DOE Report Shows Smart Grid Program Funds Mismanaged — Occupational Health & Safety

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The DOE inspector general said in a report that funds from $700 million smart-grid technology program have been mismanaged.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

There are 32 projects made possible from the 2009 grant, 11 of which were reported on by Friedman.

“Our review of 11 projects, awarded $279 million in Recovery Act funding and $10 million in non-Recovery Act funding, identified weaknesses in reimbursement requests, cost-share contributions, and coordination efforts with another Department program,” Friedman said in the report to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.

Some additional issues found by Friedman included overpayments and failures in the procedures for vetting recipient cost-share contributions

See on ohsonline.com

Chicago Suburb Oak Park Joins International Solar-Powered Smart Grid Test

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The village of Oak Park, a suburb west of Chicago, was recently selected from a list of competing volunteer neighborhoods to be the test site for smart grid technology.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The project is a joint venture between the Korean Smart Grid Institute and the Institute for Sustainable Energy Development, and will involve placing a set of twelve or thirteen 3-kilowatt solar panels, along with a battery system, on the roofs of 100 residential and 100 multifamily buildings. They’ll also all be linked up to an electrical grid boasting smart meters, and once the test run of the system is over the building owners will get to keep the installations, worth $20,000 to $30,000 [each].

The [scenario for Oak Park homeowners] we talk about the most is this idea of collecting the solar energy during the day and storing it in the battery and then having the house run on the battery at night so you’re completely offline at night and the battery provides a phantom load — your clocks, TV.

The [average number of outages] for Oak Park is 45 minutes per year. What the number doesn’t tell you about is the stories I hear when [residents] call up on day three of still not having power. Then I get calls from restaurants. You’re talking about an entire week’s or month’s inventory gone.

See on thinkprogress.org

PowerTools App Helps SDG&E Customers Manage & Save Energy

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San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and Candi Controls announced that the PowerTools app is available for customers to download on their mobile phone or tablet…

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

“As a number of innovations for the home rely on the collection and use of consumer energy data, a self-regulatory program powered by independent third-party enforcement will ensure that participating companies commit to responsible practices,” said Chris Babel, chief executive officer of TRUSTe�. “With the Privacy Smart Powered by TRUSTe Seal, SDG&E sends a clear signal to its customers that it respects their personal information.”

SDG&E is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.4 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 840,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility’s area spans 4,100 square miles. SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help our customers save energy and money every day. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy SRE +0.53% , a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.

See on www.marketwatch.com

10 Key Data Center Energy Management Trends for 2013

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The ways data centers consume power will continue to undergo both subtle and substantive transformations in 2013. The first three trends identified here started in 2012, when organizations began struggling with increased power demands in the face of constrained capacity caused by both inefficient equipment and stranded power…

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

[…] For example, because rates for electricity are at their lowest at night when demand is low and baseload generating capacity is under-utilized, shifting the current workload to “follow the moon” can result in considerable savings.

[…] To eliminate the stranded power that exists in virtually every data center, capacity planning efforts will also begin to include power distribution and actual consumption as critical design factors.

[…] To eliminate the considerable overlap between the DCIM and other management systems used by the IT department and the Building Management System (BMS) used by the Facility department, organizations will begin migrating to DCIM as the primary platform for managing data centers, and will integrate other systems with it. …

See on www.energymanagertoday.com

Biofuels groups downplay ruling’s impact on investment – The Hill’s E2-Wire

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Biofuels groups are downplaying a Friday federal court decision that some believe could cut off investments in advanced green fuels.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

The rule requires refiners to blend 36 billion gallons of biofuel into traditional transportation fuel by 2022. Of that total, 21 billion gallons must come from cellulosic and “advanced” biofuels, which are made from non-edible feedstock.

But the court said EPA acted in “excess of the agency’s statutory authority” in projecting refiners could blend 10.45 million gallons of cellulosic biofuel in 2012, as only 22,000 gallons were produced.

[…]

In its lawsuit against the EPA, the American Petroleum Institute (API) argued refiners were forced to buy credits to fill the gap in the agency’s projections and actual production levels.

The court sided with API on that point, giving the oil-and-gas lobby its first victory in its full-court press to repeal the biofuel mandate.

API is pushing Congress to tear down the rule and is fighting the rule through the courts. It also has a lawsuit on file challenging EPA’s projections for 2011.

“We are glad the court has put a stop to EPA’s pattern of setting impossible mandates for a biofuel that does not even exist. This absurd mandate acts as a stealth tax on gasoline with no environmental benefit that could have ultimately burdened consumers,” API Group Downstream Director Bob Greco said in a Friday statement.

See on thehill.com

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Explore a new topic on the inter-operations of personal electronic devices in groups.

Ken's avatarThe Past and Present Future

 

 

Watch the GroupTogether video on YouTube

See also my post with some further perspective on the GroupTogether project.

GroupTogetherMarquardt, N., Hinckley, K., and Greenberg, S., Cross-Device Interaction via Micro-mobility and F-formations.  In ACM UIST 2012 Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST ’12). ACM, New York, NY, USA,  Cambridge, MA, Oct. 7-10, 2012, pp. 13-22. Also known as the GroupTogether system.
https://doi.org/10.1145/2380116.2380121
[PDF] [Talk PPTX] [Talk PPTX] [Watch on YouTube]

 

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Smart Grid: Put away your tinfoil hats. Texas study proves smart meters can’t exert thought control

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Smart Grid – The results of a study released by the PUC of Texas is sure to get a thumbs down from smart meter opponents there. Read the story to find out why.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

[…] the study was conducted in response to smart meter opponents who complained about EMF causing a range of health problems, invasion of privacy issues and more.

 

[…] a continuing smart meter backlash has been going on for the past few years in several states. And you may recall, a Texas woman pulled a handgun on a utility worker in July of last year to prevent him from installing a smart meter at her home.

 

[…] as the report’s executive summary concludes, "Smart meters are not intended for, are not designed to, and do not have the capability to harm an individual or direct a person’s thoughts or actions."

See on www.smartgridnews.com

Many Consumers Remain Unfamiliar With Smart Grid Concepts, According to New Pike Research Survey – DailyFinance

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Many Consumers Remain Unfamiliar With Smart Grid Concepts, According to New Pike Research Survey BOULDER,

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

[…] According to a new consumer survey from Pike Research, […] nearly one-third of respondents (30 percent) were unfamiliar with smart grids, and one-quarter (24 percent) were unfamiliar with smart meters.

See on www.dailyfinance.com

CanSIA 2012-Smart Grid Breakout Session

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CanSIA 2012-Smart Grid Breakout Session.

“At CanSIA Solar Canada in Toronto I [Joshua LaForge] attended a breakout session that focused on developing grid technologies for the integration of solar PV and other renewables. The speakers covered a broad range of topics, including weather forecasting for solar load balancing (Rhonda Wright-Hilbig, IESO), economic modelling of renewable penetration (Justin Malecki, Clearsky Advisors), and PV-pilot projects in isolated communities (PJ Fernandex, ABB and Scott Henneberry, Schneider Electric).”

Smart Grid May be Shortest Route to Obama’s Green Energy Goals – Forbes

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President Obama’s inaugural address listed climate change and renewable energy as among his top priorities in his second term. But one of the most critical means by which to achieve those goals was never mentioned: the smart grid.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

[…] Collaboration is instrumental, although Yeager warns that some interests can deflect progress because they are unable to set aside their agendas.

“We have to change policies to enable innovation,” he previously told this writer. “Utilities will not do this by themselves. They will want more power sources and to make more money. They have no incentive to empower consumers. Until the incentives for utilities change, they will block the door and the public utility commissions will keep the status quo.”

Yeager likened it to the days before telecommunications reform: Innovation will remain pent up in a regulatory model that has no motivation to change. And nothing will happen unless regulators force utilities to adopt those smart grid technologies. …

[…] Whereas energy conservation has typically been a back-burner subject, today it is up front. That awareness in combination with a difficult economy means that people will continue to search out ways to cut energy consumption, and costs.

“It will get there, but the smart grid really is still being defined,” says Nosbaum, […]

The smart grid supports the Obama’s administration’s green initiatives. As such, the president allocated $4.5 billion in the 2009 stimulus plan to various projects. […]

Over time, DNV KEMA says that a total of $16 billion in incentives will be targeted to the smart grid. That, in turn, will multiply and create a total of $64 billion in projects tied to the efficient production, transport and use of energy. The consultancy adds that such investments will produce 280,000 new jobs.

See on www.forbes.com