Trilliant has launched a smart metering interoperability group to support UK utilities with their smart meter roll-out. According to Trilliant the group will offer utilities a clear low risk route for utilities to help consumers to cut their energy bills. The interpretability group consist of eight industry players including in-home display providers and energy and water resource management solution provider.
Want to know where the smart grid projects are in Europe? Through data collected by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and in partnership with Eurelectric, an interactive map has been developed to show active projects. Apparently there are over 200 active smart grids on the go in Europe at the moment. The map is to provide up to date information on active projects.
The UK energy management body OFGEM has approved the availability of funds for six smart grid projects across Britain. The money will be used to fund energy projects run by Distribution Network Operators (DNO). OFGEM is hoping that lessons learned in the pilots will help grid companies to develop the grid networks of the future. The £57 Million is being made available from the regulator’s £500 Million Low Carbon Network Fund.
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.
LG Electronics (LG) is showcasing Smart Place at the World Smart Grid Expo 2011 in Seoul, Korea. Smart Place is a comprehensive Smart Grid network connected to homes on Jeju Island’s 185km2 Jeju Smart Grid Test-Bed, where approximately 6,000 homes are located.
Kosciusko REMC, the Indiana based electric cooperative has selected Landis+Gyr’s Gridstream RF Smart Grid solution for its advanced metering project. Starting early 2012, Kosciusko REMC will start rolling out Landis+Gyr’s E350 FOCUS AX-SD residential meters, E650 S4e commercial meters and Gridstream RF mesh network technology. The programme is expected to run for 18 months and include all 18 thousand members.
According to research firm ABI Research an estimated $590 million was spent on smart grid security technologies in 2010. They are projecting that by 2016 the amount will surpass $2 billion. In 2011, security spending on transmission upgrades made up the largest portion of smart grid spending; approximately 54%. ABI expects security spending to maintain this trend over the next five years.
Silver Spring Networks, a leading smart grid networking platform and solutions provider, has been selected by Maui Electric Company (MECO) and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii (HNEI) to deploy a strategic and innovative smart grid project on the island of Maui. The project will test the effectiveness of smart grid technologies in helping MECO and its customers reach and exceed the State of Hawaii’s goal of meeting 70% of its energy needs with clean energy by 2030.
The entire energy sector eyes are on Hawaii’s second largest island of Maui. The island's electricity provider Maui Electric Company (MECO) and the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute at the University of Hawaii (HNEI) said they want to reduce their dependency on imported Diesel Oil. Currently 15 percent of the island’s electricity is generated by renewable energy and they have set themselves an ambitious target of increasing this number to 70 percent by the year 2030. Therefore, Maui Island has become a test bed for the latest in smart grid technologies under a Japanese-businesses and US joint partnership.
Officials are celebrating the groundbreaking of a two-megawatt solar array in Los Alamos that will be part of a smart grid collaboration between researchers in New Mexico and Japan.
Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization is teaming up with Los Alamos County and Los Alamos National Laboratory for the project at the county's capped landfill.
The Japanese group is also working on a related project in Albuquerque.