Renewable Grid news

[kristopher]

August 14, 2009

PECO Officially Files Smart Meter Plan


PHILADELPHIA (August 14, 2009) – Today PECO filed a plan with the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to install more than 1.6 million residential and commercial smart meters and deploy advanced communications networks. One of the largest investments in company history, the $650 million plan – including the company’s broader smart grid plan and recent stimulus grant application – could save customers about $1.5 billion during the life of the project, improve service and benefit the environment. Additional information can be found at www.peco.com/SMART.

PECO’s smart meter plan will seek approval to install the advanced metering infrastructure, backbone communications network and information systems to integrate customer energy usage with utility operations. The communications networks – fiber optics and wireless – will enable two-way communication. If approved, the company would build an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and provide smart meters to all of its 1.6 million customers in 10 years.

In addition, earlier this month, the company filed an application with the United States Department of Energy seeking $200 million in matching funds through the federal stimulus grant program. A stimulus grant would allow for a faster, wider smart meter and smart grid deployment – allowing the company to install up to 600,000 meters by 2012. A stimulus grant also would reduce overall costs to PECO customers by about $125 each.

“PECO is making long-term investments in critical infrastructure that will deliver significant benefits to our customers, the communities we serve, and the environment,” said Denis O’Brien, PECO president and CEO. “Our smart meters will make a meaningful difference to our customers through reduced energy costs and enhanced operational performance, and they also will position our region to attract new energy-related businesses and jobs.”

Today’s filing supports a broader environmental initiative at PECO and also is a component of Exelon 2020: A Low-Carbon Roadmap, the comprehensive environmental strategy of PECO’s parent company. Exelon 2020 sets the goal of reducing, offsetting or displacing more than 15 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year by 2020. This is more than the company’s current annual carbon footprint and is equivalent to taking nearly 3 million cars off American roads and highways.

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Based in Philadelphia, PECO is an electric and natural gas utility subsidiary of Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC). PECO serves 1.6 million electric and 485,000 natural gas customers in southeastern Pennsylvania and employs about 2,400 people in the region. PECO delivered 83.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 39.4 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2008. Founded in 1881, PECO is one of the Greater Philadelphia Region's most active corporate citizens, providing leadership, volunteer and financial support to numerous arts and culture, education, environmental, economic development and community programs and organizations.
If you are a member of the media and would like to receive PECO news releases via e-mail please send your e-mail address to [e-mail]

http://www.peco.com/newsroom/newsreleases/nr+081409.htm

GridPoint’s Next-Generation Smart Charging Software to Support Largest U. S. Electric Vehicle Deployment, Fueled by $100 Million in Stimulus

Demonstrating Smart Charging 3.0 at Plug-In 2009 Conference

LONG BEACH, CA – Aug. 10, 2009 − GridPoint, Inc., an established leader in smart grid software, announced today at the Plug-In 2009 Conference and Exposition that it will provide its next-generation electric vehicle management software, Smart Charging 3.0, to support the largest U.S. deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure. GridPoint is also providing demonstrations of the product, available to utility customers in September, in booth #409.

Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec), a subsidiary of ECOtality (OTCBB: ETLY), was awarded nearly $100 million in stimulus funding last week to deploy charging infrastructure and advance the adoption of electric vehicles. GridPoint joins Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Nissan North America as strategic partners, as well as other project participants, which can be viewed here. Together with INL, GridPoint has been working for over a year with eTec on electric vehicle performance and fast-charge systems.

GridPoint will provide smart charging and data logging capabilities to utilities in strategic markets of the eTec program in Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee and Washington that will support the deployment of up to 5,000 Nissan LEAF vehicles and a network of up to 12,750 charging stations. GridPoint’s charging management software will give utilities the ability to deploy load shifting, load shaping, renewables integration and demand response strategies. Advanced smart charging capabilities, such as synchronization with the availability of renewable energy, may also be explored.

To date, utility-led smart charging trials have been limited by the availability of grid-connected vehicles. The size and scope of this project creates a unique and valuable opportunity to assess and qualify:

• Effects of a mature plug-in electric vehicle environment, with and without smart charging, on multiple electrical grids;

• Benefits of smart charging on grid reliability to inform utility, PUC and regulator decision making on vehicle-related rate schedules;

• Customer satisfaction and perception of various smart charging scenarios; and

• Incentive programs to ensure maximum participation in smart charging programs

“GridPoint is delighted to participate in eTec’s groundbreaking project and applauds our country’s commitment to support the creation of an intelligent electric vehicle infrastructure,” said Peter L. Corsell, CEO, GridPoint. “Our advanced software capabilities will help utilities prepare the grid for the imminent arrival of plug-in vehicles.”

GridPoint’s smart charging software manages the flow of electricity to plug-in vehicles and charging stations, allowing utilities to balance real-time grid conditions with the needs of individual drivers. For two years, GridPoint has been building and deploying smart charging software, collecting data from hundreds of converted plug-in vehicles and gathering feedback from utility customers. Smart Charging 3.0 builds on this wealth of experience to deliver:

Forecasting and Backcasting: GridPoint has introduced forecasting capabilities for plug-in vehicle load, setting a new standard for smart charging. Based on historic behavior, Smart Charging 3.0 predicts vehicle-related load up to 24 hours in advance. This new functionality allows utilities to better plan for the impact electric transportation load will have on the grid and to proactively initiate smart charging strategies to mitigate and/or leverage that load. Additionally, Smart Charging 3.0 provides a visual display of plug-in charging impacts with and without charging management for the previous 24 hours – allowing utilities to quickly assess the effectiveness of their smart charging strategies.

Demand Response Functionality: Smart Charging 3.0 supports external demand response notification via the OpenADR standard, allowing plug-in vehicles and charging stations to stop charging during critical peak events. System users are notified of ongoing demand response events through real-time messaging that appears on GridPoint’s smart charging and data logging portals. Consumer notification via Web portal or handheld device is also enabled.

Enhanced Smart Charging Portal Design: Through the addition of intuitive functionality in the Smart Charging Portal, GridPoint has improved the ability to quickly ascertain the impact of vehicle charging load and the success of various smart charging strategies, while also providing a greater ability to drill down and explore charging behavior during a specific time of day. Enhanced functionality includes 24-hour display of historic and predicted load/generation, zoomable charts, mouse-over data detail, and real-time display of aggregated statistics of all vehicles deployed in smart charging programs.

Smart Charging 3.0 also enhances system scalability and reliability via performance optimization and increased redundancy. In response to requests from utilities and research institutions, GridPoint has expanded the software’s robust data capture to include average power factor, battery pack voltage and other advanced performance information.

For more information on GridPoint’s new electric vehicle management solution, please email [e-mail].

In addition to electric vehicle management, the GridPoint Platform allows utilities to progressively integrate and customize smart grid solutions including energy efficiency, load management, renewable integration and storage management. GridPoint is working with utilities nationwide including Xcel Energy, Duke Energy, Austin Energy, Progress Energy and Seattle City Light and was selected by the World Economic Forum as a Technology Pioneer in 2008.
About GridPoint

GridPoint, Inc., an established leader in smart grid technologies, implements intelligent software solutions that are transforming the electric power grid. Allowing utilities to incrementally adopt and customize solutions to better measure and control energy efficiency, load management, renewable integration, storage management, and electric vehicle management, GridPoint’s solutions benefit utilities, consumers, and the environment. Enabling these solutions is the GridPoint Platform, an open architecture which integrates distributed energy resources and allows utilities to adapt smart grid solutions to their unique requirements. By delivering the actionable information and flexible tools to monitor and control energy, GridPoint increases reliability, efficiency, and savings.

On the Net: http://www.gridpoint.com

The Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) is recommending to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) the construction of 240 kV transmission lines to connect up to 700 MW of wind power proposed throughout east central Alberta over the next 10 years.

The estimated cost of the project is approximately $1 billion, the AESO says. The project, located in the Hanna region, will be developed in two stages: Stage I is targeted to be in service by 2012, and stage II is targeted to be in service by 2017.

Upon AUC approval of the AESO's "needs identification document," transmission facility owners ATCO Electric and AltaLink will submit facilities applications to the AUC for approval. Further consultation with stakeholders, particularly regarding the routing of transmission lines, will represent a critical component of this application process, the AESO comments.

Focus on smart grid solutions: Siemens and Viridity Energy to cooperate on virtual power plants

Erlangen, Germany, 2009-Aug-11

As part of the move to convert existing power supply networks into smart grids, Siemens Energy and the American energy service provider Viridity Energy, Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, are to cooperate in the field of virtual power plants. The two companies have now concluded a technology partnership to offer power supply companies and network operators the necessary technology for implementing virtual power plants. Virtual power plants provide opportunities in the energy market that are not open to operators of individual plants. These plants can be operated more efficiently and more economically in a network, to the benefit of operators of distributed generation plants. Within the framework of this operation Siemens will increase the presence of its decentralized energy management system DEMS in the U.S. market because Viridity is combining the decentralized energy management system DEMS from Siemens with its own applications so it can offer innovative energy solutions and services in this market.

In a virtual power plant, various distributed power generation systems such as engine-based heating power plants, wind turbines, photovoltaic systems, biogas plants and small hydropower plants are combined into a network and controlled as a single power plant. The core element is a decentralized energy management system such as DEMS from Siemens. With DEMS, distributed generating plants can be networked into a smart grid and operated economically with less ecological impact. Network solutions from Viridity also offer market players functions that allow them to manage the availability of energy in the grid more effectively.

A virtual power plant solution from Siemens and Viridity provides a more effective way to integrate distributed power generating plants into a power supply grid and represents a further step towards establishing a smart grid. The core element of the joint solution is the decentralized Siemens energy management system DEMS. This acts as the “brain” of a distributed power generator fleet, networking the individual power generation units and controlling them centrally. It thus helps them to operate economically and with less ecological impact, and to harness the full potential of a virtual power plant. The system uses state-of-the-art information and communication technology to combine several individual plants. DEMS uses all important information such as weather forecasts, latest electricity prices and the momentary demand for energy, and draws up a deployment plan for all plants in the virtual power plant on the basis of this data.

“Power supply utilities and electricity customers are becoming increasingly aware of the advantages that distributed energy resources can have for the network. These advantages can be maximized if a way can be found to optimize distributed power generators as integrated, dynamic resources in the network,” states Audrey Zibelman, President and CEO of Viridity Energy. “To be able to offer this service, we looked for a high quality decentralized energy management system that had already proved its value in practice. With DEMS from Siemens we found exactly the system that met these requirements,” adds Zibelman.“ „By cooperation with partners like Viridity we will jointly offer innovative smart grid solutions based on our DEMS and thus continue to demonstrate the capabilities of our system in the U.S., too,” comments Ralf Christian, CEO of the Power Distribution Division in the Siemens Energy sector.

Viridity offer operators of distributed power generation plants a method of interconnecting their plants and allows optimized operation of controllable loads at large consumers such as universities, industrial companies and public authorities. Using the Siemens decentralized energy management system, Viridity sets up virtual power plants adapted to the specific requirements of the operators. Energy efficient and ecological solutions for setting up smart grids are part of the Siemens environmental portfolio with which the company earned revenues of nearly EUR19 billion in fiscal 2008, equivalent to about a quarter of Siemens’ total revenue.

Coulomb Technologies Announces Nashville as Latest City to Install Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles

ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations Installed in New Downtown Parking Garage

NASHVILLE, Tenn. August 13, 2009 – Coulomb Technologies, the leader in charging station infrastructure, today announced that the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County is the first municipality in the State of Tennessee to install and deploy ChargePoint™ Networked Charging Stations for plug-in electric vehicles. The charging stations are now installed in downtown Nashville in the new 700 space parking garage located on the Fulton Campus. The charging stations, available for employee and fleet use have been installed to reduce greenhouse emissions and to raise awareness of readiness for electric vehicles. Coulomb distributor Green Power Technology, www.GPTechnology.com the exclusive distributor in the northeast U.S. for the ChargePoint Network charging stations, provided sales and support for this installation.

"Networked charging stations for plug-in vehicles in Nashville brings music to our ears," said Richard Lowenthal, CEO of Coulomb Technologies. "Nashville is laying the groundwork for the future of clean and alternative energy in Tennessee. These charging stations not only create awareness for electric vehicles and their necessary infrastructure, but will give employees of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County a new destination choice for charging their vehicle."

"These charging stations support Mayor Dean’s vision to make Nashville the greenest and most livable city in the Southeast. Our hope is that businesses across Nashville and Davidson County will see what we’re doing and implement similar practices." said Nancy Whittemore, Director of General Services.

Coulomb Technologies charging stations are used in municipalities, utilities, green office buildings and parking garages and to allow consumers to charge their electric vehicles wherever they live, work and shop. Consumers subscribe to the ChargePoint(sm) Network and receive a ChargePoint Smart Card that allows them to charge their car at any charging station worldwide, now including Nashville. The ChargePoint Network enabled charging stations provide:

* Notification by SMS Text or email when charging is complete
* The ability for drivers to find unoccupied charging stations via web-enabled cell phones
* Authenticated access to eliminate energy theft
* Authorized energizing for safety
* Remote monitoring and diagnostics for superior quality of service
* Smart Grid integration for utility load management with future V2G capabilities

To locate available charging stations, visit www.mychargepoint.net and click “Find Stations”.
About Coulomb Technologies, Inc.

Coulomb Technologies headquartered in Campbell, Calif., offers a family of products and services that provide a plug-in vehicle charging infrastructure, which includes ChargePoint Networked Charging Stations ranging in capability from 120V 16A to 240V 80A AC charging to future 120kW DC charging. Coulomb applies networking technology to the challenge of charging electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids in order to fuel the electric transportation industry. Coulomb's ChargePoint Network www.mychargepoint.net addresses the needs of drivers, utilities, governments, and parking space owners. Follow Coulomb on Twitter at twitter.com/coulombevi.
http://www.coulombtech.com/press_releases/release_200908013.php

SDG&E moves forward with major renewable energy hub


Media Contact: Jennifer Briscoe
San Diego Gas & Electric
[phone] www.sdge.com



SAN DIEGO, Aug. 10, 2009 Building on its commitment to pursue renewable power, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) today announced plans to develop electrical infrastructure in east San Diego County that will connect within the company's existing power network. The new infrastructure will expand the company's capability to deliver clean energy to its customers, while reducing the region's dependence on fossil fuels.

The planned new substation, along with the company's approved Sunrise Powerlink transmission line and recently announced partnership in a wind project on the Campo reservation, will help boost the emerging renewable energy industry in eastern San Diego and Imperial Counties. SDG&E already has secured 26 percent of its power supply for 2012 from renewable energy resources, which is well ahead of the voluntary commitment the company made to supply 33 percent of its power from clean energy sources by 2020.

"Experts agree that a lack of electrical infrastructure is the most significant barrier to tapping into the vast potential for renewable energy in this region," said Debra L. Reed, president and chief executive officer for San Diego Gas &Electric. "This project will serve as the backbone for delivering renewable energy from the mountain region east of San Diego County for decades to come."

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has identified portions of eastern San Diego County, Imperial County and the northern Baja California region as having some of the highest concentrations in the country of potential energy from the sun, wind and geothermal.

At the center of this renewable energy hub is ECO, a planned new electric substation in East County near Jacumbaa key region of largely untapped renewable wind energy development that will transmit electricity via the existing Southwest Powerlink electric transmission line. The project, which was submitted for approval to the California Public Utilities Commission today, includes four main components:

1. Delivering renewable power - The state-of-the-art ECO substation near Jacumba will connect future wind farms and other renewable energy projects to the Southwest Powerlink line.

2. Improving reliability - The plan also calls for rebuilding the existing 50-year-old Boulevard substation. Local communities such as Jacumba, Boulevard, Campo, Bankhead Springs, Live Oak Springs, and the Campo, La Posta and Manzanita Indian Reservations will benefit from improved energy reliability when the current Boulevard substation is modernized.

3. Transporting clean energy - The two substations would be connected by a new 13-mile, 138-kilovolt power line to improve reliability and transmit renewable energy to the Southwest Powerlink.

4. Managing the electric system in real time - SDG&E will add new communications equipment at a facility near Boulevard to help improve remote system management.

The new infrastructure would connect several planned renewable energy projects in the region, so that the energy can be delivered to San Diego.

In June, the Campo Band of Mission Indians of the Kumeyaay Nation, Invenergy and SDG&E jointly announced a plan to build on tribal lands a wind energy project capable of generating up to 160 megawatts of renewable power, or enough clean energy to power 104,000 homes. This joint project will be the Campo tribe's second wind generation facility and is expected to offset as much as 145,000 metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions annually.

"SDG&E's ECO project is going to ensure that renewable energy development like our wind project and many others become a reality," said Monique La Chappa, Campo chairwoman. "We are excited to expand our leadership in developing renewable energy on tribal lands and look forward to our project bringing green jobs and clean air benefits to all of San Diego County."

Executive Director of the California Wind Energy Association Nancy Rader added: "This type of infrastructure is critical to delivering electricity generated by proposed wind projects in and around San Diego County."

Clean energy is needed to help satisfy state and federal policies that are intended to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels and cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

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. Exceptional customer service is a priority of SDG&E as it seeks to enhance the region's quality of life. SDG&E is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE), a Fortune 500 energy services holding company based in San Diego.
http://public.sempra.com/newsreleases/viewpr.cfm?PR_ID=2400&Co_Short_Nm=SDGE

[katty]

1. tons of info -thanks for posting