By Yaffa Klugerman
October 28, 2009
President Obama yesterday announced that the federal government will be investing $3.4 billion to help improve the nation's electrical grid--a move that is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs.
Obama made the announcement while standing surrounded by acres of solar panels at Florida Power & Light's new DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center. "Here in this region of Florida, this project will reduce demand for electricity by up to 20 percent during the hottest summer days that stress the grid and power plants," he said. "It will provide smart meters to 2.6 million more customers. And most importantly, it will create thousands of jobs--good jobs, by the way, that can't be outsourced; jobs that will last and jobs that pay a decent wage."
According to a fact sheet from the White House published by the Chicago Sun-Times, some of the new jobs created will include positions for engineering technicians, electricians and equipment installers, IT system designers and cyber security specialists, data entry clerks and database administrators, and business and power system analysts.
The federal funding will help cover the cost of updated transformers and new devices designed to improve the efficiency and reliability of power transmission. The money will also pay for the installation of millions of "smart meters," which convey information between homes and utilities and can be used to shift the electricity load to off-peak times, thereby curtailing the use of expensive auxiliary power plants.
The grid will get "much more than a facelift," noted Carol Browner, Obama's top adviser on climate change and energy issues, who was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It's fair to say that the grid is outdated, it's dilapidated. And not only do we need to make the system bigger and add more lines, we need to make it function better and smarter."
The announcement was hailed by companies eager to move forward on grid modernization efforts. "These grants are an important down payment on building a smaller grid and will certainly jump-start both industry and state regulators to deploy smart-grid technologies," said Katherine Hamilton, president of GridWise Alliance, an industry advocacy group, who was quoted by CNET News.
Obama said that the grants have been awarded to 100 utilities and other entities, which have promised to spend $4.7 billion in private money for the upgrades. The largest grants are for about $200 million and the smallest are for less than $10 million.
Source: Link
Thursday 29 October 2009
Wednesday 28 October 2009
ZigBee Alliance Members Awarded Nearly $500 Million From U.S. Smart Grid Grants
Funds expected to spur more ZigBee Smart Energy implementations
Individual ZigBee members received between $4 million and $200 million dollars for their Smart Grid projects. Members earning grants include: CenterPoint Energy, Baltimore Gas and Electric, Reliant Energy Retail Services, San Diego Gas and Electric, Honeywell International and Whirlpool. Grants were awarded for a variety of ZigBee Smart Energy products and services, including large smart meter programs covering 4.7 million meters, installation of a variety of devices such as programmable communicating thermostats, in-home displays and load controllers, plus expediting the development of smart appliances.
ZigBee Smart Energy enables wireless communication between utility companies and everyday household devices such as smart thermostats and appliances. It is the underlying technology providing consumers with dynamic pricing information as well as programming control over smart appliances. This control allows consumers to manage their power use and how much they spend on energy while participating in demand response programs designed to help utilities manage generation needs during peak power periods.
The ZigBee Smart Energy profile was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as an initial interoperable standard for HAN devices for the Smart Grid.
"ZigBee Alliance members have been taking an active role in developing the Smart Grid for years and these grants are recognition for our members' leadership on this important initiative," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "With ZigBee Smart Energy's position in the marketplace and its role as an initial interoperable standard by NIST for the critical home area network piece of the Smart Grid, we expect that those utilities and product manufacturers sitting on the sidelines will adopt ZigBee."
ZigBee Smart Energy - The Standard for Energy Management and Efficiency
ZigBee Smart Energy enables wireless communication between utility companies and common household devices such as smart thermostats and appliances. It improves energy efficiency by allowing consumers to choose interoperable products from different manufacturers giving them the means to manage their energy consumption more precisely using automation and near real-time information. It also helps utility companies implement new advanced metering and demand response programs to drive greater energy management and efficiency, while responding to changing government requirements.
ZigBee: Control your world
ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different devices to work together and enhance everyday life. The ZigBee Alliance is a non-profit association of more than 300 member companies driving development of ZigBee wireless technology. The Alliance promotes world-wide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in energy, home, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit: www.ZigBee.org.
Source: Zigbee Alliance
Tuesday 27 October 2009
U.S. Awards $3.4 Billion to Create a "Smart" Electric Grid
The Department of Energy has a total of $36.7 billion in Recovery Act funding – so the $3.4 billion in Smart Grid Investment Grants announced today represents just a fraction of the total spend for energy projects.
And DOE is not the only federal agency spending Recovery Act funds on energy projects. For example:
- Department of Interior committed $15 million for projects on public lands, including thinning overgrown forests to reduce wildfire danger. The wood removed isn’t typically high enough quality for lumber mills but can serve as an excellent source of biomass energy.
- Department of Defense awarded GE $2 million to demonstrate a smart microgrid on a Marine Corps base in California and the Navy awarded a $403,633 photovoltaic design contract to a Honolulu firm to mount solar panels on buildings at Pearl Harbor and at a missile range on Kauai.
- The Treasury Department teamed with DOE to award $550 million in Recovery Act money to 25 renewable energy production projects through the Recovery Act's 1603 program, which directs the federal government to provide cash assistance to energy producers in lieu of tax credits.
Still to be announced is the remaining $615 million that will go for Smart Grid demonstration projects around the country. In July the DOE awarded $47 million allocated for demonstration projects to eight existing projects already on the agency’s radar. Announcement of the remaining awards is expected in November.
These resources can help you track how Recovery Act money is being spent for Smart Grid and other energy-related projects:
- SGN Directory of Energy Awards – Articles about energy awards by category, from biomass, solar and wind to storage, electric transportation, R&D and more.
· DOE Recovery Act funding – Pie charts and interactive graphics show how the Energy Department has allocated its $36.7 billion in Recovery Act funding.
· DOE Milestones - The First 200 Days (video) – This is an update on DOE progress on the Recovery Act at 200 days, hosted by Matt Rogers, Senior Advisor to Secretary Steven Chu for Recovery Act Implementation.
Source: link
And DOE is not the only federal agency spending Recovery Act funds on energy projects. For example:
- Department of Interior committed $15 million for projects on public lands, including thinning overgrown forests to reduce wildfire danger. The wood removed isn’t typically high enough quality for lumber mills but can serve as an excellent source of biomass energy.
- Department of Defense awarded GE $2 million to demonstrate a smart microgrid on a Marine Corps base in California and the Navy awarded a $403,633 photovoltaic design contract to a Honolulu firm to mount solar panels on buildings at Pearl Harbor and at a missile range on Kauai.
- The Treasury Department teamed with DOE to award $550 million in Recovery Act money to 25 renewable energy production projects through the Recovery Act's 1603 program, which directs the federal government to provide cash assistance to energy producers in lieu of tax credits.
Still to be announced is the remaining $615 million that will go for Smart Grid demonstration projects around the country. In July the DOE awarded $47 million allocated for demonstration projects to eight existing projects already on the agency’s radar. Announcement of the remaining awards is expected in November.
These resources can help you track how Recovery Act money is being spent for Smart Grid and other energy-related projects:
- SGN Directory of Energy Awards – Articles about energy awards by category, from biomass, solar and wind to storage, electric transportation, R&D and more.
· DOE Recovery Act funding – Pie charts and interactive graphics show how the Energy Department has allocated its $36.7 billion in Recovery Act funding.
· DOE Milestones - The First 200 Days (video) – This is an update on DOE progress on the Recovery Act at 200 days, hosted by Matt Rogers, Senior Advisor to Secretary Steven Chu for Recovery Act Implementation.
Source: link
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