Smart grid

Smart-grid projects hit speed bumps

Is this the summer of discontent for smart meters?

Utility Baltimore Gas & Electric is in the process of working with regulators get approval for a plan to install smart meters at some of its customers, one of the cases drawing interest by smart-grid industry watchers.

During hearings last Thursday and Friday, BG&E made changes to the proposal, which was rejected by regulators in June. The Maryland Public Service Commission had concluded that consumers were shouldering too much of the cost and risk of the proposal, which led to last week's hearings and counterproposal.

As part of … Read more

Bangkok adding solar to grid

Thailand's energy minister ceremonially broke ground Thursday on what will become the largest solar farm in Southeast Asia.

The outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, will be home to a 44-megawatt solar farm to be completed by the end of 2011. The plant dovetails with the country's aim to get 20 percent of its energy from renewable resources by 2022.

Suntech Power, which bills itself as the world's largest producer of crystalline silicon solar panels, has signed a deal to provide 34.5-megawatts worth of solar panels for the first phase of the Bangkok solar project.

When complete, the … Read more

Oregon on track to get utility-scale wave farm

Ocean Power Technologies announced Wednesday it's close to getting a license to build a wave energy plant off the coast of Oregon.

The New Jersey-based company has signed a settlement agreement that includes over 11 government agencies, and several private companies, to develop a 1.5-megawatt wave energy station.

When completed the plant will consist of 10 PowerBuoys that could generate enough electricity to power 1,000 homes annually, according to Ocean Power.

Ocean Power's PowerBuoys resemble ordinary ocean buoys from the surface, but hold a piston-like device inside that moves up and down with the natural jostle of ocean waves. The electricity generated by the movement is then sent to shore via underwater transmission cables. The buoys also contain onboard sensors and communication tools that allow the buoy to be monitored and adjusted to maximize its effect depending on the changing behavior of the ocean waves.

Oregon Iron Works is already constructing the buoys for the Oregon project, even though Ocean Power is still waiting to be granted its license with the Federal Energy Regulation Commission to connect to the grid, the company said in a statement.

Ocean Power participated in studies and investigations in conjunction with local government agencies to evaluate whether the project would have an effect on local marine life or the Oregon crabbing and fishing industries, among other concerns. As part of the settlement agreement, Ocean Power will also participate in a management plan to continually evaluate the project's impact on the local environment and fishing industry. … Read more

DOE: Common security holes leave energy grid vulnerable

The U.S. is leaving its energy infrastructure open to cyberattacks by not performing basic security measures, such as regular patching and secure coding practices, according to a report prepared by the Department of Energy.

Researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory tested 24 industrial control systems (ICSs) between 2003 and 2009 and published the results in a report completed in May and publicly released last month. (Click for PDF.) Steven Aftergood, secrecy expert at the Federation of American Scientists, blogged about the report on Monday.

The report comes on the heels of a discovery of malware written specifically for systems … Read more

Ecotality unveils consumer EV charging stations

Ecotality unveiled Tuesday what will be one of the first commercially available charging stations specifically designed for electric vehicles and plug-in electric vehicles.

The Ecotality Blink line of charging stations, which will initially be implemented as part of the national EV Project, consists of a free-standing commercial model and a wall-mountable home model both made to work via a 240-volt AC input.

The Blink Level 2 wall mount charger for the home can be installed in a garage or outdoors in a carport. Ecotality estimates its station will take between two to six hours to fully recharge a vehicle battery.

Ecotality has released information in an attempt to answer the inevitable questions sure to be posed by the average consumer as EV charging station technology is introduced to the general public:

The Blink station is compliant with the national electric code requirements, and the plug part that goes into your car, which is the J1772 standard electric car plug agreed upon by the Society of Automotive Engineers, is "safe in wet or dry use."

The plug and cable can also "withstand being driven over by a vehicle."

The length of the electric cable is about 18 feet long, and the charging station includes a holder for that long cable.

The EV charging station integrates with an EV's drive system, so drivers can't accidentally put the car in drive and attempt to drive away while their car is still plugged in.

The Blink comes with a touch-screen display for operating it.

The machine has a built-in smart metering system to monitor usage.

In addition to introducing America to the basics of a an EV charging station, Ecotality announced Wednesday it has signed an agreement with Qualcomm to implement its technology into Blink stations so that the stations can communicate over cellular networks. The Qualcomm tech will allow the charging stations to use cell networks to transfer usage data, as well as perform firmware updates. But the Blink stations, according to Ecotality specs, will also have the capability to use LAN, wireless IEEE 802.11g, or ZigBee to communicate.

The Blink home station will be able to communicate directly with utilities, and take direction from the user via a Web application or smartphone that will also allow the user to regulate when the charger kicks on. The station itself can also be timed for personal convenience, or to automatically work in sync with off-peak electricity times and rates.… Read more

Microsoft Hohm connects to home power monitor

If you're cranking the air conditioner a lot this summer, a product bundle using Microsoft Hohm will tell you a lot about your upcoming energy bills--maybe even more than you want to know.

Microsoft on Tuesday announced that it has tied its Hohm Web home energy-efficiency application to an electricity monitor called PowerCost Monitor. The combination, which uses a home broadband connection, lets people view home electricity from the Web or from the tabletop electricity monitor.

Whole-home electricity monitors show you how much electricity a house is using at a given moment and how much it's costing you--sort … Read more

Massive Calif. wind farm gets $1.2 billion in financing

Terra-Gen Power announced Wednesday it's garnered $1.2 billion in financing to build what could be the largest wind energy project in the U.S.

The 3,000-megawatt Alta Wind Energy Center when completed would actually be a series of several massive wind farms located near Tehachapi, Calif., a city in Kern County about 116 miles north of Los Angeles.

Terra-Gen is a renewable-energy company that develops wind, solar, and geothermal projects for producing electricity. Its first phase of this Alta Wind Energy Center, called Alta Project I, already has financing. Its construction began in March and consists of … Read more

N.J. solar panels on utility poles to use AT&T

AT&T announced Wednesday it's signed an agreement to allow Petra Solar solar panels in New Jersey to communicate with the utility Public Service Electric and Gas (PSE&G) over its wireless network.

In July 2009 the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a $200 million contract between PSE&G and Petra Solar in which the solar company agreed to install over 200,000 photovoltaic panels on existing utility poles throughout New Jersey to tie in to the state's electrical grid.

The solar panels, which are currently being installed throughout six cities and over … Read more

Trilliant snags $106 million for smart-grid networking

If the smart grid grows like the Internet did, then Trilliant--and a few other competitors--want to build the data pipes.

Silicon Valley-based Trilliant on Thursday said that it has raised $106 million in late-stage funding to expand its smart-grid communications business.

The company makes mesh networking equipment for utilities to carry information through the many corners of the grid, including local neighborhood networks as well as long-haul jumps.

The funding came from two large grid equipment suppliers--General Electric and ABB--as well as venture-capital company VantagePoint Ventures and Investor Growth Capital. The money will help the company expand, including outside the … Read more