Reduction in energy usage via connectivity to a customer's house

smartelectricnews.com Special

Development of standards-based smart grid connectivity that offers easy home area networks (HAN) access to utilities deploying Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solutions continues to pave way for a "greener" environment.

AMI provides energy savings for consumers through management of devices and appliances in the home area network.

As a result, there is energy saving through improved demand management and lower energy costs to consumers.

The industry has already witnessed developments related to broadband smart meter HAN interface, coupled with ultra low-power chips that leverage the widely-deployed Wi-Fi infrastructure, enabling programmable, connected devices such as thermostats and smart appliances to optimise the control, delivery, and usage of power.

Home energy monitoring

The industry has been working on shaping up new software for home energy monitoring products, designed to provide consumers with a more detailed information on the energy they use.

Via such systems, customers are offered energy bills with a comprehensive information. It is hoped that providing customers with more details about the appliances and times of day that use the most energy will encourage them to think more about curbing energy use.

New manufacturing techniques can produce devices – including a microprocessor, a unique Internet address, a controller, and simple network communications – at a very low cost per control point, so these devices can be embedded into electrical appliances and lighting ballasts.

Sharing his viewpiont, Dr. Maher Chebbo, Vice President Utilities for Europe ,Middle East and Africa (EMEA), SAP AG , who is scheduled to speak during Intelligent Demand Response for Electricity Summit 2009, to be held in Amsterdam on 28-29 January 2009, says Chips applicances have been produced by different labs like Northwest National Lab.

For instance, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory found that providing homeowners with smart appliances and information on how to save money cut their energy costs but also reduced overall power consumption during peak use periods.

"(Such initiatives) help in sending real-time information about the energy consumption of each electrical appliance at home and also to help self programming in terms of turn-on, turn-off when energy if more expensive and at peak times," said Dr. Chebbo.

As per the information available, appliances outfitted with computer chips are able to sense when the transmission system was stressed and partially turned themselves off to save critical kilowatts — potentially staving off catastrophe.

In terms of reach news of efficiency in communication, there are several new ways of looking at it. For instance, there are initiatives related to an existing software that allows consumers to see which appliances are most power hungry getting integrated into the data warehouse. If a customer's bill is high one month, instead of sending engineers to check the meter, the databases allow energy firms to know if the household has just added a new energy-intensive appliance. It would also allow utilities to notify customers if thier energy use is higher than usual, potentially heading off a particularly hefty bill. Conversely, the system would also be able to notify the energy company if the meter reading looked wrong, saving the customer and energy company time and money.

Commenting on selection of local devices and control systems online to create virtual control center without enterprise software, systems, or device-level integration, and how should they help in administering demand response (DR) programmes and manage energy consumption, Dr. Chebbo referred to integration of the virtual control center and enterprise software through an automated metering infrastructure.

"The smart meters should be the link between the HAN and the enterprise software. All the intelligence about the customers and their behaviour (in terms of consumption profiles) is in the enterprise software taking care of customer information system and assets management," said Dr. Chebbo.

Other than such software, going by the developments in the industry, it is clear that the focus is also coming up with in-home energy displays and smart meter solutions that enable utilities to put the end user in control.

And in terms of the exterior of such products, the onus is on companies to produce attractive products. And at the same time also add real value to this information by providing an intuitive web service that puts raw data into a usable context.

Consumers Energy set to deploy AMI

Consumers Energy is to invest $500 million in advanced metering infrastructure that will allow its customers to take advantage of the latest smart meter technology.

The system will integrate smart appliances into the system so that customers have complete control over their energy consumption. Customers will have the option to manage their own energy consumption or can allow Consumers Energy to do it for them. Participating customers can expect to save up to 10 percent off their energy bill.

Consumers Energy will begin installing the new system over the next few months. "We want to give customers choices," Maureen Trumble, director of Consumers Energy's AMI programme told mlive.com.

Beginning in February, Consumers Energy will install around 6,000 smart meters in Jackson County, Michigan in a project lasting until June. Customers destined to receive the devices will be notified of the scheduled installation by mail. Next year the devices will undergo testing and in 2011 smart meters will be deployed throughout the state.

To educate the public on how the new system will function, the company has dedicated a Smart Services Learning Centre at its Jackson County office. The centre has been designed to depict a typical apartment complete with living room, kitchen, utility room, and appliances but with smart technology installed.

In November last year, IBM had signed a service agreement with Consumers Energy to help plan, deploy and test an AMI and smart grid field pilot network. The project plan called for testing the AMI network's ability to support minimum smart grid functions, collect interval energy usage data for demand response analysis and capture operational metrics for full deployment planning.

A call for upgrading the grid

UK energy analyst Inenco has warned that Britain's archaic National Grid will not be able to cope with the push towards renewable energy without massive new investment by the government. It has emphasised on the fact that the UK's electricity infrastructure is so outdated and expensive that the renewables push towards wind farms and other forms of microgeneration will place an impossible strain on the network.

It is being indicated that wholesale electricity prices will be forced up by 20 percent when the European Union's carbon trading scheme becomes law.

Inenco forecasts that energy costs will rise by a fifth are double the estimate of the Government, which says prices may go up by 10pc.

Under the EU carbon trading scheme, heavy users of electricity will be forced to bid for permits to produce extra carbon dioxide above their capped limit, as reported by telegraph.co.uk. Many permits are still free at the moment, but a limited UK permit trading trial raised £54m for the Treasury last year and they will be traded fully on the open markets by the end of 2012. The current price for one allowance, which represents about 2MWh of electricity, is between €20 (£19) and €25.

Ian Parrett, energy analyst at Inenco, said it was likely that increases in wholesale electricity prices would be passed on to consumers.

"The key issue is that price-based measures tend to affect the least well-off the hardest," he said. "We need to make sure that the costs aren't just borne by those who have no alternative."

Ice Energy introduces utility-scale smart grid solutions

Ice Energy has launched utility-scale smart grid solutions for cost-effective distributed energy storage and renewable portfolio resource integration.

The company's solutions for utilities integrate its "effectively lossless distributed energy storage technology, with closed loop, two-way control, and an advanced software infrastructure to permanently reshape the load curve, and fundamentally transform energy system efficiency and reliability".

Frank Ramirez, CEO, Ice Energy said the company is poised to extend its solution to meet the large scale demand of utility companies in need of smart grid solutions to help them meet escalating peak system demand and effectively integrate intermittent renewable resources.

Ice Energy has worked with its investment partner, Energy Capital Partners, to develop a project capital and business model to immediately support large scale system deployments for utilities.

Ice Energy's solutions enable utilities to realise the full potential of distributed load management by addressing peak system cooling loads. This makes it possible for utility companies to use cleaner, less expensive off-peak power to produce and store energy for use during peak demand periods -- permanently lowering peak demand, reducing carbon emissions, and lowering the cost of service. The company says it permanently and transparently shifts cooling energy consumption to off-peak hours, with no negative impact to consumers.

Finnish utilities focus on deploying AMM solutions

Landis+Gyr has signed Advanced Metering Management (AMM) contracts with five Finnish utilities for installation of smart meter solutions, enabling 145,000 new consumers to manage energy better. The contracts were signed last year.

Building on early success in 2008 with Finnish utilities Jyväskylän Energia, Tampereen Sähkölaitos and Vaasan Sähköverkko Oy, Landis+Gyr has also signed contracts with two additional utilities Satapirkan Sähkö and Kemin Sähkö.

There are three million households in Finland and one in five is currently equipped with smart meters.

The Finnish government regulation that is planned to become effective at the beginning of February calls on utilities to deploy smart meters in 80 percent of homes by end 2013. The mandate is similar to laws being enacted in other Nordic countries.

"Finland is in the execution phase of smart meter deployment, as utilities move quickly to meet government mandates," said Ad van der Meys, Landis+Gyr's Executive VP EMEA region.

Satapirkan Sähkö, a consortium of nine different utility companies, will invest in smart meter solutions for eight of their members. Landis+Gyr is working with other manufacturers to tailor a solution to meet the specific demands of Satapirkan Sähkö.

The firm highlighted a report from VaasaETT (in October last year), as per which energy savings via use of smart meters and in-house displays show average savings of 10.3 percent. Another 2008 paper, from the European Commission, estimates seven percent energy savings for households and 10 percent for businesses.

Bright future ahead of smart grid technology

In its global predictions for technology industry, Deloitte has stated that smart grid solutions providers enjoyed 50 percent revenue growth in 2008 and may generate $25 billion in revenues in 2009.

Although the global economy may make public spending on smart grid unlikely, governments may choose to offer tax incentives as well as consider how smart grid technology can reduce non-domestic energy dependence and help make the grid more secure.

According to Deloitte, to conserve costs, profit-oriented utilities and enterprises may deploy smart grid technologies even without government support.

Also, major manufacturers and utilities may even want to explore partnerships with or acquisition of smart energy companies.

"Smart grid technology will represent the biggest and fastest growing sector in green tech," said Eric Openshaw, vice chairman and U.S. technology leader for Deloitte LLP.
"The most significant emerging technologies will be those that deliver cost-efficiency, contribute to environmental sustainability and drive new forms of personal and business collaboration."

AMSC announces Turnkey D-VAR® order for long island power grid

- Long Island Power Authority Adopts Solution to Ensure Continued Grid Reliability During Periods of Peak Electricity Demand
- AMSC to Provide D-VAR Reactive Compensation Systems, Ancillary Hardware, Installation Services and Ongoing Maintenance

DEVENS, MA – January 27, 2009 – American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC), a leading energy technologies company, announced today that it has received an order for a large-scale dynamic reactive compensation solution from National Grid (LSE: NG) (NYSE: NGG), one of the world’s largest investor-owned energy companies, which manages the electricity network on Long Island under an agreement with Long Island Power Authority (LIPA). AMSC will install its proprietary D-VAR STATCOM solution on eastern Long Island to ensure the continued reliability of the local power grid. Reactive power compensation is necessary to stabilize voltage, relieve power grid congestion, improve electrical efficiency, and prevent blackouts in power grids.

“Long Island Power Authority is supplying more power to its residential and commercial customers each year,” said Long Island Power Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin S. Law. “In order to continue providing reliable, high quality power, we needed a solution to stabilize voltage during times of peak demand, particularly over the summer months when Long Island’s population is at its highest.”

D-VAR dynamic reactive compensation systems are classified as Static Compensators, or “STATCOMs,” a member of the FACTS (Flexible AC-Transmission System) family of power electronic solutions for alternating current (AC) power grids. These Smart Grid solutions are able to detect and instantaneously compensate for voltage disturbances by dynamically injecting leading or lagging reactive power into the power grid. AMSC has received orders for over 60 STATCOM power grid solutions worldwide, more than all other manufacturers. The company’s D-VAR STATCOM customers include more than 20 electric utilities and 40 wind farms.

The total dynamic range of reactive compensation provided by this transmission grid solution will be -96 to +240 mega-volt-amperes reactive (MVAR). AMSC will provide a full turnkey solution, including installation and ongoing maintenance and support for LIPA. The contract calls for commissioning of the reactive compensation solution by mid 2010. It will include a 36 MVAR base-rated D-VAR STATCOM – one of the largest STATCOM’s ever deployed in North America – seamlessly integrated with capacitor banks.

This is the second D-VAR solution AMSC has sold for LIPA’s power grid. In addition, in April 2008, AMSC commissioned the world’s first high temperature superconductor (HTS) power transmission cable system in LIPA’s commercial power grid. The 138,000 volt (138 kV) power cable system is successfully operating in LIPA’s Holbrook transmission right of way. It contains hair-thin HTS wires that conduct 150 times the electricity of similar sized copper wires, enabling the cable system to utilize far less wire and yet conduct up to five times more power – in a smaller right of way – than traditional copper-based cables.

“LIPA has one of the most reliable power grids in the U.S.,” said AMSC founder and Chief Executive Officer Greg Yurek. “By deploying this D-VAR STATCOM solution, LIPA will continue its tradition of utilizing the latest technologies to meet and exceed its customers’ demands for reliable, digital-grade power.”

AMSC’s D-VAR systems are modular and scalable solutions that can be customized to meet specific customer needs. These Smart Grid solutions are being utilized in a wide range of applications, including voltage regulation and grid reliability, optimization of power transfer capacity on stability-limited transmission networks, and reactive power support for wind farm interconnection to the grid. To learn more about AMSC’s D-VAR solutions for the power grid, please visit: http://www.amsc.com/products/transmissiongrid/reactive-power-AC-transmission.html

About LIPALIPA, a non-profit municipal electric provider, owns the retail electric Transmission and Distribution System on Long Island and provides electric service to more than 1.1 million customers in Nassau and Suffolk counties and the Rockaway Peninsula in Queens. LIPA is the 2nd largest municipal electric utility in the nation in terms of electric revenues, 3rd largest in terms of customers served and the 7th largest in terms of electricity delivered. In 2006, LIPA outperformed all other overhead electric utilities in New York State in all three major reliability categories. LIPA does not provide natural gas service or own any on-island generating assets. More information about LIPA can be found online at: http://www.lipower.org.

About American Superconductor (NASDAQ: AMSC)
AMSC offers an array of proprietary technologies and solutions spanning the electric power infrastructure – from generation to delivery to end use. The company is a leader in alternative energy, providing proven, megawatt-scale wind turbine designs and electrical control systems. The company also offers a host of Smart Grid technologies for power grid operators that enhance the reliability, efficiency and capacity of the grid, and seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources into the power infrastructure. These include superconductor power cable systems, grid-level surge protectors and power electronics-based voltage stabilization systems. AMSC’s technologies are protected by a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio consisting of hundreds of patents and licenses worldwide. More information is available at www.amsc.com.