SmartMeters

Winning Energy-Saving Apps Help Customers Understand, Use Power Data

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:37:43 GMT

The Department of Energy announced the winners of its Apps for Energy contest, sponsored by PG&E, at the Connectivity Week 2012 conference in Santa Clara. Winners were chosen by a panel of experts including Todd Park, the newly named United States chief technology officer, state Public Utilities Commissioner Catherine Sandoval, PG&E’s chief information officer and senior vice president, Karen Austin, Patricia Hoffman with the Department of Energy, Sharelynn Moore with Itron, Aaron Shapiro of HUGE. and Bill Reichert of Garage Technology Ventures.

SolarReserve Awarded Third Solar Project in South Africa

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:37:22 GMT

The South Africa Department of Energy (DOE) awarded an 88 megawatt (MWDC) photovoltaic (PV) project to SolarReserve, the Kensani Group, and Intikon Energy. This latest project is the third for SolarReserve, totaling 238 MW and accounting for a 20 percent share of South Africa’s solar energy market. The Jasper Solar Energy Project, located in the Northern Cape of South Africa, was developed in response to the DOE’s second bidding window for the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).

Silver Springs Celebrates 10th Anniversary

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:37:02 GMT

Silver Spring Networks is celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Founded in 2002, Silver Spring’s IPv6 standards-based networking platform has transformed the utility industry’s approach to modernizing the grid with more than 11 million homes and businesses networked on its Smart Energy Platform worldwide.

Water Demand Boosts Smart Water Meter Deployments

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:36:25 GMT

A new report concludes that global demand for water is rising rapidly and in the next 20 years will be 40 percent higher than current levels. The 2030 Water Resources Group forecasts the growth in demand will surpass 50 percent in the world’s fastest developing economies. In addition, a recent study by Pike Research reports that as demand increases, utilities around the world will face increasing pressure to manage water resources as efficiently as possible making smart water meters a key element of future water systems.

TI Introduces New Ultra Low Power Tool

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:09:15 GMT

Texas Instruments has introduced the ultra-low-power (ULP) Advisor software code analysis tool that instructs developers on how to create energy-efficient, ultra-low-power applications with TI’s MSP430 microcontrollers.

Red Rose Forest and ENER-G

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:08:14 GMT

Red Rose Forest has partnered with ENER-G and Salford City Council to de-carbonize its small industrial unit by implementing a variety of energy efficiency improvements that will result in cost savings of £3,900 per year.

Enel Green Power Starts Operating Two New Plants in Greece

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:07:44 GMT

Enel Green Power (EGP) has launched two new plants in Greece: a wind farm and a photovoltaic plant, both located in the Peloponnese region. Thanks to these new power plants Enel Green Power’s total installed capacity in Greece will increase to 228 MW. And the clean energy produced by both plants is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by nearly 70,000 tons per year.

DECC Releases Electricity Market Reforms Draft

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:07:15 GMT

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Control has published a draft of the Electricity Market Reforms (EMR), which the regulator reports “puts in place measures to attract the £110 billion investment which is needed to replace current generating capacity and upgrade the grid by 2020, and to cope with a rising demand for electricity.”

Sprint Signs Deal with Metrum and Tollgrade

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:06:47 GMT

Sprint has signed agreements with Metrum Technologies and Tollgrade Communications intended to help electric utilities improve distribution and management systems efficiency. Metrum’s entire line of smart meters is now available with Sprint wireless connectivity and by June 2012 Tollgrade will offer medium voltage (MV) sensors with Sprint wireless connectivity that provide fault detection and location, asset management, load monitoring and power quality information for utilities in urban and rural locations.

GridMaven Completes Network Manager Deployment on Jeju Island

angus@smartmeters.com (Smartmeters) — Tue, 22 May 2012 19:06:13 GMT

GridMaven has completed deployment of its Network Manager in Korea’s Jeju Island smart grid test bed, running in the SmartPlace Network Operations Center (NOC), enabling operators to manage the testbed’s AMI, backhaul, electric vehicle, and home areas networks.