Cable&Wireless and Silver Spring Included in Isle of Wight Smart Grid Project (EcoIsland)

The UK has joined the rest of the world to start its own Island smart grid project, called the EcoIsland Partnership on the Isle of Wight. Technology partners Cable&Wireless and Silver Spring Networks announced that they have signed a partnership agreement to participate in the project. Like Maui island smart grid project, EcoIsland will use a combination of renewable energy sources to provide electricity to the island’s inhabitants.

EcoIsland project will be the UK’s largest energy sustainability project and first holistic, self-sustaining smart grid system. The project’s objective is to make the Isle of Wight energy self-sufficient by 2020. Another underlying objective is to reduce the cost of living and improve the quality of life for Isle of Wight inhabitants and promote energy sustainability to the rest of the world.

The EcoIsland Partnership will implement a combination of wind, solar, tidal and geothermal renewable energy generation technologies connected to a smart grid to deliver clean energy reliably and efficiently.  Cable&Wireless Worldwide and Silver Spring said they will be the global communications partner to provide the communication platform that links the different renewable technologies, the grid and all of the homes and businesses on Isle of Wight.

Both companies will deploy ubiquitous, secure, low-cost network connectivity for the smart grid that will be leveraged across a broad set of secure, pervasive, IPv6-based smart grid and smart metering initiatives.