Tuesday 30 December 2008

Renewable Energy Systems, Electric Vehicles, and Smart Electricity Grids for a Carbon-Constrained World

Lawrence E. Jones, Ph.D.
December 20, 2008


Global warming is one of the greatest challenges facing the world today. The general consensus is that unless concerted actions are taken to reduce the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) that are emitted in the upper atmosphere, the Earth’s climate will continue to change – resulting in increases in mean global temperature, more frequent extreme weather conditions, precipitation changes and reduced availability of fresh water. The realization that we must act now or face grave consequences has prompted the United States of America, Europe, and other global players to begin transitioning to a carbon-constrained energy future.


One solution to a low-carbon energy future is to increase the use of renewable energy sources (RES) such as wind and solar and also electric vehicles, all connected to smart electricity grids. The challenge is how to best integrate these non-conventional forms of energy and loads with the existing grids and eventually the emerging smart grids of the 21st century.


According to independent projections from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and other organizations such as the European, American and Canadian Wind Energy Associations (EWEA, AWEA, CanWEA), tremendous growth in wind and solar power worldwide is expected in coming decades. While the capacities of most existing renewable energy systems produce few megawatts (MW) of electricity, to meet the anticipated demand for more clean energy, the capacity of new RES must be several hundreds to thousands of MW. Integrating such large utility-scale wind and solar plants, along with electric vehicles presents unique challenges and opportunities. We will discuss some of these, the enabling information technology solutions to address them, and potential opportunities.


Wind and solar power are intermittent resources and as such make it difficult to operate the power grids to which they are connected. To successfully integrate RES, electric utilities must have reliable forecast information about the quantity and availability of the power output. Thus, forecasting systems are one of the primary requirements to achieving increased penetration of wind and solar energy. The second requirement is combining the forecast information with the real-time operational data in the utilities’ control centers for decision making – both in the front and back offices.


What has emerged as a third requirement is the need for a fully integrated renewable energy information system (REIS) that uses the information from smart sensors and other intelligent applications to optimize the utilization of the generation resources and grid assets for reduced environmental impact. While progress has been made on the first and second, not much work has been done on the third requirement. The need for REIS is based on the fact that utility operators have to assemble an avalanche of data from disparate sources in order to make informed decisions about the impacts of RES on grid operations and reliability. Operators need tools that will enhance their local and global situation awareness. Other users of REIS may include utility executives, managers and regulators. The executives and managers need decision dashboards to better manage their portfolio of RES and mitigate operational risks and uncertainty. REIS will also allow them to maximize their asset performance based on the opportunities in emissions markets. Finally, regulators will need REIS to monitor and determine renewable power plants are in compliance with environmental and reliability standards.


The market for REIS is in its wellspring phase as electric utilities are only now beginning to realize the scale of the challenges they expect to encounter with higher penetration of large RES. New operational paradigms are emerging that will require the development and use of advanced analytical tools and techniques. Some of these include: data mining and pattern recognition, faster and more accurate near real-time forecasting, ultra-fast simulators that correctly mimic the interaction between RES and smart electric grids.


It is inevitable that the transition to a carbon-constrained world will also involve using non-fossil based fuels for transportation. Transportation sector in most countries is major consumer of energy and is a big emitter of GHG. In the USA for example, the transportation sector accounts for more than 30% of the energy consumption. Acknowledging this, there is major push for sustained government and private sector investments to develop batteries and other technologies for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). So much so that recently, in approving several billions of dollars in loans to three US automobile manufacturers, the US government required that these companies as part of their restructuring include plans to begin manufacturing more environmentally and fuel efficient electric cars.


Research and demonstration projects in the US, the European Union (EU) and Australia have shown that PHEVs connected to the power grid can provide ancillary energy during peak hours. Electric cars and emerging battery storage technologies make the power from wind and solar dispatchable. However, for this to happen, utilities also need decision support systems that accurately model the electricity demand of new automotive load. Such a system would also need to constantly and reliably monitor and predict the available stored energy from fleets of geographically dispersed electric cars and other storage devices.


Finally, a critical infrastructure for the low-carbon energy economy is an efficient delivery system (Transmission & Distribution networks) for electricity. Today, regulators, policy makers and utilities around the world are responding to the need for modernizing existing T&D grids by utilizing advanced information, communications and control technologies. These modernized so-called “smart” or “intelligent” grids, will facilitate greater electricity demand elasticity, and make integration of renewable and electric cars easier.


Operating smart grids with large wind and solar plants, fleets of PHEV, and energy storage devices will present unidentified problems for utilities. Developing solutions to resolve these problems will require in depth knowledge of the new kinds of interactions between utilities and their customers. Also required is an understanding of new utility business models as well as the regulatory environments in which they must operate.


The markets along the value-chains in a carbon-constrained energy economy are expected to exceed hundreds of billions of dollars within the next 5 years. In spite of the current global financial crisis, governments around the globe seem determined to stick to their commitments of investing directly or indirectly through policy measures in clean energy. Dealing with climate change and the economic crisis simultaneously has become a global imperative. This was evident from the sense of urgency expressed by world leaders at the United Nations Conference on Climate Change held on December 11 – 13, 2008, in Poland. Another strong positive signal has come from US President-Elect Barrack Obama who is expected to propose an economic stimulus package that will promote investments in wind, solar, energy storage, and smart electric grids. Collectively, these global actions will spur growth in clean technology sector.


To effectively integrate large amounts of renewable power generation with existing and emerging smart power grids, there will be increasing need for modern information, communications and control technologies. But these are not the only prerequisites. There must also be investments in education and training a new work force to carry out the millions of new jobs expected to be created. Work force development must be an integral part of every country’s long term goal in order to compete in the 21st century global economy.


Having skilled human capital is a competitive advantage, and the critical hinge-point for wide-scale deployment of renewable energy, building smart grids, efficient energy storage devices and other clean technologies. However the emerging work force demographics could pose a major problem. In especially North America, Western Europe and Japan, the energy sector is facing a looming crisis of an aging work force within the next 5-10 years. Fewer new and younger people are coming in to replace those leaving. This trend may continue in spite of any potential negative impacts of the current economic crisis on retirement savings. Therefore the recruitment, education and training of more young people in energy related fields must be accelerated.



Transitioning to a carbon-constrained energy future will result in transformation of markets and industries. Given the current pace of technology advances, this will happen much faster and have impact on scale bigger than previous industrial revolutions. The market opportunities for harnessing wind, solar and electric cars along with smart grids can be found all over the globe - from North America, to China, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the emerging economies in Latin America, Africa and the Middle East. Those who invest in human capital, business innovation, as well as clean technologies today will be the market leaders of tomorrow.


About the Author: Lawrence E. Jones is a contributor to the Smart Electric Newsletter. He has affiliations with academic, Think Tanks, and business institutions including: University of Washington, AREVA T&D Inc., E. E. W. Jones Electrical Engineering Foundation and LAUVICOM Group. He is also Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc… He received his PhD, Lic.Eng., and Civ.Ing. degrees from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.


Disclaimer: The views expressed in this document by the author are his and not necessarily those of the organizations with which he is affiliated.

Tuesday 16 December 2008

Google joins GridWise Alliance

The GridWise Alliance has announced that Google, Bridge Strategy Group, Sharp Laboratories and 3Tier have joined the national coalition.

The GridWise Alliance, founded in 2003, advocates a vision of an electric system that integrates the infrastructure, processes, devices, information and market structure so that energy can be generated, distributed, and consumed more efficiently and cost effectively. Its members include utilities, IT companies, equipment vendors, new technology providers and educational institutions.

On joining the Alliance, which mainly focuses on transforming the nation's electric power system, Dan Reicher, Google's director for Climate Change & Energy Initiatives said, "Smart grid technologies will empower consumers with real time, money-saving information about their energy use. Building a smart grid -- essentially an energy Internet -- will also enable plug-in electric vehicles, speed the development of utility-scale renewable energy, and spur the creation of clean energy jobs."

Guido Bartels, chairman of the GridWise Alliance and GM of IBM's Global Energy and Utilities Industry, said while there is general agreement that a sustainable energy future must incorporate energy efficiency, renewables, storage, and plug-in cars, it is often forgotten or underemphasised that these solutions all depend on a smarter grid to achieve scale and cost effectiveness.

"The GridWise Alliance members recognise that a smart grid is foundational for a sustainable energy future and if there is a growing consensus within the US that clean energy is a platform for rebuilding the American economy, then it follows that a smart grid is also critical to economic growth," said Bartels.

Irish utility calls for "Prudent" approach towards investment for smart meters

Irish electric utility ESB has reportedly said that it did not know if the Government's €1 billion smart metering proposals would lead to the desired level of savings.

Underlining that the installation of smart meters in every home in the country has been a policy cornerstone of Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan since he took up office last year,
irishtimes.com mentioned that the process is now being explored by the ESB. According to the report, senior executives of the ESB indicated publicly for the first time that the "technology was not yet fully proven and that the case had not yet been made that such a substantial investment would result in commensurate savings".

ESB chief executive Padraig McManus said that the utility needed to take a prudent approach before making such a huge investment. That is why smart meters were being piloted over 18 months.

It was in September this year when the Minister had launched the National Smart Meter plan. Over 60,000 ESB customers were to receive a letter inviting them to take part in the first phase of the national roll-out of smart meters. Up to 21,000 customers were to get a smart meter installed in their home for free in order to participate in a behavioural and technology trial to inform the national rollout. The Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) has been charged with leading the implementation of the project

Recommendations for handling smart metering deployment

As smart metering gathers momentum, utilities must take extreme care to ensure deploying the new monitoring technology does not come at a business loss.

This suggestion has come from global management consultancy Arthur D. Little.

Until recently, many utilities have been reluctant to make the substantial investment required in order to deploy smart metering. However, rising costs of operation and improvements in fraud protection, along with increasing demand from environmentally-concious consumers, means that many more utilities companies are now ready to seriously consider the investment, highlighted the consultancy.

In its new report, Advanced Metering Management (prepared by Arthur D. Little's Energy & Utilities practice), the consultancy says implementing smart metering requires large-scale investment, necesitates a complex deployment process, and can have significant impact on a utilities key business processes. In order to be successful, utilities have a major task ahead of them in defining and planning custom approaches to making smart metering a cost effecitve and efficent part of their operations.

"Smart metering is nothing new, but as the current regulatory and consumer climate makes it more attractive for more utilities to consider deploying such systems, it is important they identify their strategic objectives and assess all risks before commencing," said Stephen Rogers, a director in Arthur D. Little's UK Energy and Utilities Practice.

"By establishing a working technological solution and including a thorough process impact analysis in the planning stage, utilities can deploy a smart metering system successfully."

Among the key factors to be considered is the amount of money involved in the process of deploying a smart metering system. The sheer complexity of introducing smart metering within the operations of an traditional utility provider will be another key consideration. It not only involves installing a large number of meters, but also introducing brand new information management systems within the organisation and, in some cases, installing new telecommunications infrastructure. Finally, utilties cannot underestimate the impact a new smart metering system will have on operations.

The report details how mistakes made in the complex planning process for smart metering deployment will have a severe impact on the utilities provider's logistics, economic planning, and organisational design in the long term.

RLtec and npower to trial Dynamic Demand technology

RLtec is gearing up for the trial of Dynamic Demand, a new technology that helps maintain the balance between supply and demand across the national electricity grid, in homes across the UK.

The company is working with npower to trial the same.

The trial is the first Demonstration Action to be approved by Ofgem under the CERT (Carbon Emissions Reduction Target) legislation and will contribute towards npower's carbon reduction obligations.

RLtec's technology will be trialled in a number of stages. In the first phase, 300 fridges fitted with this technology will be distributed to consumers so that analysis of how the technology works in appliances in everyday use can be carried out. Following the initial rollout, a total of 3,000 fridges and freezers of different types and models will be deployed so that the carbon savings from Dynamic Demand can be assessed and calculated against a full range of variables.

According to RLtec, appliances fitted with the Dynamic Demand technology automatically modifies power consumption in response to second‐by‐second changes in the balance between supply and demand on the grid ‐ without affecting the fridge's performance. This means that the amount of carbon emitting generating capacity used to maintain that balance can be dramatically reduced.

"The technology has the potential to create a 'virtual' power station and if widely used in the UK could eliminate the need for these carbon emitting balancing stations and save 2,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year," said RLtec's Andrew Howe.

"Our analysis shows that more than two‐thirds of the UK's balancing capacity comes from carbon emitting sources. Dynamic Demand helps reduce that carbon‐intensive balancing requirement, with no loss of performance from the appliances in which it is fitted, and with no action needed on the part of the consumer," said Howe.

General Mills focuses on energy savings

General Mills has chosen EnerNOC as its preferred partner for demand response. The company has added its West Chicago facility to EnerNOC's demand response network.

General Mills, a manufacturer and marketer of consumer food products, has chosen to work with EnerNOC to help prevent brownouts and blackouts in the West Chicago area.

This will be done by reducing demand on the electricity grid by as much as five megawatts -- the equivalent of roughly 2,500 households -- when called upon by EnerNOC. In exchange, EnerNOC rewards General Mills with periodic payments.

The company decided to go ahead with this initiative to bolster its sustainability efforts and practices.

"We feel that demand response is something that's good for our business, our community and the nation at large," said General Mills' spokesperson Jim DeLaPena.

Tim Healy, chairman and CEO of EnerNOC said energy conservation at the community-level, whether by individuals, small businesses, or large organisations like General Mills, can powerfully impact how electricity is managed and used.

"Demand response is an opportunity for businesses to do something that is positive for the environment and actually generates money for them, without the need to lay out capital," said Healy.

The company uses its Network Operations Center, or NOC, to remotely manage and reduce electricity consumption across a network of commercial, institutional, and industrial customer sites and make demand response capacity and energy available to grid operators and utilities on demand.

"Consumers must be motivated for DR"

smartelectricnews.com Special - Interview with Petri Trygg, Researcher, Institute of Power Engineering, Tampere University of Technology

Specialists recommend a thorough study or an insight into customers' requirements and behaviour before involving them for DR programmes right from the pilot/ test phase for any project.

Be it for what customers care about and what their "need drives" are (is it the environment-related or financial savings or social responsibility); a lot of introspection is required before one factors these into a communication and implementation strategy and starts reaching out to the customers. There are initiatives or rather new precedents taking place in a market like the US where the electric utility industry is testing the response of residential customers to different innovative pricing options under one programme to test an advanced metering technology. The consumer is checking out pricing options that could assist them in curbing their monthly bills by better controlling their power consumption.

Assessing such approaches, Petri Trygg, Researcher, Institute of Power Engineering, Tampere University of Technology, says, "I think it heavily depends on the issue [being] studied. In general, consumer´s attitude towards electricity must be quite uninterested [one]."

Trygg, who is also MD of PowerQ Oy, Finland, a company specialising in metering information analysis e.g. power quality monitoring and web-applications, pointed out that in Finland, price difference of electricity between different companies is few hundred Euros.

"In DR, potential of savings must be quite high to really boost usage of it in real life situations compared to simulations," said Trygg, who is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

Through pilot programmes, companies or utilities are looking to get an insight into how consumers react to pricing information. They also want to learn whether consumers alter their usage habits, potentially resulting in lower energy costs, achieving energy efficiency gains and a reduction in the amount of kilowatts.

But Trygg categorically says before all this consumers should be informed first about the test and recommends communicating with them on a regular basis. "Like in medicine development using placebos for comparison group. Then comparing the different situations. Alternative with different compensation levels," Trygg told
smartelectricnews.com.

On how the government/ state authorities and other organisations can get an insight into how consumers react to pricing information or any initiative, Jessica Stromback of VaasaETT Global Energy Think Tank recently told
smartelectricnews.com: "Well, the very best way of course is to try them - and like the Canadians try a variety of possibilities so that you can build on previous knowledge and create real comparisons. You not only learn about how your customers' would react but also what such measures would really require in reality from your utilities, regulators, grid operators… If you don't have the budget for a pilot study - ask them."

It is also critical to remember that most consumers know almost nothing about the industry and they may not understand the ramifications of their answers. As Jessica says, for example, most customers that are asked if they would like to have "accurate billing" rather than the widely used estimated bills, say yes – until they are informed that their winter electricity bills may double. Therefore, the questionnaires must be carefully designed.
"A third method, which should not be forgotten and is always an important first step - is to review the excellent pilot studies that have already been done all over the world," says Jessica.

On the same, Trygg said, emphasis should be given to price difference for electricity versus amount of changes.

"Consumer must be motivated for DR. And for finding out the motivating compensation study of the electricity sales price differences versus the rate of consumer changing the sales company should be done locally in the markets DR is designed," said Trygg.

On inducing a change in consumers' usage habits, Trygg said the approach would depend upon the market.

"In Finland, the main factor is the compensation to the consumer. Also knowledge that high demand situations require more polluting energy production may influence some of the customers. So by reducing peak loads only polluting production is limited and renewable is kept going. Cheaper "green" tariffs are also key to success. Currently, they are more expensive and this is not motivating consumers."

With reference to a "smart meter" getting installed at each participant's residence (for a pilot study) to measure electricity use at hourly intervals and transmit usage data each day through a wireless communications network, Trygg says in any case AMR is the solution also for DR.

"But alternative and independent models also exist. In critical network situations, frequency based DR is also new possibility. Customer behaviour is dependent on price differences also. Also, predictability of prices in each hour is key in changing the load profiles," said Trygg.

Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009

Petri Trygg, Researcher, Institute of Power Engineering, Tampere University of Technology is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

For more information, click here:
www.smartelectricnews.com/demand08

Or

Contact:
Abbie Badcock ,
Smart Electric News,
abbie@smartelectricnews.com
T: +44 (0)207 375 7581
==

Tuesday 2 December 2008

"It is worth investing in DR resources if its cheaper than the alternative resources"

Interview with Ulrik Stridbaek, Chief Economist, Regulatory affairs at DONG Energy

smartelectricnews.com Special

During the hottest days or any other period of maximum demand, demand can rise to a level where even if generating capacity is available, the delivery infrastructure or the grid may be pushed to the point of failure. According to experts, demand response (DR) can be used at such times to reduce spikes and increase grid reliability.

This type of DR usually involves end users on `standby' able to be dispatched - often times automatically - by grid operators or utilities when demand is spiking and grid equipment failures are possible.

Apart from increasing grid reliability, another option would be to reduce short-term price volatility.

Depending on the configuration of generation capacity, DR may be used to increase demand (load) at times of high production and low demand. Some systems may thereby encourage energy storage to arbitrage between periods of low and high demand (or low and high prices).

As the proportion of intermittent power sources such as wind power in a system grows, demand response may become increasingly important to effective management of the electric grid.

According to Ulrik Stridbaek, Chief Economist, Regulatory affairs at DONG Energy, greater volatility in supply from variable resources such as wind power will create greater value in shifting demand from hours with a high price to hours with a low price.

"So if power is priced correctly the incentives for customers to respond will increase with the expansion of e.g. wind power. If incentives are sufficient to trigger DR, this can contribute balancing the system. Otherwise other sources of flexibility will have to be found. New intelligent generation and demand such as micro generation and electric cars can help creating the framework where demand becomes more responsive, by triggering the necessary investments for intelligent demand," says Stridbaek, who is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

Stridbaek also spoke about few other issues in an interview with
smartelectricnews.com. Excerpts:

smartelectricnews.com: What according to you is the appropriate way to merge pre-existing energy infrastructure to intelligent ICT, Smart grids and Virtual Power plants?

Ulrik Stridbaek: Investments in the grid, including smart grids, will probably require regulatory incentives. When necessary regulated infrastructure is in place, there must be proper incentives to make use of the infrastructure (e.g. for VPPs) and integrate traditional and new types of resources.

The best way to create these incentives is through well designed markets, competition and market forces.

smartelectricnews.com: How should companies go about planning and executing DR and DSM programmes and also partnering with specialists for the same?

Ulrik Stridbaek: It is worth investing in DR resources if this is cheaper than the alternative resources. So first step must be to have a good feel for the cost and value of marginal resources in any given system. Next step is to have knowledge about the cost of DR.

This also requires close relationships with customers. Partnerships with consultants, aggregators and vendors comes after that, and must depend on the specific circumstances.

smartelectricnews.com: How can DSM play an important role in helping balance supply and demand in any energy market as well as help reduce price volatility and increase system reliability and security?

Ulrik Stridbaek: DR is a resource to be compared with other alternative resources to balance power supply and maintain reliability. DR can help reduce prices and volatility but volatility is also what gives incentives for DR in the first place.

smartelectricnews.com: When it comes to installation, maintenance and data management of such programmes, what factors do you think need to be taken into consideration for enablement cost where one-time cost includes equipment installation and administration and annual maintenance cost?

Ulrik Stridbaek: This is complex. One point for consideration is that a lot of potential DR resources requires up front investment, but once these have been incurred and demand has been automated, the cost of responding may be low. So once the investment has been incurred it is highly competitive with other alternative resources, such as generation from peakers.

smartelectricnews.com: It is said that Automated Demand Response (Auto-DR) programme costs are less than half the cost of peak generation resources. How do you assess developments related to Auto-DR platform designed to automated, electronic price and reliability signals as well as site-specific demand response strategies?

Ulrik Stridbaek: This is under development but probably focused on specific sectors and applications, rather than in a broad roll-out. Initial target sectors could be electric cars and specific appliances.

Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009

Ulrik Stridbaek is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009.

For more information, click here:
www.smartelectricnews.com/demand08

Or

Contact:
Abbie Badcock ,
Smart Electric News,
abbie@smartelectricnews.com
T: +44 (0)207 375 7581

Silver Spring reportedly on a contract signing spree

Silver Spring Networks, a firm which recently received $75 million investment for its global expansion, is reportedly finalising contracts "worth hundreds of millions of dollars to outfit three large, yet-unnamed electric utilities with smart grid technology in deal".

The multi-year deals include wirelessly networking more than three million electric meters for the utilities.

The agreements are expected to be finalised in December and would be worth more than $300 million, Silver Spring executives told Red Herring.

"The Silver Spring agreements, which are with two investor-owned utilities in the United States and one abroad, would cap a big year for the Kleiner Perkins-backed company," as per the report.

It was Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers's Green Growth Fund, which had led a $75 million investment round into Silver Spring Networks in October. The company provides its Smart Grid technology, systems, and services to customers including: Florida Power & Light Company, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Modesto Irrigation District, Oklahoma Gas & Electric, Consumers Energy, and others.

Chief executive Scott Lang said Silver Spring has already inked multi-year contracts worth $500 million, and he expects that value to reach $1 billion within 12 months. He said the company would be profitable by next year, pulling in revenue exceeding $75 million.

Itron joins interoperability programme

eMeter has shared that Itron, a provider of AMI solutions, has joined its IntegratedMDM SM Programme.

The purpose of eMeter's IntegratedMDM Program is to foster closer cooperation and interoperability between eMeters EnergyIP and AMI technologies.

Larsh Johnson, CTO, eMeter said with the capabilities of AMI systems evolving so rapidly, this programme is designed to provide utilities with assurance that if they select a participating AMI technology, the technology will operate with the EnergyIP MDMS now and in the future.

Under the programme, each of the AMI companies independently agreed to cooperate in the integration of their AMI technology with the EnergyIP software.

The eMeter IntegratedMDM program consists of the following elements:

· Interoperability. Enabling eMeter's MDM to interoperate with the participating AMI technologies.
· Independence of MDM and AMI Systems. Creating open, independent MDM that allows utilities to select from the participant's offerings now and in the future.
· Integration Planning. On-going development cooperation and release planning between eMeter and the AMI companies covering existing and future functionality.

Itron joins Iskrameco, Silverspring Networks, Current Technologies, EDMI, Eka Systems, Elster, Landis+Gyr, Sensus and Trilliant as the newest member of the IntegratedMDM programme.

Gainspan and Grid Net to offer a smart grid HAN

Gainspan and Grid Net are developing standards-based Smart Grid connectivity that offers easy Home Area Network (HAN) access to utilities deploying AMI solutions using Grid Net's PolicyNet NMS.

GainSpan is an embedded Wi-Fi semiconductor company providing a low power single-chip solution.

According to the two companies, Grid Net's broadband smart meter HAN interface, coupled with GainSpan's ultra low-power chips that leverage the widely-deployed Wi-Fi infrastructure, will enable programmable, connected devices (such as thermostats and smart appliances) to optimise the control, delivery, and usage of power.

Over time, the companies plan to extend these capabilities to enable intelligent gas and water metering.

According to Ray Bell, CEO, GridNet, the "combination of GainSpan's ultra low-power Wi-Fi chips and GridNet's leading Smart Grid software and firmware enables utilities to benefit from cost-effective, secure Smart Grid home energy management solutions".

ECE goes for a Smart Grid-ready communications system

East Central Energy (ECE) is deploying a Smart Grid-ready communications system linking 36 substations with a 700 MHz licenced wireless broadband communication network from Arcadian Networks made possible through a partnership with the cooperative's wholesale power supplier, Great River Energy of Maple Grove.

ECE, which is a member-owned electric cooperative that serves more than 57,000 homes, farms and businesses in east central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, has now completed installation of Arcadian at 32 of 36 substations and expects to complete the roll out by the end of the year.

Commenting on the previous arrangement, Linda LaTourelle, the IT Manager overseeing the transition to the Arcadian solution, said with nearly 70,000 PLC equipped meters reporting through substation data concentrators, communications with remote locations was challenging.

Considering that the older dial-up communications were maintenance intensive and needed to support an expensive frame relay network to get information back to headquarters in Braham, Minnesota, with some remote substations simply could not be reached by dial-up (and this required to patch together a non- broadband, mismatched solution), ECE saw the need to upgrade to a unified and modern communications platform to support its plans for additional smart grid applications in the future.

"We liked the idea of a private network and had considered putting in our own wireless system," said LaTourelle. "When we studied the capabilities of the Arcadian system, we saw that it brought the security, privacy, and reliability we wanted along with a strong ongoing return on our investment."

"We are already benefiting from the broadband accessibility to our substation communications throughout the entire territory, and the team is talking about the Smart Grid potential of the network."

IBM and EDF embark on an energy sustainability project

IBM has signed a collaboration with EDF to jointly develop high performance computing solutions which can significantly advance the operation and optimisation of the complex systems and processes involved in electricity production and power management.

The two companies will also work on a project to explore key aspects of the energy systems that are important in EDF operations, in an effort to further energy sustainability.

Acknowledging the significance of extensive collaboration between the scientific and business communities, and new approaches in technology, John E. Kelly III, senior vice president and director of IBM Research said this ambitious initiative will explore how to apply technologies with new intelligence to seek significant improvements in energy efficiency and alternative energy.

Together, the companies will develop and validate sophisticated computational solutions to model a number of complex processes critical to EDF activities. EDF expects that this common initiative will increase its ability to further advance the efficiency of its power plants.

IBM expects that its work with EDF will help advance IBM's systems, software, middleware and applications capabilities in its Power Generation, Intelligent Utility Network and Advanced Water Management solutions, as well as many other industrial, environmental and research activities and lead to improved computer systems and applications designs in the future.

For its part, EDF has been investing in research and numerical simulation to support efficient and sustainable use of power production. Its R&D teams have developed a set of highly validated numerical codes and simulation platforms that play a key role in optimising plant operation.