facts show that renewable power is increasingly economical and poised for explosive growth in the United States. via Facts show renewable Continue reading →
The Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative (SGCC) has established the most rigorous and authoritative program of consumer understanding of smart grid, and the market segments that exist relative to Smart Grid issues. The 2013 State of the Consumer Report assimilates the key learnings from primary research into powerful insights about Smart Grid from a consumer-centric point Continue reading →
The 34-minute Super Bowl blackout is just the most recent high-profile example of a growing national problem. Blackouts are on the rise across the United States, with major power outages doubling over the past decade. The problem is an aging electricity infrastructure strained by skyrocketing electricity use and, as in the case of the blackouts Continue reading →
Smart grid rollouts are building momentum as utilities across the United States continue to invest in this new infrastructure in an effort to transform their power grids. However, even as utilities invest in these new technologies, they struggle to effectively communicate both the benefits of smart grids and the possibilities they make available to the Continue reading →
Google is one sponsor supporting the development of the New Jersey Energy Link, the first offshore backbone electricity transmission system proposed in the United States. The project will improve the reliability of New Jersey’s power grid, and help lower electricity prices by delivering both offshore wind and conventional electricity where and when it is needed. Continue reading →
Silent progress is something that many people, including one’s neighbours, like about hybrids but, while they’re so quiet, they’re dangerous, United States safety experts say. Far from encouraging pedestrians and cyclists to watch where they’re going and to remove their music ear-buds when crossing the road, the US’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration proposes a federal Continue reading →
