The first quarter of cleantech was a mix of good and bad news. Avis’ purchase of Zipcar and Silver Spring Networks’ long-awaited IPO finally occurring were further signs of thawing capital markets and movement in the acquisition space. However, in both situations valuations were lower than hoped, a sign of how investors view cleantech. Read more »
The deployment of smart meters combined with the growth of cloud computing infrastructure has created opportunities to build business models around the volume of emerging energy data. Those who use data to solve customer problems and leverage decades of software development and advances in big data will attract investment dollars. Read more »
Touring Verizon’s booth wasn’t quite what I expected, but that’s not a bad thing. Instead of focusing on new consumer devices, the company is using the venue to show off partner products from its Innovations Center, illustrating the benefits of connectivity where you’d least expect. Read more »
Organizations that support smart grid roll-outs have simply not demonstrated that their efforts will benefit the causes that consumers support. So what to do? Look to the guys that make soap. Read more »
The Internet of things is supposed to connect every aspect of our lives from our homes and cars to the objects we wear and the goods we consume. It’s even connecting ice machines. But one thing the Internet of things lacks is a unifying standard. Read more »
A four-year-old startup called PlotWatt has developed smart algorithms that can crunch energy data down to the appliance level to determine which of your household devices is sucking up more than its fair share of power. Read more »
Smart energy startup AlertMe — which provides a cloud-based way to monitor your energy consumption — has struck a deal with British Gas, the U.K.’s largest domestic energy supplier. It’s the latest big break for the business, CEO Mary Turner explains. Read more »
Smart meters eventually will be ubiquitous globally over the next few decades, but, interestingly enough, installations of smart meters in the U.S. will actually sharply decline over the next two years, before they pick back up, according to Pike Research. Read more »
Utility regulators tend to put investments in newer technologies such as smart meters under a microscope. Fortunately policymakers in over 30 states and countries have already found that the benefits of smart meters have exceeded the costs. Read more »
Despite some of the push back from a very vocal but tiny group, smart meters in the U.S. are coming — and fast. According to research group NPD, 75 percent of the electric meters in the U.S. will be smart digital meters by 2016. Read more »
We’re at a juncture in the smart grid market where utilities are moving beyond the expected, from the flywheel systems protecting Austin Energy’s new control center to SAIC’s “Smart Grid as a Service” that supports critical energy management systems in Alaskan villages. Read more »
Meter giant Itron has made a rare smart grid acquisition. On Wednesday afternoon Itron announced that it plans to acquire smart grid cellular networking company SmartSynch in a deal worth around $100 million. Read more »
As utility industry trade show DistribuTECH wrapped up last Thursday, attendees got a peek at not only new product offerings — from smart thermostats to software platforms that manage smart meter data — but also the potential for what a utility of the future might look ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
As the smart grid grows up and reaches its full potential, Adam Lesser, GigaOM Pro green IT analyst, sees five important ways in which how we interact with our utility can be revolutionized and why they matter. Read more »
Last week eMeter’s Chris King shared his smart grid predictions for 2012. But also, as the new year turns, he says he’s pondering these important questions, too: Read more »
Meter giant Landis+Gyr has snapped up smart meter data management company Ecologic Analytics, the companies announced on Tuesday. Ecologic Analytics has been around for over a decade, and Landis + Gyr was already a minority shareholder in the firm. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Read more »
Two recent wins for GE signal not just where GE is headed, but also two important trends for 2012. First, the move to “cloud-based” hosted services is under way in earnest. Second, many of the sector’s biggest players are targeting coops and municipals. Read more »
eMeter’s Chris King explains that like any disruptive technology, the growing flocks of wind turbines and expanding acres of solar-equipped rooftops around the world are causing temporary growing pains for the energy industry. Good thing there are also solutions. Read more »
It is becoming abundantly apparent that, while there is still focus on install rates of physical smart meters, what will matter in the future is how well the data from these smart meters can be secured by utilities and how well utilities can use that data ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
One of the key ways that eMeter has developed over the past 20 months since its current CEO Gary Bloom came on board has been to act like an enterprise software company, according to an indepth interview with Bloom in Xconomy. It’s a solid tip. Read more »
Efforts to modernize the U.S. grid in recent years have emerged as a hodgepodge of pilot projects, the installation of new technology and hefty financial backing from the U.S. government and private investors. How to plan for such a change is a daunting task. Read more »
Power and engineering giant Siemens will buy smart meter software company eMeter, the companies announced on Monday. While the companies did not disclose the price, this is one of the most high-profile deals for the smart grid in 2011. Read more »
PG&E plans to start testing out home energy gadgets and software starting in March 2012 with a small group of customers, and the utility unveiled details of its plan this week. Here’s what you need to know. Read more »
AT&T is launching yet another new business division, this one called Digital Life Services. The operator hasn’t revealed many details about the new unit, but from the sound of it, this may be AT&T’s attempt to tackle the smart grid, targeting consumers and businesses directly. Read more »
You might only read about smart meters when media reports cover people pushing back on them, but smart meters are steadily being installed across the U.S. The penetration rate of smart meters has jumped from 6.5 percent to 13-18 percent, according to a report from FERC. Read more »
It seems — and is — a geeky thing to write about, but Daylight Savings Time can cause serious problems for some smart meters and meter data management systems. Read more »
The U.S. Department of Energy released a report Thursday that aims to help public and private sectors figure out ways to protect the grid against cybersecurity breaches. Here’s 10 ways to deal with cybersecurity in a smart grid world. Read more »
Tech stocks took a beating on Monday morning, the first day of trading after Standard & Poor downgraded the credit ratings of credit agencies. At the same time, greentech stocks — from solar to biofuels to smart grid — fell alongside the weak macro economic news. Read more »
OK, maybe hacker-types shouldn’t see this, but the iFixit crew has done a teardown of an Elster smart meter, pulling off all the electronics, chips, radios and casing. Read more »
It’s official. On Thursday, Japanese electronics giant Toshiba said it plans to acquire Swiss smart meter company Landis+Gyr. The deal will turn Toshiba, already a huge player in power and grid systems, into a sizable smart grid contender. Read more »
Greentech feels like it’s hit a slump recently, but as Saul Griffith recently said: the future of the planet needs to sound awesome for kids, while also combined with science-based realism. Here’s 7 reasons why I’ve been worried lately, followed by 7 things to still get excited about. Read more »
Itron and Tropos Networks say they can roll smart meter neighborhood networks and backhaul networks into one system, and they’ve landed Michigan utility DTE to try it out. Read more »
California’s utility regulator has proposed rules on how home energy devices should protect smart meter data privacy — and whether the device is “locked” into one company’s platform or technology or not will be a big deal. Read more »
Utility PG&E has hit another snag with its smart meter roll-out. This afternoon, the company announced it will replace 1,600 of its smart meters, which were manufactured by Landis+Gyr, because of a defect that causes the miscalculation of customer energy bills. Read more »
Smart meter companies take note: the battle over smart meters in California isn’t going away, will likely get more complicated, and could impact tech companies banking on the rollout of a massive amount of smart meters connected to wireless networks. Read more »
According to a recently-released independent report from the California Council on Science and Technology, which compiled a lot of the already available research done on the subject, there are no known health risks associated with living with a smart meter. Read more »
Brazil hopes to install 62 million smart meters by 2020, and companies like Silver Spring Networks, Landis+Gyr and Echelon are targeting the market. Read more »
I can see it now: utility execs and smart grid entrepreneurs shaking their collective heads over the recent (and seemingly never ending) spate of media attention on consumers pushing back against smart meters. This story seriously won’t go away. Here’s why. Read more »
In the building energy management sector, mid-size commercial properties like restaurants and stores are relegated to the industry’s untouched middle territory. But the right combination of low-cost and enhanced customer service could crack open this untapped ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Intel has made no secret of its ambition for a fat slice of the home energy management market, but here’s the chip maker’s official play: a hardware design blueprint based on its Atom chip for any manufacturer that wants to build and sell home energy monitoring devices. Read more »
