Biden gives more smart-grid funding details

The Obama administration announced new plans on Thursday to kick-start smart-grid development, including funding details and the start of a standardization process.

During a visit to Jefferson City, Mo., Vice President Joe Biden detailed plans for the U.S. Department of Energy to distribute more than $3.3 billion in stimulus funds for smart-grid technology development grants. Additionally, the Energy Department will hand out $615 million for regional demonstration projects that exhibit smart-grid storage, monitoring and technology viability.

"We need an upgraded electrical grid to take full advantage of the vast renewable resources in this country--to take the wind from the Midwest and the sun from the Southwest and power areas across the country," Biden said in his prepared remarks. "By investing in updating the grid now, we will lower utility bills for American families and businesses, lessen our dependence on foreign oil and create good jobs that will drive our economic recovery."

The $3.375 billion Energy Department grant program will give out grants ranging from $500,000 to $20 million for smart-grid technology deployments. It will also give out grants of $100,000 to $5 million for the deployment of grid monitoring devices.

The $615 million for demonstration projects will specifically fund exhibitions that verify technology viability and examine new business models, give energy storage demonstrations, or exhibitions that demonstrate grid monitoring devices that allow system operators to manipulate electric flows in real time.

Alongside the vice president in Jefferson City, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced his plans to chair, with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, a series of meetings in May with private-sector leaders and others involved in smart-grid development to devise industry-wide smart-grid standards. The meeting participants are expected to commit to a timetable for reaching a standards agreement and to abide by the standards devised.

Regulators and private-sector representatives have warned Washington that if common smart-grid standards are not implemented, the government risks wasting taxpayers' money on soon-obsolete technologies that could be incompatible with one another.

"A smart electricity grid will revolutionize the way we use energy, but we need standards in place to ensure that all this new technology is compatible and operating at the highest cybersecurity standards to protect the smart grid from hackers and natural disasters," Locke said in his prepared remarks. "The Recovery Act will fund the development of those standards so the exciting technology can finally take off."

[TomMariner]

As a businessman I do not like the direction the Obama administration is taking the country -- Erosion of the Constitution, stupid spending that is depressing rather than stimulating, But as a Technical Businessman, they are doing some long overdue technical changes that will make a dramatic difference (and possibly obviate the need for spending anything else.)

The SmartGrid, HealthCare IT, the Rapid Rail, Broadband everywhere, "Electric Cars". all are no brainers for those of us who live, breathe, develop, and sell technology. I wish it could have been at a time when the treasury was fat rather than empty, but we have had small deficits in the past 40 years and e basically threw away every bit of headway we made in the space program. So no matter what party, politics has trumped any sort of progress. I am guessing it is because there has not been one person on the Hill or at 1600 Pennsylvania whose primary traing and job has been technology.

Maybe our President's use of a Blackberry doesn't earn him the honored title of techie, but at least he honors it -- which is more than all of his Luddite predecessors have done.

It's a disgrace that we don't have the best technical anything in the world. Shame on us.

[pwandmaker]

@ TomMariner good comment.

not sure about the Intricacies of your stimulus policies, as Ilive in australia and am flat out tring to understand what our own govt is getting at, but I can definately sympathise with the lack of tech investment over the decades.

in this part of the world - as I'm sure it is in the US - we have had successive govts who have been asleep when it comes to investment in new tech. a personal view i have is that these govts, & their advisors, have not been in tune with the pace of change. aparently putting a policy anouncement on youtube is considered hi tech to these people, real spending and real innovation has just been too risky with no apparent pay-off before the next election.

lobbyists and the people who throw money at the administrations are from old or more traditional industries; construction, farming/agriculture etc... all very relevant and important parts of the economy overall, but these days tech is as major a player as anyone.

we recently had an announcement of a national broadband network, though that is at least 10years & $ 43billion down the track. as far as investment in renewables, smart grids etc go, we here will again be the end of a very long wagging tail.

i'm watching with interest to see how the US with a new administration and 'new ways' of thinking approach and implement their changes.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Ever notice the blow-hard Lefties tell you to feel guilty and drive a *** beer-can-casket car ?
And you always see them in a big , black SUV (USA made)
Joe Biden , Al Gore can choke on my carbon footprint. I drive a fully five-star safety rated large car and I can afford the gas. So kiss my a** left-wing loonies.
***** Toyota(Yaris) was smashed to bits by a car much smaller than mine in the new Govt. tests , and the door flew open and driver`s head hit the bumper.
Great way to get rid of the Socialists.

[celticbrewer]

high five, man.

Hey, maybe I should pay 10k more for a smart car that has the same gas mileage as the 4 door sedan I've had for years.

But HollyGef below is right, that's a bit off topic. I'm all for tech advances and I think more money should go to the sciences; but I'd rather not have hackable utilities. C'mon, you know it's going to happen. If Obama was right about anything, it's the our infrastructure is weak. But it seems he's aiming to make it weaker with initiatives like this.

[HollyGef]

Precious minutes spent on erroneous misinformation. It isn't about the cars, the carbon footprint, what kind of car you drive, what social-political mindset you possess. All that matters is how we can collaborate on advanced technologies and productivity to care for our precious planet. I have pity on those less compassionate and foolish in their capricious disregard for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We cannot get better as a human race without giving a d**n about each other. All I'll say is that I do, and in my work I can prevent a few trees from being cut down, and disseminate information that is maybe has meaning to others. The next time we drive the highway in our eight-cylinder SUVs along side a Toyota Prius, respect the engine that is not churning out buckets of carbon monoxide in your neighborhood where you children play and grow up. Shalom my friends here.

[javsewpc]

Before standards, a shift from the IOUs Framework is needed to avoid wasting taxpayer money. The staement "Regulators and private-sector representatives have warned Washington that if common smart-grid standards are not implemented, the government risks wasting taxpayers' money on soon-obsolete technologies that could be incompatible with one another" is precisely based on the IOUs Framework.

Readers are advise to look into the posted comments under the SmartGrid.com featured article Smart Grid Stimulus Bill: DOE Snubs IOUs and Meters at the Internet address http://www.smartgridnews.com/artman/publish/commentary/Smart_Grid_Stimulus_Bill_DOE_Snubs_IOUs_and_Meters-570.html