The Smart Grid doesn’t end at the meter. Increasingly, it reaches into the customer premise to talk to building automation systems or even to individual devices. Those customers want new and better ways to monitor, understand and control their consumption. The entire customer side is evolving rapidly – the technology, the regulations, the customer expectations, everything. This section highlights the key trends, issues and applications.
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Texas and Oklahoma are pretty low in the rankings of energy efficient states. But a group of companies, including electric service providers cooperatives, retailers, manufacturers have joined forces to push for advanced building systems and energy-efficient products and services in the region. There's more on the new coalition inside.
In an effort to develop smart grid solutions for the Chevrolet Volt, OnStar is inviting utilities, energy companies and others to take advantage of a set of its application programming interfaces to develop new apps for Volt owners. Click inside to learn what OnStar is looking for from developers.
Energate is working with the province of Ontario to deploy its residential demand response solutions as part of a province-wide program intended to reduce demand during peak load periods – and participating consumers also are expected to benefit from energy-saving tools and technology.
The Internet's power will allow management of the home in ways that save energy and money automatically in its next stage of development, according to a pioneer in the online world. Click to read Peter Gardett's interview with AlertMe CEO Mary Turner.
GE Appliances and Flint Energies have teamed up in a pilot project to better understand the potential for GE's Brillion™-enabled appliances to save consumers money and lower peak load when coupled with peak time rebates. And a Colorado company is bringing its online game designed to get consumers involved in saving energy to Texas.
The Arlington, VA company that works with utilities in the U.S. and U.K. to provide energy usage data to utility customers has committed to abide by a set of data principles that cover access, security and privacy. If others in the industry follow Opower's lead, could it help reduce consumer pushback?
Materials vital for EV motors and high-efficiency wind turbines and compact fluorescent lights are in short supply, leading to concerns that those shortages could delay adoption of clean energy technologies or make them more costly. Margaret Ryan explains what the DOE hopes to do to attack the problem.
A UK-based smart home technology startup is making its first commercial launch in the U.S. in partnership with retail giant Lowe's. AlertMe gear is sleek and sexy and Lowe's has big plans for the new service it will offer on the AlertMe platform. But will consumers buy retail - or hold out for a utility subsidy?
Tendril is sweetening the pot in its efforts to entice developers to come up with third-party applications for the smart grid and smart home on its cloud-based platform. Click to learn about Tendril's new web site for app developers and its contest featuring $5,000 in prize money.
We encourage our readers to share their thoughts or sound off on our news stories and the hot smart grid topics of the day – and you're not shy about letting us know what you think. 2011 was no exception. In case you missed some, we're taking a look back at the hottest Tuesday Topic discussions from throughout the year.
Earlier this year FERC approved a request by the PJM Interconnection to allow for small-scale assets down to 100 kW to participate in frequency regulation applications. The move opened the door for Viridity Energy and Enbala Power Networks to initiate demand-side regulation projects that could respond to grid signals on a second-by-second basis. What does it mean for traditional DR and energy storage? Brian Warshay of Lux Research offers a perspective.
The research is clear - better understanding will lead to a better, smarter electric grid. And now you can do your part to spread the word about why we need to modernize the grid and the benefits that will result for everyone. We've packaged up an awesome Smart Grid 101 package, including a free eBook, a great video and three more fun resources you can use to share the smart grid story.
SGN's Jesse Berst attended the annual predictions Webinar hosted by IDC Energy Insights and walked away with nine that he believes in. Did you realize that utility mergers will accelerate? That munis and coops are now in the driver's seat for AMI deployments? That analytics is the Next Big Thing? Click to read the full list.
Electric vehicles are tied to the smart grid in a number of ways, so understanding the EV market and where it's going is essential. We've rounded up some recent developments in the market, from new models to new technologies and consumer attitudes – and some help for electric utilities working to accommodate the coming change in the transportation landscape.
There's a lot of smart grid happening this week – from power plant automation and wireless sensor projects to a California initiative to give customers access to their energy use information with the click of a button. Learn more about five very different smart grid projects that caught our attention.
The drama over Boulder's SmartGridCity gets the attention, but not far away in Fort Collins, partners in a DOE-funded Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration project are compiling results from their real-world research into load shedding and local energy generation. We talked with a project engineer about lessons learned - like how hard it is to go beyond a 25% reduction in peak load and how real-world constraints (such as the "noise pollution" of a diesel generator) can impact results.
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has released the country's first set of test procedures to optimize how electric vehicles connect to the smart grid. Click inside for more information and to download the report.
When it comes to energy efficiency, a Scrooge-like mindset can be a good thing. That's why we called on our penny-pinching but gadget-loving Technical Director for a few of his kilowatt-reducing gift suggestions from the Smart Grid News store.
Industrial distributed generation is expected to grow at an unprecedented rate, according to a new report from Pike Research. Find out why SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst says it's time for utilities to keep a close eye on this growth surge.
President Obama announced a $4 billion investment to make buildings more energy efficient, part of his Better Buildings Initiative. Carl Ford of TMCnet suggests this isn't a new idea.
With considerable help from Johnson Controls, Virginia's corrections system has embarked on a training program for prisoners to give them the training and experience they will need to enter careers in energy efficiency on their release. It's an interesting program.
The predicted impact EVs will have on the electric grid has been greatly exaggerated, according to Nicole Pennington and Nicole Naassan of UtiliWorks Consulting. They say careful planning coupled with the opportunities and technologies of the smart grid should be what it takes to successfully manage EV integration. Click inside for their insights.
Cities throughout the world, pressured by increasing populations and demand for services, are looking for ways to ensure efficient and sustainable communities. Meanwhile, leading smart grid companies - most recently Schneider Electric and Telvent - see smart city apps as a source of new growth. Click inside for details on this important trend.
The city of Seattle has taken the next step toward upping the energy efficiency level of its commercial buildings by requiring building owners to benchmark and report on how efficiently their buildings perform. Click inside to find out why Washington state's biggest city is taking such an aggressive stance.
TXU Energy is marketing a deal for customers willing to make some changes in how and when they use electricity: a three-tiered rate plan that features "deep discounts," particularly at night. It's one of few actual dynamic pricing deployments. SGN Chief Analyst Jesse Berst shares some thoughts on TXU's marketing strategy behind the plan.
We're getting mixed signals about the vitality of the smart grid market. On the one hand, the recent DistribuTECH conference was one of the most successful ever. On the other, a well-known Wall Street analyst recently told his clients that the smart metering sector is "facing several headwinds," including weak regulatory support in the U.S. and delays in European adoption. Taking the pulse of the smart grid industry is this week's Tuesday Topic.
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