Genesis Energy signs contract with NGC Metering in New Zealand

Genesis Energy is set to introduce latest metering services in New Zealand, marking an end of 60-year old technology. The company has signed a contract with Vector’s NGC Metering for the same.

With this initiative, Genesis Energy’s 500,000 residential and business customer accounts will have their existing analogue meter replaced with a new digital meter, which will be connected wirelessly to Genesis Energy’s Customer Information Systems. This process will get over in five years. The company says its investment in back-office technology has given it the ability to take immediate advantage of new advanced metering technology.

Genesis Energy’s chief executive Murray Jackson said, “Not only are advanced meters less intrusive, in time they will give customers the ability to see their daily consumption in graphical formats. They will begin to get a much better understanding of how much energy they are consuming and when they are consuming it. This is a powerful new tool for the people of New Zealand to manage their personal energy use.”

The commercial arrangement between Genesis Energy and NGC Metering also meets the long term policy requirements of the New Zealand Energy Strategy, which promotes demand side response and the efficient use of energy. The Electricity Commission (EC) has provided an advanced metering policy in line with the Government strategy outlining key drivers for an advanced metering infrastructure after consultation with the industry. Genesis Energy’s contract with NGC Metering is consistent with the EC policy.

The new meters will be owned by NGC Metering, a part of New Zealand energy infrastructure group Vector. Vector will provide the information services in association with Advanced Metering Services (AMS), a 50:50 JV with Siemens (NZ). In October 2007, Vector had formed this JV with Siemens to deliver advanced metering technology and operational services to customers throughout New Zealand.

ADDRESS research programme gains momentum

Researchers at the University of Manchester and RLtec are getting associated with a £12.4 million project backed by the European Commission, looking at the use of smart electricity grids.

The development, reported by New Energy Focus, referred to ADDRESS research programme, which also includes EDF’s London-based transmission subsidiary EDF Energy Networks Ltd.

London-based technology company RLtec is privately owned and has received investment from the Low Carbon Accelerator fund.

For its part, the European Commission recently shared plans for four-year ADDRESS research programme.

The project, Active distribution networks with full integration of demand and distributed energy resources (ADDRESS), will deliver a comprehensive commercial and technical framework for the development of active demand in the smart grids of the future. energy-enviro.fi reported that European project aims to develop smart electricity grids that will give consumers for the first time the ability to actively participate in energy delivery, choosing when they consume their energy as well as giving them the opportunity to supply energy into the energy grid.

The ADDRESS includes 25 partners from 11 European countries spanning the entire electricity supply chain, qualified research and development bodies and manufacturers. Their efforts will be coordinated by ENEL Distribution. The project is expected to last for four years and cost EUR 16 million, of which EUR 9 million is being provided by the EU. It runs parallel to the vision of the European SmartGrids Technology Platform.

Trilliant gets $40m equity financing

Trilliant Incorporated has closed a $40 million equity investment to accelerate its growth and market expansion globally.

The company stated that this investment represents one of the largest investments to date in an independent smart grid technology provider. Trilliant, a provider of Smart Grid communication infrastructure, secured the investment from an affiliate of MissionPoint Capital Partners and zouk ventures.

Bill Vogel, CEO, Trilliant said his company has a very ambitious goal and the new investment definitely accelerates the same.

“We intend to be the leading provider of advanced Smart Grid solutions globally, helping utilities upgrade and modernise their network infrastructure and expand their energy management capabilities with best-in-class, flexible, robust solutions and service,” said Vogel.

To its credit, Trilliant has now delivered more than 750,000 intelligent devices with integrated communications supporting advanced metering, demand response and other Smart Grid applications.

The deal underlines VC’s growing appetite for companies working on technologies to improve large power grids. As per the information available, at least half a dozen other smart grid funding deals have been struck this year in a boom in government support for technologies that improve power grid monitoring and management. Other funding deals are a $23m investment in BPL Global, a smart grid rival, led by Morgan Stanley, and a $17.4m investment in Silver Spring Networks, a networking company focused on power grids.

PGE considers new demand-response options

Portland General Electric (PGE), a vertically integrated electric utility, is looking for new demand-response options.

PGE, which serves approximately 813,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon, has issued a request for proposals (RFP) to prospective third-party providers to supply capacity that could help PGE manage its load during periods of peak power demand by organising qualifying customers to temporarily reduce their use of electricity.

The utility, which has been working on finding ways to partner with its customers to help meet the demand for electricity in its service territory, is targeting demand response programmes, which are designed to be activated on short notice to reduce the demand for electricity during times of stress on the grid.

The RFP calls for proposals for 50 megawatts (MW) of demand response peak capacity, with a deadline of October 29, 2008 for capacity available by December 2009.

On the new initiative, Joe Barra, director of customer energy resources, PGE said, “We see this as a way to help meet our customers’ need for reliable electricity, manage power costs, and reduce our impact on the environment.”

Customers who participate in demand response programmes typically receive some sort of incentive for reducing load on the system, while the utility benefits by having access to power at a lower cost than might be available on the wholesale market during peak periods.

Recently, while sharing its second quarter results, Peggy Fowler, CEO and president, PGE said that the utility is moving forward with its new smart-metering technology. Approximately 16,000 new meters are being installed as part of the project’s six-month systems testing phase, with the remaining meters to be installed by the end of 2010. PGE expects the smart-metering project to provide improved services as well as operational efficiencies and cost savings.

PGE’s net income for the six months ended June 30, 2008, was $67 million.

US healthcare organisation to eliminate lead-acid batteries

Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota have decided to replace the lead acid batteries used for back-up power in the hospitals’ data center.

The traditional battery backup system is being replaced by an environmentally-safe flywheel system will be used.

The children’s healthcare organisation, which is the seventh largest in the US, has decided to go ahead with VYCON’s VDC flywheel backup system. The VYCON flywheel UPS system has been in operation since April of this year.

Serving as Minnesota’s children’s hospital since 1924, the health care organisation has 332 staffed beds at its two hospital campuses in St. Paul and Minneapolis.

On being part of Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota green initiatives, VYCON’s chief marketing officer, Frank DeLattre said the flywheel UPS is superior to batteries in that it is a highly reliable protection system in the event of a power failure, and it does not contain any toxic elements.

The VDC units can replace traditional UPS batteries or work in tandem with batteries to provide instantaneous on demand power.

New England Power Pool to create pilot programme for energy storage

New England Power Pool (NEPOOL), the group of electric utilities, generators, and service providers within the ISO New England region, has unanimously chosen a pilot programme for alternative technologies, including energy storage, to provide regulation service.

According to Beacon Power Corporation, the programme’s schedule would allow service providers to be paid as early as mid-November. Beacon Power is currently building flywheel-based energy storage systems in Tyngsboro and intends to participate.

The “Alternative Technologies Regulation Pilot Program” allows for up to 13 megawatts of alternative technologies to be connected to the grid by various suppliers to provide regulation services.

Beacon Power, which is the only company that has yet publicly announced its participation, plans to connect up to five megawatts of energy storage adjacent to the company’s headquarters, beginning later this year.

Referring to the pilot programme, Bill Capp, Beacon Power president and CEO said, “Not only does Beacon intend to participate under the programme’s guidelines, we will also be able to earn revenue from the regulation services we provide.”

In early August, ISO New England and NEPOOL jointly submitted market rules to establish the programme to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for approval. FERC’s decision is expected within 60 days.

PSEG to tap market potential of CAES

PSEG Global has joined hands with energy storage specialist Dr. Michael Nakhamkin for a new joint venture.

The JV, called Energy Storage and Power LLC (ES&P), will exclusively market, licence, support the development and supervise project execution of the second generation of Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES) technology.

Roy Daniel has been appointed as the chief executive officer to lead the venture.

Nakhamkin, who led the design and technical implementation of North America’s only CAES plant in McIntosh, Alabama, will be the chief technology officer.

Nakhamkin felt that the timing is right technically, environmentally and economically for a large-scale deployment of ES&P’s CAES technology.

“PSEG has the expertise and financial resources to bring this technology out of the development stage and into the deployment stage,” he said.

According to PSEG, the second-generation CAES technology offers following features:

· Greater scalability and a lower capital cost per megawatt-hour of power storage relative to other power storage technologies;
· A rapid power response rate, which is critical to enhancing grid stability and compensating for the intermittency of renewable energy resources such as wind and solar;
· The ability to arbitrage the difference between off-peak and on-peak power prices, a difference that has been increasing over time; and
· The use of proven, multi-source, standard components applied in a novel configuration resulting in lower capital cost with established processes and procedures.

According to redorbit.com, PSEG has committed $20 million over three years to the venture, and the amount could go higher.