The Obama administration unveiled a series of initiatives to upgrade the nation’s electric grid, including $250 million in loans for so-called smart grid projects in rural areas and steps to secure the grid against cyber attacks.

The strategy also calls on state and federal (more…)

Last week, temperatures soared into the triple digits, reaching record highs for the Twin Cities. After a wicked winter, I actually welcomed the heat with open arms. That is, until the temperature inside my house hit a steamy 86 degrees – even with curtains closed and fans circulating. And while I pride myself on (more…)

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has long been seen as a clean technology pioneer. After all, this is a utility that shuttered a nuclear reactor after a public vote in 1989, and has since blazed trails on wind, solar, and energy efficient technologies. (more…)

If you are a smart grid expert and have a brilliant idea, you may win $21,000 and a trip to Berlin, Germany to meet with Siemens Smart Grid Experts.

The technology giant will choose five winners as part of a contest to identify five top sustainable business or technology proposals. (more…)

The title of this blog might strike you as kind of weird, especially this week. After all, the Electric Power Research Institute made the news with a study showing that smart grid is going to be far bigger than we first thought.

Smart grid in simplest terms brings to the electrical (more…)

The long rumored acquisition of L+G by Toshiba has finally happened. It appears Bayard Group, the investment group that assembled the current incarnation of L+G from more than five companies, got their price ($2.3 billion) without the originally anticipated IPO, making their investors happy. Perhaps it is (more…)

Managing the electricity grid more efficiently is an important aspect of energy efficiency. It also has a significant role to play as solar and wind energy projects come online and start to feed into the grid.

As more renewable energy such as solar and wind enters the grid, there will be an increased volatility in (more…)

Dynamic pricing schemes are viewed as one of the key utility tools for reducing peak load during the summer, which is growing over time. Such pricing schemes, which adjust the price of electricity based on the time of day and the cost of generating electricity during different time periods, are on the rise throughout the United States. (more…)

TransData is a Texas company that designs and manufactures smart meters and related products.

TransData owns U.S. Patents Nos. 6,181,294 (’294 Patent), 6,462,713 (’713 Patent) and 6,903,699 (’699 Patent), which relate to antenna and wireless communication devices for use with electric meters. (more…)

As a Boulder resident, I am loosely participating in the SmartGridCity project run by our local electric utility, Xcel Energy. I say “loosely” because the extent of my participation has been the few times I logged into my online account to see a more granular view of my energy consumption. On this website, I could see into my daily energy usage in as small as 15 minute (more…)