Smart Grid Update

Jumbled regulation at heart of Australian smart grid market dip

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:43:17 +0000

Précis:

A new Frost & Sullivan study predicts that Australian smart grid revenues will actually shrink by more than a third over the next few years. We look at the reasons why and if there is a chance for smart grid recovery.

By Susan Kraemer

According to the research report, Frost & Sullivan: High Costs, Uncertain Returns Curb Utilities' Investments in Australian Smart Grid Market, a lack of specific payback periods is stalling potential smart grid deployments.

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2nd Annual Smart Grid Distribution Automation 2013

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Distribution automation: why it needs more interoperability

Jason Deign — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 04:40:42 +0000

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Interoperability has mostly been a concern for advanced metering infrastructure deployments. But now it is also becoming a challenge for distribution automation.

Why should you care if your distribution automation equipment is able to talk to your neighbour’s? After all, distribution automation is basically something that happens deep within your grid, on substations and other facilities that nobody else has access to.

That is why interoperability has traditionally been much more of an issue for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI).

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2nd Annual Smart Grid Distribution Automation 2013

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Demand response: Faroe Islands wind project serves valuable lessons

Jason Deign — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 16:59:59 +0000

Précis:

When Faroe Islands power company SEV switched off its Sund Power Plant in November 2012 it shone a light on how demand response could help better integrate wind power on the grid.

You could say it was one small flick for a power engineer but a giant leap for the power industry.

In November of last year Finn Jakobsen, manager of distribution and production at SEV, the energy utility of the Danish-owned Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, switched off the archipelago’s Sund Power Plant in the presence of a small audience.

The action should have blacked out roughly a tenth of the population. Instead: nothing.

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2nd Annual Smart Grid Distribution Automation 2013

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Energy storage for PV: meeting new operator demands

Jason Deign — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:32:11 +0000

Précis:

Efficient and cost effective energy storage is the only thing standing between PV as an uncertain, intermittent energy source and one that is constant and dispatchable.

Take a look at Acciona’s Tudela PV plant in Navarre, northern Spain, and you probably would not notice anything unusual. But a glance at the energy production graph would reveal this is no ordinary installation.

Passing clouds barely cause a flicker in the output and the plant can even dispatch power at night.

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2nd Annual Smart Grid Distribution Automation 2013

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Home energy hubs: ‘utilities have underestimated how much data processing power they really need’

Jason Deign — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 07:26:16 +0000

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Data lies at the heart of any smart grid. But as customers create and demand new data streams through home energy hubs, is there a danger of overload?

You have worked out how much data you are going to have to handle from your smart grid roll out. You have got your smart meters installed in customers’ homes. You have got your data analytics ticking over nicely. Job done? Not so fast, says Bastian Fischer of Oracle.

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2nd Annual Smart Grid Distribution Automation 2013

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Large & hybrid energy storage options: what's available now for a growing renewable energy mix?

Elisabeth Jeffries — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 14:34:13 +0000

Précis:

Projects such as the £34m Northern Isles New Energy Solutions (NINES) project are showing a greater need for large-scale demand side management and hybrid energy storage as renewable energy takes up a larger percentage of the grid.

A new power plant has shown hydrogen can be safer to store in stationary applications than large scale electricity and other forms of energy.

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ENISA recommendations: does Europe measure up?

Jason Deign — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:06:18 +0000

Précis:

The European Network and Information Security Agency has 10 proposals to make smart grids more secure. Now it is up to the industry to put them into effect.

If you think your power grid is safe from hackers then perhaps you should have been at Def Con Kids this year.

The children’s version of the celebrated cyber-security conference featured a talk by Don Bailey, of the American IT security firm iSEC Partners, on how to hack the grid with a mobile.

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Social housing smart meter project to test behavioural change

Elisabeth Jeffries — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 11:56:53 +0000

Précis:

If it could be proved that users could slash their monthly bills without spending a cent, energy efficiency might become the next big thing to consumer energy and power efficiency. An EU project known as ICE-WISH focusing on user behaviour is investigating precisely this issue.

Running in social housing developments in ten European countries, the EU-led ICE-WISH project will test how far the use of smart meters and ICT alone (as opposed to installing insulation or double glazing) will cut bills. The aim is to reduce energy and water consumption by no less than 15% without making living conditions uncomfortable.

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New European efficiency laws: what opportunities will it bring to smart grid and meter companies?

Jason Deign — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 03:49:41 +0000

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The new European Commission Energy Efficiency Directive will be a welcome boost for the continent’s smart grid aspirations. But if some EU members are looking at this half-heartedly in the face of economic turmoil how can smart grid companies help them achieve energy efficiency targets?

This month sees the passing into law of a European Commission (EC) Energy Efficiency Directive to help cut energy consumption 20% by 2020.

Headline measures in the directive, which was approved by European Union (EU) ministers at the beginning of October, include renovating public buildings, introducing savings targets for utilities, subjecting large enterprises to energy audits and offering financing.

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Number of regulated revenue decoupling utilities triples under Obama: how energy efficiency is paying off for US utilities

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 12:36:38 +0000

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At the beginning of the Obama administration, only five states decoupled electric utilities’ revenues from profits. That number has now tripled, the direct result of a little-noticed administration initiative that offered $3bn to promote revenue decoupling nationally.

Decoupling revenue from sales corrects the “perverse incentive” that reduces utility motivation to increase energy efficiency. Without decoupling revenues from profits, a utility earns more when it sells more energy. The decoupling mechanism prevents the utility’s net revenues and profits from declining if its energy reduction programs are successful.

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DOE says consumer engagement 'top priority' for utilities

John Johnson — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 16:38:22 +0000

Précis:

Utilities are spending billions on technology infrastructure and smart grid systems. But unless consumers engage with the new programmes offered by utilities, the investments will be for naught.

To fully gain the benefits of smart grid tools like smart meters, consumer’s must embrace new billing methods and new data on usage designed to help them use less energy and to use it during non-peak hours.

Role of DOE as Educator

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Weather analytics to improve smart grids

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 12:23:04 +0000

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San Diego Gas & Electricity wants an even smarter grid by integrating highly reliable predictive weather forecasting which can have a major impact on renewable energy output

Already the nation’s leader in weather analytics of its 4,000 square mile territory because of extreme fire danger, SDG&E has now begun developing a weather network to get a better idea of contribution of wind and solar, for net load forecasting within its district.

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Smart grid: how it can piggyback the mobile phone sector

Jason Deign — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 09:29:38 +0000

Précis:

For nearly four decades the mobile phone industry has been coming to terms with novel technology standards and new business models. Could utilities take some lessons from this?

Competing communication standards. Changing business models. New sources of consumer data. A fair description of the challenges smart grids pose to utilities today. But it is also a decent summary of the challenges the mobile phone industry has had to face over the best part of the last four decades.

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Latin America: How could this market's peculiarities impact smart meter and grid growth?

Jason Deign — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 07:44:08 +0000

Précis:

Smart grids are taking off in a big way in Latin America. Do not expect users to be aware of it yet, though.

Not going far enough: that was the analyst view in August when Brazil’s energy regulator announced measures to create a USD$670m-a-year smart meter market.

The Agencia Nacional de Energia Electrica ordained the introduction of smart meters, but only for new installations from February 2014, and not at all for low-income households.

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Will California have enough transmission to support 33% renewables?

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 07:17:23 +0000

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Like Germany with its extremely ambitious offshore wind goals, California has ambitious goals, with 20 GW of renewables contracted with utilities to come online by 2020. About half of that is to come from solar. Is there a danger of transmission not being ready in time?  

Germany’s offshore wind energy goals were recently threatened by a Dutch-owned transmission system operator unable or unwilling to put in place the grid needed to bring that renewable power onto land.

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Weekly Intelligence Brief 20 – 26 September 2012

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 02:46:19 +0000

Précis:

GE launches utility demand response technology Companies mentioned: General Electric, Comverge, Rongke Power, VYCON, Shea Homes, San Diego Gas & Electric, Vivint, Blackstone

Weekly Intelligence Brief 20 – 26 September 2012

GE launches utility demand response technology

General Electric (GE) has introduced software to help utilities better manage their demand response programmes, which can reduce peak demand with pricing signals or agreements with large commercial users triggering energy reductions in times of peak demand.

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Case Study : New Jersey’s Atlantic City Electric $37.4m distribution automation project

John Johnson — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 02:01:25 +0000

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Atlantic City Electric's $37.4m DA project is set to help customers conserve energy. Part of that plan includes deploying 25,000 power demand-limiting devices, intelligent grid sensors, distribution automation technology and other grid communication infrastructure.

A rough estimate for residential, commercial, and industrial worldwide consumption of air conditioning is at the very least one trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity per annum, according to research conducted by Stan Cox, a senior scientist at the US non-profit Land Institute in Salina, Kansas and author of Losing Our Cool: Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (and Finding New Ways To Get Through the Summer).

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What is holding back wider take-up of distribution automation?

Jason Deign — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 08:40:58 +0000

Précis:

Distribution automation is an established means of achieving sure-fire efficiency improvements. So how come it is not more widely used?

Rajiv Kumar, secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, likened the blackouts to “a day of reckoning” in press reports. And he was not the only one deeply affected by the world’s biggest electrical failure, last July 31.

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India’s high growth wind sector calls for smart grid infrastructure

Heba Hashem — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:59:03 +0000

Précis:

Indian wind developments are luring investors away from markets such as the US, where the end of production tax credit for wind-power utilities could result in a 75% slump in new installations. Which is also a new opportunity for smart grid technology companies.

After achieving unprecedented growth last year, the Indian wind power industry is facing significant challenges, from inadequate evacuation infrastructure and complicated land acquisition, to payment delays by utilities and withdrawal of financial incentives. How does the wind and electricity transmission sectors plan to overcome these obstacles?

A series of hurdles

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Bahrain stabilizes grid with smart solar

Heba Hashem — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:44:01 +0000

Précis:

The small island of Bahrain was the first place on the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf where oil was discovered. And today, it has become the newest Gulf country to harness solar energy through a smart electric grid.

Lying amidst Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran, and sharing the same hot dry climate, Bahrain’s population of 1.3 million people are susceptible to power outages every summer. And like its neighbouring countries, the kingdom wants to diversify its resources, reduce its dependence on fossil fuels, and free up oil for export.

Transforming the desert landscape

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Weekly Intelligence Brief 19 August –26 August 2012

ksdicks — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:42:01 +0000

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Cisco brings smart grid technology to Philippines Companies mentioned: Meralco, Cisco, Alstom Grid, Toshiba, Sensus, Texas Instruments, ComEd, Exelon, Maryland Public Service Commission, Peco Energy, Baltimore Gas and Electric, ABB, Tropos

Weekly Intelligence Brief 19 August – 5 September 2012

Cisco brings smart grid technology to Philippines

Manila Electric Company (Meralco), the Philippines' largest distributor of electrical power, and Cisco are collaborating to provide reliable computing and networking infrastructure as a foundation for operations on a smart grid.

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Distributed automation: smart grid’s fastest growing segment

John Johnson — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 05:48:01 +0000

Précis:

Spending on smart grid technology and distributed automation is expected to exceed $46bn globally by 2015. Distributed automation is clearly the fastest growing segment of the market.

What do utilities stand to gain by investing billions to upgrade infrastructure and antiquated electricity distribution systems?

While it is unlikely that blackouts will ever entirely disappear, utilities are already reaping huge gains from their investments in distributed automation from increased efficiencies and improved customer service.

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Distribution automation: lessons learned one project at a time

Jason Deign — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 12:14:19 +0000

Précis:

The body of best practice around distribution automation is growing as more and more utilities embark on bigger and better implementation projects.

How do you apply distribution automation techniques to infrastructure buried underground, without digging up every pavement in town?

On August 8th a company called On-Ramp Wireless proved it could be done using a purpose-built wireless system, as part of a US Department of Energy-funded field trial at San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison.

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Policy Brief 16 – 29 August 2012

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:53:16 +0000

Précis:

Massachusetts green lights smart meter programme Companies and organisations mentioned: National Grid, the Fraunhofer Institute, Infineon, Insta Elektro GmbH, NXP Semiconductors Germany GmbH, RWTH Aachen University, Telefunken Semiconductors GmbH, Lux Research.

Policy Brief 16 – 29 August 2012

Massachusetts green lights smart meter programme

Massachusetts’ utility National Grid has won approval from the state Department of Public Utilities to launch a smart grid pilot program among 15,000 city customers in Worcester — the largest smart grid program in Massachusetts.

Over the next twelve months National Grid will begin to install smart meters to allow grid operators and customers to track energy use in real time.

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Intelligence Brief 16 – 29 August 2012

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:36:53 +0000

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Alstom Grid, Cisco form digital substation agreement Companies and organisations mentioned: Alstom Grid, Cisco, Silver Spring Networks, Unison, On-Ramp Wireless, PG&E, PJM, Landis+Gyr Oy, A123, American Superconductor

Intelligence Brief 16 – 29 August 2012

Alstom Grid, Cisco form digital substation agreement

Alstom Grid and Cisco have signed a commercial and technology agreement to develop the next generation of digital substation solutions for electrical grids.

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Weekly Intelligence Brief 9 – 15 August 2012

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 10:04:40 +0000

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FortisBC look to Cisco GridBlocks to smarten grid Companies mentioned: FortisBC, Itron, Cisco, Petra Solar, Mitsui, Viridity Energy, Saft S.A., GridSense

Weekly Intelligence Brief 9 – 15 August 2012

FortisBC look to Cisco GridBlocks to smarten grid

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Who’s who among distribution automation vendors

Jason Deign — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 08:53:08 +0000

Précis:

The landscape for distribution automation vendors is dominated by big names. And growing demand for their automation technologies could see them getting even bigger.

If you are shopping for distribution automation gear then expect to see a lot of suits. This is a big boys’ game, involving equipment that runs into tens of thousands of dollars a unit. And it is dominated by some of the biggest players in energy infrastructure manufacturing.

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Smart Grid Update Policy Brief 9 – 15 August 2012

Susan Kraemer — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 08:35:47 +0000

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Obama hints at Executive Order on cyber security Companies mentioned: White House, Steria Mummert, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Smart Grid Update Policy Brief 9 – 15 August 2012

Obama hints at Executive Order on cyber security

On August 2nd, Senate Republicans shot down a legislative effort to shore up the nation’s infrastructure against cyber threats by preventing a vote, despite a 52 - 46 Senate majority that voted to move forward and vote on the measure.

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