Smart Grid

Securing The Energy Initiative

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The Army continues to expand its commitment to renewable fuels as a way to enhance energy security.

The Army established the Energy Initiatives Office (EIO) Task Force this week as the newest part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. Secretary of the Army, John M. McHugh said the EIO will aim to manage the development of renewable energy projects and help improve issues of energy security.

For more on the interaction of the US military with renewable sources of energy, see: Safe And Secure, and for the growing political consensus on the role of renewable energy and energy efficiency in national security, read about the new bilateral Defense Energy Security Caucus.


Investment of up to $7.1 billion in renewable energy over the next 10 years in renewable power sources is expected to generate 2.1 million MW hours of power per year, the Department of Defense said. The EIO Task Force will work towards the implementation of new renewable energy projects and is seeking private industry developers for financial and strategic resources to help accomplish the goal.

“The Energy Initiatives Office Task Force will help the Army build resilience through renewable energy while streamlining our business practices so developers can invest in and build an economically viable, large-scale renewable energy infrastructure,” said McHugh. “To meet a goal of 25% renewable energy by 2025, the Army must use every opportunity to be energy efficient and draw power from alternative and/or renewable energy sources.”

“Addressing our energy security needs is operationally necessary, fiscally prudent and vital to mission accomplishment,” McHugh added.

 /  Published August 11, 2011 at 1:20 PM

Duke Gets The Jump On Smart Grid

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A sprawling five-state utility in the Southeast United States and founded in 1900, Duke Energy is perhaps more familiar than most power companies with the stagnant nature of the electrical transmission grid.

In its August 8 White Paper, titled “Developing the communications platform to enable a more intelligent electric grid,” Duke Energy’s Manager of Technology Development David Masters outlines the company’s smart grid vision and how it hopes to see the electric grid modernized, and transformed, in the coming decades. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 10, 2011 at 10:00 AM

Smart Grid Sparks Pricing Debate In Illinois

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An increasingly energetic debate is emerging over who should pay for smart grid technology in Illinois.

If approved, the Energy Infrastructure Modernization bill will authorize a multi-billion dollar investment in the modernization of the state’s electric grid. But disagreement over who should foot the bill and whether customers will actually see financial benefits could lead to a veto by Governor Pat Quinn. The bill was proposed into the Senate at the end of May and has not come up for a vote yet. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 9, 2011 at 2:35 PM

Smart Grid Starts With The One Percent

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The next generation of smart grid may be deployed first by the military.

The Department of Defense is the largest energy consumer in the US, and is facing many of the same challenges as the rest of the country with aging infrastructure and an increasing need to use renewable fuels. As the forces become more serious about meeting those challenges, their contractors are rushing to help them. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 8, 2011 at 3:30 PM

Smart Grid Privacy And Security Risks Loom For Agencies

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The effort to modernize America’s electric grid is well underway, with nearly $8 billion in federal funding since 2009 and states across the country hastening to deploy everything from electronic smart meters for homes to regional sensors capable of detecting and responding to power outages.

But major privacy and security problems for the smart grid effort could be on the horizon and present a host of challenges to federal agencies, according to multiple smart grid technology and policy experts.


The issue of smart grid privacy is already being addressed on the west coast as the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) recently issued a bill that will standardize privacy measures and price and usage data security for all major California electrical utilities. Read the full story: Customers Claim Top Priority In California Smart Grid. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 5, 2011 at 11:00 AM

Nevada Energy Betting On 2012

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Las Vegas lights haven’t dimmed, thanks to NV Energy, but the Nevada generator isn’t rolling in money this year; profits slumped due to a mix of comparatively cool weather in July and a ruling on the utility’s energy efficiency program accounting.

The Nevada economy is stabilizing, NV Energy President and CEO Michael Yackira said in discussing the company’s second-quarter 2011 results, released today. But the recovery will be measured in “years not months,” and the company, smaller and more correlated with Nevada’a economy since the sale of its California operations completed in January 2011, will remain focused on cost control. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 1, 2011 at 11:00 AM

AOL Energy Week In Review

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It was a nervous week in the energy business, reflecting uncertainty in the world at large.

Companies and individuals braced themselves for a potential technical default by the US federal government and downgrading of its debt amid continued political intransigence. Constrained access to credit and slowed economy were talked about as the best likely outcome by energy executives, with many hesitant to discuss the potential turmoil if hedging or other basic financial transactions were hindered. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 29, 2011 at 4:05 PM

A Power App

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Smart phones seem to be able to do almost anything these days, even managing electricity consumption.

In this video, Constellation Energy shows the mobile application of its web-based VirtuWatt platform, a demand response technology that allows for two-way communication between electricity producers and consumers. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 29, 2011 at 10:15 AM

Powering Detroit

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There’s no better place to talk engineering than Detroit. And this week, it’s been electrical power engineering, specifically. The Motor City is proudly hosting top engineering talent from around the world this week at the IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting.

More than 2,000 power engineers are participating in the IEEE conference–promoting, sharing and discussing important issues and developments in the field of electrical power engineering. This is particularly relevant against the backdrop of our nation discussing how to create a 21st century power grid. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 28, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Load Shedding On A Hot Summer’s Day

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As utilities crank up generators to supply demand for summer’s peak loads of electricity, some companies are making money by turning off their air-conditioners and helping utilities shave off the peaks.

In this video, international-technology giant IBM explains how it acts like a city by buying power from utilities and then not using that power during peak demand times. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 26, 2011 at 10:00 AM
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