The first wave of applications for a piece of the almost $4 billion in smart grid stimulus funds were due the first week in August and drew close 50 utilities that we heard of (and hundreds more that have been a lot quieter about it). Now the second deadline to apply for smart grid demonstration projects has just rolled by (on August 26), and even more utilities have made announcements and spoken to the media about their proposals.
This morning New York utility Consolidated Edison (s ED) said it has applied for $46 million for smart grid demonstration projects in conjunction with the New York City Economic Development Corporation, smart grid software maker Viridity Energy, Boeing, Columbia University, The Prosser Group, CALM Energy and the Rudin Management Company. Con Edison says the pilot project will focus on new technology that will create a two-way communication system between it and its customers, as well as finding ways of bringing down the cost of services for its customers.
Con Edison’s announcement comes on the heels of news over the last week from a string of utilities. PG&E (s PCG) said it’s asking the Department of Energy for $25 million in stimulus funding for a compressed air energy storage project (the utility already asked for $42.5 million for a home area network project with the city of San Jose and Stanford University). Compressed air energy storage, which PG&E has been working with for some time, involves taking excess energy from a power plant or renewable energy, using it to run air compressors, which pump air into an underground cave where it’s stored under pressure. When the air is released, it powers a turbine, creating electricity.
Southern California Edison is also asking the DOE for funds for an energy storage demo project. Last week Greentech Media reported that SCE applied for a $25 million grant for a project with lithium ion battery maker A123Systems, to build a 32-megawatt-hour battery in the Tehachapi Mountains at a substation. That’s in addition to an application for another $35 million grant with potential partners General Electric (s GE), Cisco (s CSCO) and IBM (s IBM), for a broader demo project that will incorporate appliances, home energy management systems, and a wireless network, which could include the wireless standard WiMAX.
Earlier this month we reported that San Diego Gas & Electric filed an application for $30 million for a smart grid wireless project called GridComm that will span the entire 4,100 square miles of its footprint. A portion of its network that could be built with WiMAX and potential partners could include Cisco (s CSCO), IBM (s IBM) and Arcadian Networks.
Here’s our latest list with updates (this has also been updated with Beacon Power, Tucson Electric Power):
| Company | Type of Firm | Amount Requested | Project | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEP Ohio | Utility | $75 million | A demo project that will include 110,000 smart meters, distribution tech, plug-in hybrid car tech and consumer gear. | Columbus, OH |
| Alliant Energy Corp (owns Wisconsin Power and Light Company) | Utility | $45 million + | NA | Madison, WI |
| Ameren Illinois Utilities | Utility | $45 million | NA | St Louis, MI |
| Ameren UE | Utility | $ |
NA | St Louis, MI |
| American Transmission Company | Utility | $21.75 million | Power grid monitoring | Waukesha, WI |
| Arizona Public Service | Utility | NA | NA | Phoenix, AZ |
| Avista | Energy Co. | $20 million | Upgrade electric distribution system | Spokane, WA |
| Baltimore Gas and Electric | Utility | $200 million | NA | Baltimore, MD |
| Beacon Power | Flywheel Maker | $46.7 million | funding of two 20 MW flywheel energy storage plants | Tyngsboro, MA |
| Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative | Utility | $18.8 million | General smart grid buildout. Partners include Silver Spring Networks, Control4, eMeter. | Bastrop, Texas |
| The Building Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA/Chicago) | Building office trade group. | $92.7 million | For the first commercial office smart grid building program. | Chicago, Il |
| Burbank Water and Power | Utility | $20 | NA | Burbank, CA |
| CenterPoint Energy | Utility | $200 million | Smart meter deployment and equipment to manage power outages | Houston, TX |
| Cleveland Utilities | Utility | NA | NA | Cleveland, TN |
| Commonwealth Edison | Utility | $175 million | Smart meters | Chicago, IL |
| Consolidated Edison | Utility | $46 million | Smart grid, in conjunction with Boeing, Viridity Energy, Columbia University and others. | New York, NY |
| Dominion Virginia Power | Utility | $200 million | Smart meters | Richmond, VA |
| Duke Energy, NC, SC | Utility | $14 million | Smart meters | NC, SC |
| Duke Energy, OH, IN, KY | Utility | $200 million | Smart meters | OH, IN< KY |
| First Energy Corp | Utility | $57 million | NA | Akron, OH |
| Florida Power & Light | Utility | NA (Seeking funds, not official) | Smart meters | Miami, FL |
| Glendale Water and Power | Utility | $20 million | Smart meters. | Glendale, CA |
| Kentucky Municipal Power Association | Utility | NA | NA | Frankfort, KY |
| Keys Energy (Corrected from Florida Keys Electric Coop) | Utility | NA | NA | Key West, FL |
| Lakeland Electric | Utility | $20 million | Smart meters | Lakeland, FL |
| Lincoln Electric System | Utility | $33.5 million | Smart meters | Lincoln, NE |
| Long Island Power Authority | Utility | $119 million | Voltage management, fiberoptics for smart grid monitoring. | Long Island, NY |
| Madison Gas and Electric | Utility | $5.5 million | Consumer-facing smart grid applications. | Madison, WI |
| National Grid | Utility | $200 million | End to end smart grid | U.K. |
| Northeast Utilities | Utility | $126.5 million | NA | Berlin, CT |
| NSTAR Electric and Gas | Utility | $28M million | NA | New Bedford, MA |
| NV Energy | Utility | $138 million | Smart meter deployment and network build out | Las Vegas, NV |
| Oncor | Utility | $317 million, and $3.5 million | $317 million for smart meter deployment and network build out, and $3.5 million for a regional demonstration project that would include installing technology on eight high-voltage lines in central Texas | Dallas, TX |
| Pacific Gas & Electric | Utility | $42.5 million, and $25 million | $42.5 million for home area networks in conjunction with the city of San Jose and Stanford University, and $25 million for compressed air energy storage. | San Francisco, CA |
| Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project | Utilities | $178 million | Researchers at Battelle Memorial Institute and a dozen utilities in five Northwest states as well as the Bonneville Power Administration, 3TIER, Areva, Drummond Group, IBM, Netezza and QualityLogic. | NA |
| PECO | Utility | $200 million | NA | Philadelphia, PA |
| Pepco | Utility | $142 million | NA | Washington DC |
| Pepco’s Atlantic City Electric | Utility | $19 million | NA | Mays Landing NJ |
| Pepco’s Delmarva Power | Utility | $93 million | NA | Wilmington, DE |
| PPL Corp | Energy company | $19 million | Smart meters, monitoring system | Allentown, PA |
| Progress Energy | Utility | $200 million | Buildout smart grid in Carolinas and Florida territories | Raleigh, NC |
| PSE&G | Energy company | $76 million | NA | Newark NJ |
| San Diego Gas & Electric | Utility | $30 million project | Smart grid wireless network called GridComm, in conjunction with Cisco, IBM, Arcadian Networks. | San Diego, CA |
| Southern California Edison | Utility | $50 million, and $60 million for Demo grants | $50 million for a synchrophasor project in conjunction with WECC, and $60 million for wind energy storage project and a regional smart grid demo in conjunction with Cisco, IBM, A123Systems, GE and SunPower. | Los Angeles, CA |
| Southern Company | Energy company | $197 million, and $165 million | $197M for smart meters and $165M for transmission and distribution | Atlanta, GA |
| Tacoma Power | Utility | $32 million | Smart meters. | Tacoma City, WA |
| Tennessee Valley Authority | Utility | $200 million | NA | Knoxville, TN |
| Texas New Mexico Power Company | Utility | $49.1 million | Smart meters. | Fort Worth, TX |
| Tucson Electric Power | Utility | $25 million | Smart grid project including energy storage and solar, and partnering with EnerNOC, Tendril, Raytheon, University of Arizona, Itron. | Tucson, AZ |
| United Illuminating Co. | Utility | $37.5 million | Smart meters and network build out | New Haven, CT |
| Vermont Electric Power, Efficiency Vermont, plus 20 Vermont utilities | Utilities | $66 million | Statewide smart grid. | Vermont |
| We Energies | Utility | $3.5 million | Smart meters. | Milwaukee, WI |
| Westfield Gas & Electric | Utility | $5 million | Smart meters. | Westfield, MA |
| Westar Energy | Utility | $20 million | Smart meters |
Topeka, KS |
| Wisconsin Power and Light Company | Utility | $ |
Smart meters, demand response, distribution automation | Madison, WI |
| Wisconsin Public Service Corp | Utility | $18 million | Smart grid | Greenbay, WI |
Data pulled from press releases, SmartGridStimulus.com, Greentech Media, San Francisco Business Times, WisBusiness.com, TimesUnion.com, San Jose Mercury News, BizJournals, JSOnline, Lincoln Journal Star, EE Times, Reuters.
Of course, all very cleverly written, but not everything is so natural as it seems, at first glance and it is quite possible that the opinion of the author does not coincide with public opinion, is too often the case. But clearly we can say one thing: thanks to the author of articles for such a fresh and objective look at this aspect of the issue.
So-called smart meters do not a smart grid make.
This is a nationwide problem and the grid has to be looked at as a whole, not the sum of thousands of little parts. Any solution that does not address the grid in toto should not be called smart grid.
Alas, the PecanStreetProject.org in Austin TX did not make the list. This is a ca. $25mm SmartGrid and Energy Internet project in Austin TX.