IT

Why Stop Worrying and Start Loving the Smart Grid

By


Over the last five years, the smart grid has triggered debate, ranging from whether it should have been part of the stimulus package to concern over health and privacy risks to rising gas, electricity and water rates to the public’s lack of trust in utility companies. Surveys from the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative revealed that less than 25% of the people in the U.S. have heard of the smart grid and even fewer truly understand what it is and more importantly what it means to them.

So why are we so excited about the potential of the smart grid? Keep reading →

 /  Published June 22, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Technology is Reinventing the Utility Industry at Duke Energy: Jim Rogers

By


The US utility industry will look fundamentally different within the next forty years as a paradigm shift transforms the sector, the chief of one of the country’s largest energy providers said.

“We’re going to reinvent our business, we’re going to adopt new technologies,” said Jim Rogers, Duke Energy CEO. “When you look at our company four decades from now it will to look fundamentally different. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 18, 2012 at 8:30 AM

The Fracked Internet: Data Centers Could Emerge on Gas Fields

By


Could data centers someday stand alongside drilling rigs in the Marcellus Shale gas fields? It is an increasing possibility, says an energy expert at an international buildings efficiency firm.

Data centers are sometimes built for the exclusive use of such giants as Google and Facebook, but most of them are intended for hosting companies, which process data for multiple tenants. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 14, 2012 at 8:30 AM

How Do We Create a Smarter Grid? Simple: Put the Grid First

By


There’s no question that the US power grid is in need of an overhaul. It’s 20th century infrastructure trying to meet 21st century needs. But how do we move forward? Modernizing the power grid may take decades-which is how long it took to originally build the grid – but how can we begin to see immediate improvements?

Many existing smart grid programs emphasize advanced meters. In fact, the emphasis on advanced meters has been so pronounced that this technology is often considered synonymous with a smart grid. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Although advanced meters are an important component of a smart grid, they are used to gather information rather than take action in response to changes in grid conditions. That’s where intelligent grid-based technologies come into play. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 11, 2012 at 8:30 AM

New DC Firm Focuses on Crossroads of Energy and Innovation

By


The energy sector is one of the most regulated in the US, and at the same time, one of the most innovative industries in the world.

Amid a tidal wave of change wrought by IT, communications technology, engineering advances and huge economic shifts the energy business has not just managed to keep the lights on and transport moving – it has launched thousands upon thousands of megawatts of new energy generation technologies and changed the outlook for one of the world’s fundamental sources of development and growth. Keep reading →

 /  Published June 6, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Airlines Seek to Slash Fuel Costs

By


Few industries are hit as hard by high oil prices than the airlines, which can spend close to 40% of their budget on fuel. With jet fuel prices near record highs, the drive to conserve is stronger than ever. Delta recently made headlines with its novel bid to buy an oil refinery, taking a more direct role in procuring fuel. But Delta and other airlines are experimenting with a number of other ways to cut costs. The entire industry is hoping a switch from radar to GPS-based navigation will cut the time it takes both to reach cruising altitude and land a plane.

 /  Published June 1, 2012 at 11:30 AM

California Energy Storage Startup Community Gets State Bridge Across ‘Valley of Death’

By


Energy storage technologies – notorious for falling into the infamous financing “valley of death” – are set to get a stronger bridge across the abyss from lab to market in California.

CalCharge, a consortium based in San Francisco’s Bay Area, launched May 29. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 29, 2012 at 2:15 PM

Cleanweb Acceleration Blocked by Regulators Stuck in the ‘Industrial Revolution’

By


Information technology is the most powerful tool to accelerate cleantech adoption, but is being blocked by energy regulation developed during the industrial revolution, a leading investor told a Silicon Valley conference last week.

Sunil Paul, founding partner of Spring Ventures, which has invested in social networking
company LinkedIn and biofuels startup Solazyme, said: “Our entire regulatory regime is built for the industrial revolution and we have a different way of working today that requires a different code.” Keep reading →

 /  Published May 29, 2012 at 8:30 AM

Cloud Computing Clears the Way to Solar Power

By


An environmental activist and two business executives walk into a bar…and they start a solar power company. While this may not make your favorite jokes list, it serves as an interesting background story for an innovative residential solar startup.

“The solar power industry is at an inflection point,” and with low cost cells produced in China and elsewhere, companies like Sungevity are on the cusp of putting solar everywhere – “it’s becoming ubiquitous,” the company’s President and founder Danny Kennedy recently told Breaking Energy. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 24, 2012 at 11:30 AM

Open Innovation Key to Smart Grid: US Chief Technology Officer

By

Open innovation in information technology is key in developing the smart grid, the recently appointed US Chief Technology Officer said yesterday [22 May]. Keep reading →

 /  Published May 23, 2012 at 2:00 PM
Page 11 of 361...789101112131415...36