The Nissan Leaf

So here’s the thing.  The EV (electric vehicle)  for those of you from Indiana) is a game changer but…

Lance Armstrong is a spokesmodel for the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is different than the Ford Focus, the Chevy Volt and the other entries into the contest because it is all electric no secondary gas. When the Leaf is finished for the charge it is finished.  In a new “Tour de France” commercial the case is convincingly made that the Leaf spews no emissions and that after riding a lifetime behind spewing cars Lance is happy.  THAT has got to be a good thing.

Watch the commercial from youtube..  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICQnGcjisgw

BUT…What the commercial does not tell you is that Lance will be going long after the car has run its battery down. At 100 (+/110%) Lance has barely gotten stared on his training runs.  At 100 miles the Leaf would be stopped before the end of a Tour stage and would be stuck on the road. So I would like to see the commercial continue for 30 more seconds as Lance continues to peddle and the Leaf is just that a leaf in the road.

And so it goes….

The Smart Grid…the end of the world…investments…Vampires..and a BIG Smile

July 27, 2007

List of Smart Grid stocks to invest in:

ITIR-  Itron makes the meters that will be the backbone of the smart grid.

TLVT- Telvent- smart grid..smart water…smart transport…smart pipeline. Not just a one horse play

ELON- Echelon- smart buildings

AMSC- American Superconducting Corp- Makes transmission lines more effective and efficient. They also have line technology that allows better integration of alternative fuels to the grid.

BCON- Beacon Power- their storage technology and flywheel technology and large demonstration project with huge upside profitability potential.

“Other articles in this series:

• Five clean transport stocks,
• Five Energy Efficiency stocks
• Five Electric Transmission Stocks.
• Two Landfill Gas and Three Geothermal Stocks
• Five Solar Stocks

…  and as always invest at your own peril (ask me about my investment in Lehman Brothers and 3dfx and Worldcom.

http://tinyurl.com/lfratv

 

 

July 27, 2009-  The Philadelphia Navy Yard becoming a green experimental city

“, the Navy Yard is already becoming an energy campus where businesses, academics and Navy engineers congregate and share knowledge about power systems. They hope that new commercial ventures – spin-offs from the Navy’s research into alternative-energy sources or smart-grid technology – will emerge from such a creative environment. The energy-campus promoters are not thinking small. They liken the Navy facility to a national laboratory that can become a regional hub for related developments. They believe that energy-related research and development might one day do for Philadelphia what computers did for Silicon Valley.”

 

http://tinyurl.com/nlhltm

 

July 27, 2009- Another company another software breakthrough

At what point do we begin to discount all these companies that say they have the software solution to the smart grid. Here is another one. Maybe we need an unbiased Good Housekeeping seal to support the claims of these companies.

http://tinyurl.com/ncmg3p

 

July 27, 2009- What is happening in your house at 1-4am and issues of privacy

An executive from the Boulder CO experiments reported at a conference that the utility found that the spike in electricity use of one particular house was the programmed heating of the hot tub and this reporter asks the question what right does the utility have to know this? I would think that the people would be pleased to know about this and ramp it down but this reported raises privacy issues. Utilities will have to deal with these issues if they want consumers to be engaged because the media will be spreading fears…it makes a good story.

http://tinyurl.com/lwbsds

 

July 27, 2009- 70% of electricity is used in Buildings

As we spend more money and time on Smart grid and residences it is easy to lose sight of (and you might not have known) that we are only going after an energy savings of 5% (estimated low hanging fruit savings from adoption of residential smart grid technology) . But residential is only 30% of all electricity use. Why aren’t we paying attention to that 70%?

Do the math 5% of 30% is only 1.5% of total electricity use. How much are we spending to save 1.5%?  Am I missing something?

 

http://tinyurl.com/lnvv5m

 

July 27, 2009-  Another this is the Smart grid article,,,

…but it is a good concise summery.

http://www.petroleumworld.com/sunopf09072601.htm

 

July 27, 2009- Vampire energy use

“According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the typical American home has 40 products constantly drawing power, and those products — when not in use — represent 10 percent of residential energy consumption”

   You don’t need a smart grid to unplug all your chargers, appliances, etc and save considerable money on your bill. Some good tips in this piece.  People just don’t realize that it adds up. And if you have a pool dump the pump and heating.

http://tinyurl.com/l35cdf

 

July 27, 2009- The Smart Grid and Electromagnetic Pulses!

This was a first one for me…the smart grid makes the electricity system MORE vulnerable to electromagnetic attacks.

One of our Representatives is quoted as saying.. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (Rep.-Md.), a former research scientist and engineer who has worked in the past on projects for NASA and the military. All one needs to wreak some serious EMP damage, he charges, is a sea-worthy steamer, $100,000 to buy a scud-missile launcher, and a crude nuclear weapon. Then fling the device high into the air and detonate its warhead. Such a system might not paralyze the entire United States, he concedes. ‘But you could shut down all of New England. And if you missed by 100 miles, it’s as good as a bulls eye.”

Now this is fear raising of the highest order…kudos.

http://tinyurl.com/klzfrw

 

July 27, 2009- Since the world is coming to an end anyway at least get a 4 minute smile…the wedding entry dance to end all wedding entry dances…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEh3Z56v8UQ&feature=haxa_popt00us00

Smart Grid babes, Smart Grid Police, and the Pope (BIG DAY)

July 7, 2009-  I believe I have the secret to vendor success on the smart grid…a smart acronym.  Here is the Distributed Energy Management Solutions (DEMS) that is supposed to do everything that the grid does but better plus make a caramel macchiato. I personally would have been more attracted to DEBS (Distributed Energy Management Babe) who does all that and more.  There is a company who is going to release a system that they have called MADUFISCOMISMHUH. I will report on what that means later in the year.

http://tinyurl.com/kwthjc

 

 

July 7, 2009-  The smart grid is gathering steam. I am very thankful for this because if not no one would read this the Smart Grid World Blog (Oh God no one is reading it). Oh well..

http://tinyurl.com/ngjy42

 

July 7, 2009- Australia discovers the smart grid. How do I know. A market research company has releases a big bucks report that says so. Nothing like a big bucks report to make me get up and want to dance. Maybe if utilities stopped buying these things maybe they would go away …and we could pass the savings o the consumer. Just a thought.

http://tinyurl.com/mv8vgl

 

July 7, 2009-  Another in the long line of this is the smart grid.

http://solveclimate.com/blog/20090706/smart-grid-digging-foundations

 

July 7, 2009- Canada invents the smart grid. You should read this because we could all learn by the technique this author uses of demonstrating his self and all worldly importance. The opening line has him telling us he spoke to Bill Gates who told him the future but Bill did not know as much as he did about this…OMG (for those of you from Indiana that’s OH MY GOD.

http://tinyurl.com/kj36d4

 

July 7, 2009- Here’s what strikes me. The small utilities are doing what the big utilities are doing. They are all spending money on exactly the same planning and activities. Save your money. No more meetings. No more committees. Find a big partner and do what they do…Just stop it. Please.

 http://www.daily-times.com/ci_12759649

 

July 7, 2009- A UK article tells us that Washington State High tech muckidimucks are seeing big money in the smart grid. Thank  goodness for UK papers.

http://tinyurl.com/kwp6ay

 

July 7, 2009- The Pope weighs in on the economic crisis. “Greed is Bad.” Ethics must be at the core of financial markets.  ‘Thou shalt not steal”. Thou shalt covet or not covet (I can’t quite remember) your neighbors stuff. And finally Thou shalt not stand on a line for more than 2 minutes.  This one was part of the 10 commandments that Moses unfortunately dropped. All ten of these were consumer protections. (email me if you are interested in my archeological discovery…I have the other 9).

http://tinyurl.com/l5675l

 

July 7, 2009- Here’s one…PG&E is not jumping on this smart meter thing. They will not select a power meter but will wait and see. That’s the way to respect your customers. Don’t make it easy for them to save money. I hope the CA PUC is paying attention. They will raise rates to pay for the smart grid but wait wait wait to help the customer. Here’s my advice to PG&E consumers….RUN to NV. Save on taxes too.

http://tinyurl.com/kteseo

 

July 7, 2009-  The smart grid is the first step in the creation of the “Green Police.” We could use some green cops, and red cops, and blue cops. I think all sorts of people should be stopped. Let’s start with those wasting energy and then please please please get the people off the highway that are behind me and pass to the front of me for no reason at all. Someone needs to inlaw ( the opposite of outlaw) a zapping device that puts these people in a penalty box (you all know what I am talking about except those of you who do this ALL THE TIME). As I think about it lets get rid of all drivers unless I approve.

http://tinyurl.com/kp8nqr

 

July 7, 2009- The bulls are running in Pamplona….may at least one bull win.

We will only be free when we are off the grid, ecoimagination, investing, and electrotechnical

July 5, 2009-  The smart grid is just part of the trilateral commission’s partnership with the masons and illuminati to take away our freedoms:

“Citizens will never be energy independent until every home is off the grid. Green jobs will include heavily fluoridated drones enforcing new EPA laws/codes. Besides, the amount of jobs that will be lost due to companies either moving offshore or going bankrupt will certainly be higher than the millions created by our fuhrer. With the hookers in Washington granting dictatorial powers to the Federal Reserve last week, it seems as though HR 2998 is part of a two pronged attack. The New World Order is moving fast, and there are really only two more obstacles in the way of their plan to turn us into neo-feudal serfs: our right to speak freely and our right to protect ourselves; they are zeroing in on both as we speak.”

http://www.thecitizen.com/~citizen0/node/37729

 

July 5, 2009- GE , the smart grid, and a very smartly done web presence…ecoimagination at work.

http://ge.ecomagination.com/smartgrid/#/landing_page

 

 

July 5, 2009- The smart grid may portend great investment opportunities. According to this newsletter:

“Companies like ABB Ltd (ABB), Siemens A G, and GE are likely to benefit as electric utilities build the new infrastructure for the smart grid. One way to approach this market might be through an ETF that holds companies in the sub-sector. The Cleantech Index CTIUS, created by The Cleantech Group LLC is the basis for the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio ETF (AMEX: PZD) and the KSM Cleantech ETF in Israel. The index includes large companies like ABB and Siemens as well as smaller firms like Vestas Wind systems (VWS.CO), Itron (ITRI), Trimble Navigation (TRMB) and RuggedCom (RCM.TO).”

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article11786.html

 

July 5, 2009-  The powers that be have proposed a smart grid  “green zone” in some down trodden part of Kansas City…so far so good. But is this effort a real effort to rejuvenate bad lands or is it a political money grabbing opportunity that will ten years from now make no difference?

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/story/1304923.html

 

July 5, 2009- Duke Energy and the smart grids self-healing feature…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BF02P9jrKU

 

July 5, 2009- Forbes talks about Cisco and the grid. Cisco is targeting large corporate energy users with the Smart Mediator device.

http://tinyurl.com/nms8wt

If you want to see a discussion of what a smart building looks like read.. http://tinyurl.com/kwo5zb

 

July 5, 2009- The smart grid is the buzz of the electric utility world. Good summary discussion of the issues here.

http://tinyurl.com/klv3h2

 

July 5, 2009- International smart grid standards.

http://tinyurl.com/lhl8cv

 

July 5, 2009-  Best Buy is embracing the smart grid as a business opportunity. Selling electric cars, selling smart appliances, using their geek squad to help consumers maximize use of the smart grid. Support and installation and use of the grid. My view…WalMart is the key.

http://tinyurl.com/nq82tm

 

July 3, 2009-  The IEC (for those of you from Indiana that’s The International Electrotechnical Commission) is working with car manufacturers and countries to come up with standards for electric car plug in.  This is very important but unnecessary since NO ONE WILL BE BUYING THESE THINGS (OK maybe 100 people).

http://tinyurl.com/lw8lby

 

July 3, 2009- Although this is not the focus of this article there will be IPhone apps that connect to home use of electricity and allow control. Be the first to develop the killer app and win the prize.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=5767

July 3 and July 4 2009

July 4, 2009- Thanks to all who serve. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and your loved ones and friends who are serving.

July 3, 2009-  Smart meters and its posse will not have a big impact on energy control until the consumer has real time easy to use information and control systems. Most utilities are not providing that.

Video commentary at http://sites.google.com/site/energywebus/ 

http://tinyurl.com/npkcew

 

July 3, 2009- Cisco and Duke (the dynamic duo) are teaming up to show how buildings can be smart in the era of smart grid. Building automation will be the key to getting the savings edge from multiple dwelling structures (less dependence on the individual consumer).  

http://tinyurl.com/mnwoho

 

July 3, 2009-  German utility Yellow Strom is proclaiming how their smart meter program incorporates US and other advanced techniques. The German model is different from the US model…German consumers will have to pay for their smart meter service. There is a lot in this article.

http://tinyurl.com/mnmech

The article also mentions Tweet-a- Watt an interesting piece of technology that measures your energy use and publishes it on twitter with that of your neighbors. It is not clear that US consumers will want their usage on twitter. But our research at Purdue University shows that the second biggest determinant of getting consumers actively engaged in their smart meter is by showing them that their neighbors are actively engaged.

 

July 3, 2009-  A cyber-security expert is telling all that we have to make sure our smart grid is secure before we deploy it. He claims that he will be demonstrating how he has hacked the smart grid at an upcoming “black hat” conference (for you conspiracy nuts look at the agenda…you will be sleepless for weeks).  I have been told that since we have thousands of grids it is impossible for a hacker to do much damage even if it were possible to hack into the grid at some point.  On the other hand I hope that if this is possible our black ops people can hack into the smart grids of the “evil doers.”

http://tinyurl.com/lqezql

 

July 3, 2009-  Here is a point that is not well understood by the “common folk.” The use of renewable energy sources is limited because of their variability. Demand must be met. Renewables (like wind) are not steady and so other sources are needed when wind is low and energy is wasted if wind contributes more than is needed. What to do..what to do. The answer lies in reliable and efficient energy storage that will flow the electrons on a steady basis and save up what is not uses.

http://tinyurl.com/lkohhb

 

July 3, 2009 – According to this piece the missing link in smart grid programs is the lack of engagement of the consumer. Utilities are run by engineers. Engineers understand electrons. If  they think of consumers at all they think of them as annoyances. Those utilities that invest in smart grids without consumer psychologists are risking failure and they have no one to blame but their engineering selves. If you build it they may or may not come. According to a survey that I cannot independently assess and verify but mentioned in the article one third of consumers are unwilling to pay for energy information displays. Our research at Purdue says that this number is very very low.

http://tinyurl.com/noludv

 

July 3, 2009-  A town supervisor in Lewisburg NY is trying to get stimulus money to engage consumers to purchase “smart appliances” so that community residents will be encouraged to “ALL” lower energy usage automatically. By combining the savings available from all consumers savings could be shared so while one consumer would see little impact all consumers could see a bigger impact of savings because more consumers would be encouraged to participate. There really is a lot here that is innovative and unknowing addresses the issue of causal agents for engaging consumers.  Research at Purdue University shows that after “what’s in it for me” consumers are interested in how others are engaged, The Lewisboro proposal combines the best of both determinants.

http://tinyurl.com/mznwuy

 

July 3, 2009- Drexel University is adopting the smart grid as a university partnership. They will sell energy back to the grid-saving money. Their engineering faculty and students will use it as a learning lab- education and research. I think there are other universities so engaged but let’s let Drexel have a moment in the sun. Everyone will be claiming to have the first and the best…and so it goes.

http://newsblaze.com/story/2009070114250200001.wi/topstory.html

 

July 3, 2009- The smart grid as a global phenomenon and phenomena.

http://en.cop15.dk/blogs/view+blog?blogid=1649

 

July 3, 2009-  Rural America wants its slice of the smart grid pie. We may be facing rural electrification issues like in the 30’s. What’s old is new again.

http://tinyurl.com/nzzuzj

June 28, 2009 – Very nice piece on how IBM looks at the Grid opportunities (plus video).

http://tinyurl.com/dj7krd

 

June 28, 2009- Utilities are losing their best(?) executives to smart grid start-ups and companies. Who will be promoted into the key grid slots at the utilities? If a recent conference I attended is indicative it will be engineers from areas where they have contact/expertise  with smart metering. This will have some negative implications as in my recent attempt to talk to one of these engineers about how consumers make a decision…”we do not have to worry about that. If we tell them what to do they will do it. It’s the technology that is important after all. ” OMG

http://tinyurl.com/mb5jlo

 

June 28, 2009- Technical priorities of the grid.

http://tinyurl.com/mqy3gz

 

June 28, 2009 – There is a wiki page to encourage collaboration on smart grid national issues.

http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/WebHome

see also  http://collaborate.nist.gov/twiki-sggrid/bin/view/SmartGrid/DecReport

 

June 28, 2009-  Interesting blog piece about the revolutionary impact of GM’s Volt. The success of the initial 5-10 years of the Volt will rest on the taxpayer’s willingness to subsidize it on the manufacturing and consumer end. Consumers will simply not pay 40k for a 40 mile car.  Yes…there will be a small group of hard core values driven consumes who have the money to buy it but this is not enough to sustain a revolution. We need cars to go to soccer games, visit friends, parent, and go to dinner 60 miles away. We pay 20k for a car that reasonably allows us to do that. We will not buy 2 cars to do what we now can pay 50% of the Volt’s cost for 1 car to do what is needed in our lives. Over the long term we have a revolution but the technology will need years and years of development. It might not be the Volt by then. I have been wrong before (Go Mets).

http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/gm-2025-will-general-motors-survive-revolution-energy-affairs

June 28, 2009- “Energy experts gathered at the Virtual Energy Forum to discuss concerns with smart grid technology that need to be addressed.  The forum is a free conference that brings together energy industry stakeholders twice a year.  This time the participants considered the role of the consumer within a smart grid.”  Day 1- the consumer…Day 2 –smart appliances.

  -archived presentations are available on demand

Here is the problem. The IBM speaker talked about educating the consumer …research shows that if you think education is a brochure or a website or a booklet…IT WILL NOT WORK.  Consumers do not want education they want an easy and simple way to get a benefit.

As for smart appliances…let’s take two GE refrigerators side by side…the same…except one is a smart appliance and one is the regular appliance. The regular appliance will win because consumers will not pay $500 more for the smart appliance…SORRY not going to happen now…maybe in the future.

http://tinyurl.com/l5yuo5

 

June 28, 2009- GE is building a research facility in Detroit that will be a research and development center for the grid and clean energy.  It really is all about jobs. What kind of country do we have that has 11% unemployment (actual unemployment is probably higher). What kind of country do we have that incentivizes companies to maximize profit by minimizing employees? CEOs should feel the shame.

http://tinyurl.com/kt8ojz

 

June 28, 2009- Silver Spring Networks will build out Sacramento by 2011.

http://cleantechbrief.com/node/660

 

June 28, 2009- Another information piece on DOE’s initial release of money for the Smart grid. (see entries  in the June 27, 2009 section)

http://tinyurl.com/npb7s8

 

June 28, 2009- JR from Lisbon writing the Rick’s Café American blog thinks the smart grid can be big. Nooooooooooooooooooo

http://tinyurl.com/nhhohk

 

June 28, 2009-  OK here goes…Cap and Trade…smart grid…consumers getting hosed. Enough said.

http://tinyurl.com/n4ehsw

June 27, 2009- This one falls in the category of …if Microsoft is doing it maybe I should too. The Holm software (this is good stuff including video) is supposed to help consumers make smart decisions with their smart meters of their smart grid. 

Let us all say  WWMD  (what would Microsoft do). If Microsoft is interested in the Smart Grid …well maybe we all should be too.

http://tinyurl.com/m4xo6u

 

June 27, 2009 –  AT&T has smart sensor devices that work over AT&T’s wireless network.  Can you feel your heart go pitter patter?

http://tinyurl.com/m5n45r

http://tinyurl.com/lyqvqd

 

 

June 27, 2009 – Come and get it. You and every utility and vendor in the country will be trying to get their piece of the DOE’s  3.9B stimulus money release (with more to come). Large projects and small projects…nice quick summary. I do not think there will be much lets hold hands and sing Kumbiyar (or as spell check says Lumbar) as you all trample each other to get your piece.

http://www.reuters.com/article/earth2Tech/idUS13349993920090625

Here’s a longer piece with more links (and I know how excited you get with linking)

http://tinyurl.com/kowj9e

 

June 27, 2009-  You gotta have standards…interesting links

http://tinyurl.com/nlaf7q

 

June 27, 2009 – If you want to get a glimpse of the smart grid in the second wave of functionality  read this document by Zigbee…interesting.

http://www.zigbee.org/smartenergy

June 15 2009-  Oracle claims to have software that will allow the benefits of the smart grid implementation to be realized well before deployment.  While the paper is interesting  (because the software functionality is interesting) the Oracle blog is quite interesting also with information about a whole range of issues.

The functionalities and respective links are:

• Oracle® Utilities Network Management System – Integrates with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), allowing utilities to proactively respond to outages and be more precise when providing consumer alerts and notifications – enabling the smart meter to send a “last gasp” message to report a power loss thus eliminating the need for a customer to report the outage. Oracle Utilities Network Management System also supports automated isolation of faulted feeder sections and the re-energizing of un-faulted sections, minimizing sustained outages. Its integrated distribution capability supports the continual assessment of power delivery and available feeder capacity in a distribution network that optimizes operations.
• Oracle® Utilities Customer Care and Billing – Allows utilities to harness the benefits of new smart grid technologies and AMI, such as two-way communications, to better contain operational costs and control consumer energy demand through conservation and time-based pricing programs, as well as improve customer service and environmental awareness. It can provide customers with a clear picture of the relationship between their consumption and environmental impact, then offer service options to help change behavior.
• Oracle® Utilities Load Analysis – Performs peak load analysis, including coincidental peak demand analysis by customer rate class. This solution also balances premise level loads to system loads, incorporating variable, fixed losses and unaccounted for energy.
• Oracle® Utilities Work and Asset Management – Provides complete asset lifecycle management, which can ultimately extend the life of aging assets, enable utilities to manage network renewal projects, and enhance cost control and visibility while improving system reliability and customer service. In addition, by monitoring and performing maintenance on a timely basis, utilities can reduce the environmental impact resulting from equipment failure.
• Oracle® Utilities Mobile Workforce Management – Supports efforts to ensure service availability and automate field operations via dispatch, scheduling and routing. It provides field workers the optimal route with the least mileage and fewest truck rolls, which helps reduce fuel consumption, highway congestion and tailpipe emissions.
• Oracle Utilities Meter Data Management – Provides a centralized, robust system to support smart grid and green initiatives by connecting AMI usage data and presentment tools, so consumers can view their usage – allowing them to make informed conservation decisions. Utilities can also configure the application to support demand response programs including: customer recruitment, event planning, event notification and compliance.
• Oracle® Hyperion Performance Management applications and Oracle® Primavera applications – Leverage comprehensive performance and project management functionality to enable the planning, scheduling and installation of utility-controlled renewable devices – such as solar panels on homes and buildings.
• Oracle Database – Scales to tackle exponential growth in data and enables utilities to more effectively manage network operational data to improve performance.
• Oracle Governance, Risk and Compliance – Simplifies compliance with NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation) and FERC (U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) with an enterprise GRC platform for standards and policy documentation; risk-based assessment; and closed-loop remediation, certification, and reporting. Integrated controls monitoring also enforce segregation of duties to reduce the risk of improper access and fraudulent activities.

BTW- I am not paid or have no connection to Oracle although I am willing to listen

http://tinyurl.com/mzhmay

 

June 15 2009- The Oracle blog (above) also links to an Oracle survey of consumers and what they are looking for. “Turning Information Into Power: Moving Toward the Smart Grid,” the vast majority of consumers surveyed reported concern about the energy costs at their primary residence and are interested in receiving more detailed information about their energy use. Also, utilities managers surveyed believe it is critical that the United States adopt smart grid technologies. However, only 16 percent of the utilities surveyed have begun the implementation of smart grid technologies”

June 14, 2009- The electric car will be the killer app for the smart grid for the electric car will be both a great user and great provider of energy to the system. For those of you from Indiana….the electric car when fully charged can be used to sell back energy to the system. In addition, the consumer and the utility will have to educate the consumer to charge their electric cars at low price times and the smart grid is the way to do this. Unfortunately, the electric car is , in the short term, going to be a failure unless : (because people will not spend 30-40k for a 40 miles car).

1. It is mandated
2. The state and city and federal vehicles fleets switch
3. WalMart and mall owners (maybe downtown districts) be brought on board so that recharging possible while shopping.

http://tinyurl.com/n8czaj

 

June 14, 2009- The smart grid is more than about electricity…it is about a cleaner planet and includes the monitoring of water.

http://blogs.zdnet.com/green/?p=5483

 

June 14 2009-  The ArmChair Ecologist does not believe that the Grid is a big enough step.

http://planet-u.com/blog/2009/06/take-action-to-make-an-act-stronger/

 

June 14, 2009- Do you want to invest in companies who will benefit from the grid investments. Here is a recommendation.

http://tinyurl.com/l3rmzv

                                                             

 

 

June 14, 2009- The impact of the Smart Grid is a myth and a will be the next bubble.

http://tinyurl.com/mccbo9

 

June 14, 2009-  This article talks about the security risk of the Smart Grid.  We will be seeing more articles like this. Although I am not a cyberrisk expert here is how I understand it….the grid will not be penetrable. The articles that have hyped the vulnerability really do not understand the grid system. The risk they talk about There is not a single grid so even though we might see a breach in one utilities grid the impact will be minimal.  There was a WSJ article about 2 months ago that caused a stir. I hope we have CIA NSA and other experts trying to disrupt their (I will allow you conspiratorial types to fill in the blanks)  grids.

http://tinyurl.com/nhuqus

 

June 14 , 2009   A good piece on compact fluorescent bulbs. This might be the single pound for pound best way to save electrify.  One of the most effective ways to get consumers on board is to get your utility to fund point of purchase incentive programs…buy the bulb get $1.00 back from utility. Simple education will not work (WLL NOT WORK).  Just telling consumers they can save money WLL NOT WORK. I do not understand why they don’t get it.  If the utility can save $5 it is worth them giving the consumer a buck. Maybe utilities do not want us to save electricity and money.  The key here , in addition, is to get WalMart on board.

http://tinyurl.com/n8d7ta

 

June 13, 2009- Very good summary of what is happening in the 5 cities enmeshed in the smart grid experiment- Boulder Co; Miami Fl; Worchester, MA; Austin TX; and Chicago IL.

http://tinyurl.com/nyr2jq

June 13 2009- This piece raises questions about the reliability and cost effectiveness of the Grid. 

http://tinyurl.com/mo6ksm

 

June 13 2009- The home plug powerline alliance…interesting name.

www.homeplug.org

http://hiddenwires.co.uk/resourcesnews2009/news20090612-04.html

 

June 13 2009- Is there a synergy between the Smart Grid and rail transportation?

http://tinyurl.com/lqm2e5

 

June 13, 2009- Another in the long line of “ this is the smart grid” article. Good summary and very positive…nothing new

http://tinyurl.com/mhhouk

http://tinyurl.com/kszncl

 

June 13, 2009- Very well done piece on how the promise of the smart grid faces an uphill battle  because of the timidity of utilities.

“Green tech writer, Katie Fehrenbacher, has written an important article arguing that utility companies don’t get it, are afraid of the costs, and are thus unlikely to offer the kind of “real time” data delivery that could serve as a foundation for eye-opening innovation like we’ve seen from the networked world of the Internet.

This Spring at the 5th anniversary of the Web 2.0 Conference, paradigm forefather Tim O’Reilly identified smart utility grids as one of five technologies that could point into the future, past what’s called Web 2.0. As a reporter working in the green tech field every day, Fehrenbacher’s pessimistic forecast for innovation in smart girds is an important read. Can utility companies get it together to help build a future that’s fundamentally innovative?

Fehrenbacher’s article last week, titled Why the Smart Grid Won’t Have the Innovations of the Internet Any Time Soon, …”

http://tinyurl.com/n28cto

 

June 13, 2009- Interesting analogy…our successful switch to digital TV from analog suggests the switch to the smart grid may be easier than some expect.

http://tinyurl.com/lr2vcl

 

June 13 2009- Two “real” experts discuss very expertly what the smart grid is and does…

http://www.energyconnectinc.com/about/board-of-directors/

 

June 13,  2009- India…battery technology…and the grid.

http://tinyurl.com/lruep5

 

June 13, 2009- A security expert (?) claims that smart grid meters are built on buggy software making the security of the grid suspect.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/06/12/smart_grid_security_risks/

http://tinyurl.com/ltqe6z

 

June 13, 2009= The standards for the Grid are being written and Sterling Allan is very very very concerned…”I need to give you a very strong heads up warning for everyone in the USA and for that matter around the world regards the status and developments here. There are very serious matters going down and they need our instant and very smartest and most determined responses and we must get onto this immediately.”

http://tinyurl.com/krwk52

June 11, 2009- Duke Energy is the 3^rd largest Utility.  Their CEO Jim Rogers has led the charge to the Smart Grid by recognizing that Utilities that do not take steps to control their destiny by recognizing the political and social forces at work will be at the mercy of Government. They are partnering with Cisco.  What I think is important here is that the combination of the two forces of nature – Cisco and Duke- will be hard to match.  We should consider that we will see a rush to partnerships in the next year.  The good news is that everyone will be killing themselves to get it good, better, and best…and the consumer will be better for it.

http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmEnergy/idUS258040492920090609

 

June 11, 2009 – Another State (this time Minnesota) another we are the state with the best smart grid plan. This get together is sponsored by a company pushes its 700 MHz wireless communication as the “thin” that will save the Smart Grid from failure.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/oil-energy/20090610/NY3081110062009-1.html

 

June 11, 2009- Variable frequency GE turbines  located in NJ will serve NY. It looks like the variable frequency transmission allows easier flow from one grid to another (watch you tube – link below). (If I am wrong let me know).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui9lNgohs0w

http://www.reliableplant.com/article.aspx?articleid=18139&pagetitle=New+Jersey+juices+New+York+with+GE+smart+grid+technology

 

June 11, 2009- Indiana Regulatory Commission approves grid roll out. General Reuters piece about grid and grid projects. Informational no value judgments.

http://www.reuters.com/article/mnEnergy/idUS342948864820090610

 

 

June 11, 2009- Trilliant…enough said.

http://urgentcomm.com/networks_and_systems/commentary/smart-grid-opportunity-trilliant-conant-20090610/

 

 

June 11, 2009 – Accenture…smart grid…Amsterdam.

http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmEnergy/idUS44158429520090608

 

 

June 11, 2009 – Another day another deal. This is like the carnival game where participants shoot a flow of water into a hole and the horse races across as the person gets the water in…until someone wins.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10260669-54.html

 

 

June 11, 2009-  Interesting links to an analysis of renewable energy and grid integration strategies compared.

http://tomkonrad.wordpress.com/2009/06/10/renewable-energy-and-grid-integration-strategies-compared/

 

 

June 11, 2009- AlertMe deals in Europe

http://www.cleantech.com/news/4574/alertmecom-lines-%C2%A38-million-expand