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 →
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 →
Smart meters are great, limits remain: An outage further up the delivery chain for power means no information for them to consolidate and analyze.
It is now well known that the US power grid has reached its twilight years and requires massive capital investment to overhaul. Sensor technology is a less expensive option than replacement that can help extend the useful life of elderly equipment. Keep reading →
A forum hosted by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to explore potential impacts of alternative fuel vehicles on critical infrastructure heard a good news, bad news scenario from the CEO of the PJM Interconnection, the regional grid operator.
PJM CEO Terry Boston told the forum that with smart grid controls in place and re-charging properly synchronized between midnight and 7 a.m., the electric distribution system could accommodate 25 million EVs, according to coverage of the forum in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Keep reading →
The greatest roadblock to developing smart grids in the US is not high up-front investment, good news when 65 million electric vehicles could be on the road by 2025, according to the results of a recent annual electric utility industry survey. Infrastructure firm Black & Veatch queried over 500 qualified industry participants about some of the most prescient issues of the day and the results may surprise you.
The top issues the industry is concerned about in 2012 are aging infrastructure, reliability and the environment. Aging infrastructure steadily crept to the top of the list over the past three years – in the 2009/2010 survey the issue ranked sixth in a list of the top ten. The importance of security has also gained importance according to the survey participants. Keep reading →
A Chinese worker checking the power lines in Haikou, south China’s Hainan province.
China’s 12th Five Year Plan recently released by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) is, as we would expect, an ambitious initiative that affects several major industries and includes a commitment to several breakthroughs in key core technologies. Actually, ambitious may be an understatement. Keep reading →
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 →
Global demand for water is growing at an astonishing rate – possibly 40% higher than current demand – in the next 20 years. That means utilities will need to find the best ways to manage the finite resource they possibly can.
That need translates into a huge jump in smart water meter deployments, according to a report from Pike Research. The report, Smart Water Meters, says we can expect to see a global base of smart water meters using AMI technologies to hit almost 30 million by 2017, an astonishing increase over the 10.3 million in use in 2011. By the end of the forecast period, annual shipments are expected to be 3.3 million, with an annual market value of $476 million. Keep reading →
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 →
The Department of Energy today released the names of the winners of the Green Button challenge, underlining links between the vibrant IT sector, smart grid and traditional energy business. Learn more from the Department here:
BEST OVERALL APP GRAND PRIZE: LEAFULLY Keep reading →
