Smart Grid and Smart Meters Get Big Grants

As the U.S. moves towards a new type of green economy and renewable energy (slowly and painfully)  President Obama has announced an extra $3.4  billion for smart meters and the smart grid.

The funding will be for  ‘smart grid’ projects aimed at promoting green power and reducing electricity bills and blackouts.  Dan Reicher, Director of Climate and Energy Initiatives for Google testified this week on the smart grid during the second day of the EPW hearings. The hearings are worth listening to, especially Tuesday’s panels (find the hearings here).

Friday, there were some early fireworks as Senator Voinavich, a Republican from Ohio, accused Senator Boxer of not wanting a true bipartisan discussion on energy and climate.  The EPW’s Republicans are feeling very frustrated right now because they are feeling pressure from their constituents against any climate legislation but they want the jobs and new energy promises from the Kerry-Boxer bill.  The issue of energy and climate change has dissolved into heavy partisanship and fearmongering on the part of the Republican politicians, as they favor business over the liveability of the environment, and they attempt to score political points at the expense of our country and our planet.  Meanwhile, President Obama is going ahead with funding the smart grid, and that is good news.

More information on EPA and the recovery act here.

Obama awards $3.4 billion in ’smart grid’ grants

A major proposal of the Obama administration’s national energy makeover has been to build a next-generation “smart” power grid that enables integration of more renewable energy and maximizes efficiency. Most stimulus funding has so far gone to fix roads and other infrastructure, but on Tuesday the smart grid began catching up.. . .

Just 100 utilities of more than 400 applicants won federal grants, which officials say will leverage more than $4.7 billion in matching private sector investment. These grants comprise the lion’s share of the $4.5 billion stimulus money set aside for smart grid development, and is expected to create tens of thousands of new jobs.

The measure, announced by Mr. Obama at Florida Power and Light’s (FPL) DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, may be the largest single investment in energy-grid modernization in US history. It funds a range of technologies intended to speed the nation’s transition to a more efficient and reliable electric system that promotes savings and integrates renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

“There’s something big happening in America in terms of creating a clean-energy economy,” Obama said, adding that more needs to be done.

“We have a very antiquated (electric grid) system in our country,” Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change, told reporters. “The current system is outdated, it’s dilapidated.”

Implementing smart-grid technologies could reduce electricity use nationwide by more than 4 percent by 2030, according to an analysis by the Electric Power Research Institute. That would save $20.4 billion in energy costs for businesses and consumers around the country.

Smart meters

The funding will accelerate deployment of technologies such as “smart meters” that allow customers and utilities to measure energy use digitally with real-time measurement. The information, which can be displayed on a website or a display in the home, lets utilities work closely with customers to reduce energy use during peak load periods as well as overall reductions.

FPL plans to use its $200 million award to help install some 2.6 million smart meters that would help Floridians save up to $1.6 billion by the year 2030.

“Finally we have a technology that will benefit regular consumers – not just the guy driving his BMW home to fire up his hot tub,” says Katherine Hamilton, president of the GridWise Alliance, a coalition of companies working to promote smart-grid technology. “This funding will deploy technology that allows everyone to understand how they use energy and give them tools to adjust their energy usage.”

That’s been happening already in pockets around the country. One $200 million award went to help
install smart meters for many more of the 1.2 million customers of Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE). This summer 1,000 Baltimore residents who participated in a smart-grid demonstration project slashed peak energy usage by one-third, according to Ken DeFontes, president of BGE. A survey found nearly all of them asked to continue being able to see their energy use moment by moment.

“In the new world, you’ll be able to see electricity use hour by hour in real time,” Mr. DeFontes said in a teleconference. “All the customer is doing is paying attention to their energy use just a little bit more … it gives them control over their energy usage.”

Long-term savings

But even energy efficiency advocates who favor smart-grid technology acknowledge that it will be perhaps a decade before the nation begins to see major energy savings.

“There are still lots of questions in the short term about how to do it right, but smart grid will be important for the nation in the long term,” says Steve Nadel, executive director of American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.

Appliance standards, revamped building codes, and energy efficiency programs will be more important in the short run, he says.

Challenges for the system include cyber security. Digital meters that can be read over the Internet can also be hacked. Utilities, under pressure from federal regulators, are pressing to implement strict safety standards.

“Cyber security is clearly an issue for the smart grid,” Ms. Hamilton says. “But we expect that as they install this equipment, the digital components will have cyber security built into it.”

Beside the $3.4 billion in matching grants, another $1.1 billion will fund other smart-grid components, including $615 million for demonstration projects and $100 million for work force development.

The latter is critical, Ms. Hamilton notes, since more than half of all utility engineers and other energy workers will retire over the next five years.

From the CSMonitor

Administrator Jackson Visits Raleigh, Announces $200 Million Investment to Develop Smart Electric Grid in Carolinas, Florida

Part of $3.4 billion in smart grid recovery act funding announced by President Obama yesterday

WASHINGTON – U.S. EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson visited Raleigh today to announce a $200 million grant for a smarter, stronger and more efficient electric system in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. The funding, announced at a press conference with Lieutenant Governor Walter Dalton and Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker, is part of President Barack Obama’s announcement yesterday of the largest single energy grid modernization investment in U.S. history – $3.4 billion in Smart Grid Investment Grant Awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will be matched by industry for a total investment worth more than $8 billion.

“A cornerstone of our new foundation for prosperity is the growth of the American clean energy economy,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Investments in innovative Smart Grid technology will create new jobs, lower energy bills for consumers and businesses, promote more efficient and reliable energy delivery, and set the stage for affordable clean energy across the country.”

An analysis by the Electric Power Research Institute estimates that the implementation of smart grid technologies could reduce electricity use by more than 4 percent by 2030. That would mean a savings of $20.4 billion for businesses and consumers around the country, and $500 million for North Carolina alone – or $51 in utility savings for every man, woman and child in North Carolina.

“These funds will help us modernize North Carolina’s energy grid – empowering consumers to cut their electric bills and paving the way for a greener, more efficient energy system,” said North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue.

The $200 million grant, which Progress Energy will match with $300 million of its own funding, will fund system and equipment upgrades that will make their grid more efficient, saving consumers money in the Carolinas and in Florida. Progress Energy will also use its funding to install 160,000 smart meters and other technology that will cut energy costs for its customers.

“Progress Energy is currently investing in several Smart Grid initiatives to meet our customer’s changing electricity needs throughout the communities that rely on us for reliable power,” said Bill Johnson, Progress Energy chairman, president and CEO. “This grant program has the potential to expand investments necessary to transform the electric grid to give customers greater control of their energy use, enable utilities to harness the potential of renewable energy and electric vehicles and improve power quality and service reliability.”

North Carolina companies, serving five states, will receive $403 million total in recovery act funding for smart grid development, which will be matched by nearly $975 million in private funds for a total investment of $1.3 billion. Duke Energy will receive a similar $200 million grant.

R319