Barbara Vergetis Lundin
Wanda Reder
James McClanahanEveryone wants a piece of the smart grid pie
There are more players vying for a piece of the smart grid pie and less stimulus funds to spend. However, the overall outlook is still quite positive from both a utility and vendor perspective.
UK pilot testing for a world of EVs
As sales of electric vehicles increase, there is a need to assess the potential impact that a cluster of EVs may have in a local area served by one electricity substation.
$1B power line undergrounding program proposed in DC
A multi-year, $1 billion program has been proposed by the Power Line Undergrounding Task Force and accepted by Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray to address the significant power outages District residents and businesses suffered as a result of the severe derecho thunderstorm system that left extensive wind damage in June.
China's strongest smart grid growth will be transmission
The area of strongest smart grid growth in China will be transmission upgrades, anticipated to reach more than $72 billion in revenue by 2020 on a cumulative basis.
Penn State launches net zero demo facility
The GridSTAR Net Zero Energy Demonstration Structure is the first phase of the GridSTAR Center and will serve as a hub for workforce training, building performance testing, energy management research and smart microgrid modernization deployments.
Paris getting smarter about its lighting infrastructure
Paris, France, the "City of Lights," is embarking upon a program to reduce its public lighting consumption by 30 percent over the next 10 years.
Is there a smart way to finance smart grid?
Lessons from the rural smart grid
In many ways, rural electric cooperatives are smart grid trendsetters. Cooperatives are ahead of the curve when it comes to maintaining relationships with their customers. Cooperatives are also technology innovators and these small, rural utilities have helped lead the industry's adoption of AMI, interoperability and cybersecurity solutions. As the industry continues its evolution toward smart grid, utilities can learn and benefit from the rural electric experience.
Research identifies most energy-efficient communications networks
The net energy consumption in overall networks can be reduced up to 90 percent by 2020, taking into account dramatic increases in communications traffic over the next decade.
Wyoming gets "F" in EV policy; Colorado gets "A-"
The Colorado legislature passed six different bills supporting electric vehicles in the 2013 session, boosting the state to an A- ranking in a report card comparison of six southwestern states' government policies designed to push EVs from showrooms to roads.
Mobile energy monitoring on the rise
As the use of mobile devices for accessing the weather, stock prices, social media, etc. rises, so does the use of smartphones and tablets for monitoring electricity usage.
NREL working on next-gen EV charging infrastructure
Until recently, hybrid power conversion systems have required multiple hardware units and power conversion steps, which add to product and installation costs, efficiency losses, and reliability issues.
Database to document smart grid developments
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 investments are estimated at $170 billion over the next eight years, according to research from NRG Expert.
UK smart meter project delayed
Researchers gain access to Google's building control systems
Critical smart grid applications
Many countries worldwide are completing their smart meter and AMI deployments and are looking for ways to optimize the data collected from them.
San Diego utility gaining momentum with Green Button apps
In addition to PowerTools, the first Green Button Connect app available to SDG&E customers, SDG&E customers can now authorize apps like a Solar Home Energy Graph and a meter dashboard.
Mobile apps could drive EV adoption
The market for mobile apps for EVs is still at a nascent stage but still has tremendous scope for innovation and development.
FPL speeds efforts to storm-proof infrastructure
FPL's recent experiences with tropical storms show that main power lines which have been hardened are about half as likely to experience an outage during severe weather. In addition, under normal weather conditions, hardening a power line reduces the frequency of daily outages by up to 40 percent.
SCE improves forecasting efficiency with smart grid analytics
SCE has millions of smart meters deployed in its service territory for an unprecedented amount of detailed customer data to analyze.
