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Posts Tagged ‘Electrical Grid’

Will Apple become the next home energy management giant?

With the Smart Grid predicted to become a $200 billion industry over the next five years, it’s not surprising that many IT companies — Google, Microsoft, Intel and others — have reached for their own piece of the pie. But all of them are going to have to make room for a new giant: Apple. The iconic maker of the iPod, iPhone and now iSlate has just patented its own home power management panel.

As novel as this sounds, Apple isn’t introducing any brand new technology. Its home energy management dashboard will be based on HomePlug’s system. HomePlug makes panels that plug into basic wall sockets. In a matter of minutes, this devices connect with every outlet in the house via broadband internet. This type of technology is better known in Europe. But for now, Apple’s power management device is nothing more than a couple of patents — it’ll be a while yet before they’re turned into anything more.

The idea behind a possible device would be to connect a central interface to smart appliances around the home. Users will be able to view how much energy they are using in real time, as well as how much it is costing them. This could give them incentive to change their behavior to conserve both energy and money. Whether an Apple product would allow people to see this information via a special Apple device like a compact monitor, or your television screen or internet browser (like Microsoft Hohm and Google Powermeter) remains unknown.

It makes sense why Apple would choose to pursue home energy management. Of all the businesses related to the construction of a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid, home energy monitoring systems are the slickest and most consumer friendly of the bunch. Just look at AlertMe and its line of high-design devices for measuring energy use, or Control4 which makes a dashboard interface shockingly similar to that of the iPhone.

On one hand, this segment of the industry is prepped to become the first cleantech bubble (a la one of our 2010 predictions) — there are simply too many companies after the same brass ring. On the other hand, Apple has the manpower, design sense and brand recognition to become the dominant force in the space if it so chose. It’ll be exciting to see what the company comes up with.

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ReadWriteWeb Events Guide, 14 November 2009

We’ve added a couple of more events to this week’s events guide. You can download the entire event calendar in iCal format or import it into your Google Calendar. You can also import individual events using the link beside each entry. This events guide is a weekly feature here on ReadWriteWeb. We publish it every weekend, as good a time as any to review your conference plans.

Know of an event taking place that should appear here? Let us know in the comments below or contact us.

Sponsor

18 – 19 November 2009: San Francisco

GreenBeat 2009

VentureBeat, the leading innovation-focused business blog, will host the seminal conference on The Smart Grid, November 18-19 in San Francisco. GreenBeat 2009 brings together the nation’s 500 leading entrepreneurs, investors, utility and technology executives, policymakers and press to affect accelerated development of a leaner, more efficient electrical grid. With participation by Al Gore, former Vice President and Nobel Prize Winner; John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins; and industry leaders, including from Cisco, Tendril, PG&E, expect lively discussion and power networking. The program will highlight new technologies and explore the opportunities afforded by the stimulus package. For more, visit www.greenbeat2009.com.

ReadWriteWeb readers, save 20% on regular price tickets with discount code GREENRWW09 here.

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19 November 2009: Mountain View, California

Under the Radar

Featuring the most cutting-edge mobile startups from around the globe, Under the Radar will get you dialed in to what the 2010 mobile innovation marketplace will look like. It’s a must-attend event for dealmakers from global carriers, brands, media companies, and handset manufacturers responsible for helping their companies leverage new mobile technology and innovation in the fast-evolving digital landscape.

Save $200: book by 2 October 2009, and get the early-bird rate.

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30 November 2009

New Way to Work

Do you have a great story about your work environment? Job marketplace Elance and Vator.tv have partnered to host the “New Way to Work” competition, with a grand prize of $10,000 in cash or health insurance for the most compelling story. You can tell your story on Vator.tv, the premier platform for entrepreneurs to broadcast their voice, by uploading a video, posting an update, linking to a blog entry, or sharing a photo. Hurry, the competition ends on 30 November 2009.

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1 – 3 December 2009: London, England

Online Information & IMS 2009

Online Information and IMS together create the largest event dedicated to the information industry. Consisting of an exhibition delivering over 9,000 visitors from 70 countries, a conference and a show-floor seminar program, the event provides an annual meeting place for the global information industry.

Online Information is once again set to play host to thousands of information professionals, information end-users and publishers from around the globe, meeting suppliers of online content, e-publishing, and library management solutions. IMS provides a forum for IT, business, and information management professionals to find unlimited, relevant advice, educational content and compare solutions under one roof. Attend IMS and meet suppliers of content management, search solutions, and Web 2.0 technologies.

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1 – 3 December 2009: Boston, Massachusetts

Gilbane Conference Boston

Join us at the sixth annual “Gilbane Conference Boston: Content, Collaboration and Customers.”

Your content is your business, and you need to make your Web content part of an integrated platform for
customers. You need to know solutions and technologies that are ready to be implemented today. Gilbane Conference Boston is built around the four major areas of how enterprises use Web and content technologies:

• Web business and engagement;
• Managing collaboration and social media: internal and external;
• Enterprise content: searching, integrating and publishing;
• Content infrastructure.

Visit www.gilbaneboston.com for conference details. ReadWriteWeb readers, use the discount code “GILBANE” to save an additional $200. Register today!

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1 – 3 December 2009: San Francisco

Supernova

The Supernova Conference is the thought-leadership forum for the network age. It brings together over 500 business, government and technology influencers to understand how decentralization and pervasive connectivity are changing our world. It’s the only conference to focus on how networks have become the main instruments of change from both business and social perspectives.

An ever-evolving network itself, the conference has become the place for highly interactive and spirited debates, making significant business connections and revelations on new innovation.

ReadWriteWeb readers get a discount of $700 off the regular price when registering by 16 October 2009. Use code “RRW09″. After October 16th, the discount changes to $200 off the regular price. Register here.

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7 December 2009: San Francisco

SF MusicTech Summit

The SF MusicTech Summit brings together 600+ visionaries in the music/technology space, along with the best and brightest developers, entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, journalists, musicians and organizations who work with them at the convergence of culture and commerce. We meet to discuss the evolving music/business/technology eco-system in a proactive environment, highly conducive to deal making. Register with a great ReadWriteWeb 15% discount.

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7 – 11 December 2009: Chicago, Illinois

Search Engine Strategies 2009

From social media to local search to video SEO, Search Engine Strategies Chicago puts you in front of the experts who will help you sort which technologies and channel will take you to the next level and which are just hype.

Search Engine Strategies is the pioneer of educational conference series in search engine marketing. It’s the venue where the industry visionaries and thought leaders gather each year to discuss the newest trends, share insights and present the strategic action plans you need to grow your business. Sessions include:

• SEO Through Blogs and Feeds
• Duplicate Content and Multiple Site Issues
• What’s the Link Between Search and Social?
• Online PR: Where to Next?
• Search Analytics

See more at www.SearchEngineStrategies.com/chicago. ReadWriteWeb readers receive a 15% discount when registering here using RWW15 code.

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11 December 2009: Mountain View, California

Add-on-Con

Add-on-Con is a single-day conference focused on the future of the browser and its emergence as a platform.

Developer sessions will cover best practices, cross-browser development and mash-ups. Marketing sessions will focus on monetization opportunities, distribution strategies and stats. Join 200+ individuals involved in add-on development to help define an emerging new market in the Web’s eco-system.

ReadWriteWeb readers save $50 by using the discount code “addoncon09RRW.”

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11 January 2010: Nashville, Tennessee

Social Fresh Nashville

This is the social media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one-day, case-study-rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Nashville will have 30+ speakers, including Jason Falls of Social Media Explorer, Gavin Baker of Ruby Tuesday and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart).

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 15% discount with the code “RWW15″.

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27 – 28 January 2010: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Enterprise Social 2.0: Rip or ROI?

This senior executive event will bring together decision makers from the Top Fortune companies to discuss innovative strategies on how to maximise business performance through social media engagement. The event will include keynote speeches, best-practice presentations as well as interactive discussion sessions.

The summit will provide excellent opportunities for you to hear international experts discuss best practices on how to drive business performance using Web 2.0 and social media. Key issues to be discussed include:

• How to integrate social media programs successfully into business strategies?
• Building business momentum, visibility and market growth through social media
• Measuring success and influence using metrics and analytics: what are the tools and techniques
• Integrating viral marketing and social media into traditional marketing mix
• Developing and activating audiences using social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs

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8 February 2010: Tampa, Florida

Social Fresh Tampa

This is the social media conference that comes to you. Social Fresh is a one-day, case-study-rich conference targeted for marketers. Social Fresh Tampa will have 30+ speakers, including Chris Barger of GM, Maggie Fox of Social Media Group and John Andrews of Collective Bias (formerly of Walmart).

ReadWriteWeb readers get a 15% discount with the code “RWW15″.

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15 – 16 March 2010: London, England

2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum — London

The 2nd Annual Social Networking World Forum takes place at the Olympia Conference Centre in London. The two-day event features four dedicated conference streams:

1. Social Networking World Forum
2. Enterprise social media
3. Social TV World Forum
4. Mobile Social Networking Forum

The event features key speakers from global brands, organizations, social networking publishers and developers, pioneering social media leaders, top agencies, content producers, and more.

• Full workshop program within exhibition area
• Evening networking reception
• Pre-show online meeting planner for delegates
• Free pass for exhibition only

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Download this entire events calendar in iCal format.

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GreenBeat 2009: Meet your Innovation Competition judges

GreenBeat 2009, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, is just around the corner on Nov. 18-19. And one of the key pieces of the event — perhaps the one we’re most excited about — is the Innovation Competition, a chance for startups and big companies alike to go head-to-head showcasing their boldest, most disruptive technologies and business models.

We can’t say too much about the more than 30 companies who applied to be a part of this year’s contest (much more information on our picks to come), but we can introduce you to the prudent investors and analysts who will be hand-selecting some of the Smart Grid’s earliest killer apps — the devices, software and concepts that will take our aging electrical grid into the future.

Before we get to the panel of experts, here’s another reminder to register for GreenBeat 2009 before we run out of tickets. Go to http://www.greenbeat2009.com for more information and to sign up. In the meantime, if you want to receive breaking news on the conference, or generally keep up to date with Smart Grid happenings, follow us on Twitter at @greenbeat2009.

We’d also like to acknowledge our strategic partners: Vantage Communications, DEMO, Matter Network, and Fora.TV; and our sponsors: Accenture, Southern California Edison, Accel Partners, Mayfield Fund, Oracle Utilities, Schwartz Communications, Cisco Systems, CPower, CSC and KPMG.

The Innovation Competition accepted applications from companies of any size and shape innovating for the Smart Grid. The goal is to recognize new submissions to the space that not only change the way we’re thinking about our electrical system, but that embrace what we believe to be the three most important objectives behind Smart Grid development: 1) To decarbonize our modes for distributing energy; 2) to quickly and efficiently transmit data along side power; and 3) to drive increased energy efficiency and conservation.

The following judges will decide which of this year’s submissions best fulfill these criteria.

Tim Carey — Partner and head of the U.S. cleantech practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Charged with determining what makes green companies successful, Carey has seen his share of winners and losers in the space, especially during the recent economic turbulence. He is one of the thought leaders that has his eyes fixed on cleantech’s rebound from the recession, accurately predicting that the sector would begin to grow back in the third quarter of this year, but still miss 2008 levels of investment. He is often called upon to decipher and remark on cleantech trends. Earlier this year, he said he believed that the stimulus funds being handed out by the U.S. Department of Energy will result in more green IPOs in 2010. Carey is keeping a close eye on the evolution of the Smart Grid as it plays a growing role in its energy and manufacturing practices.

Craig Lobdell — Director at KPMG. As a seasoned management consultant, Lobdell has spent years working with clients to reengineer process designs and planning to boost revenue, mitigate risk and evolve with the times — particularly in the cleantech and renewable energy sectors. He has worked closely with electric and gas utilities to navigate the transition to deregulation, as well as with independent power producers, solar energy companies and municipal construction firms to make their operations greener and more profitable. Before arriving at KPMG in 2004, Lobdell served as a senior manager at BearingPoint and Andersen LLP.

Sunil Paul — Founder of Spring Ventures and co-founder and chairman of the Clean Economy Network. Paul is a longtime entrepreneur of and investor in clean energy companies. As the founder of Spring Ventures, he helps incubate startups that have the potential to become major, disruptive forces in the fight against global warming and energy dependence. Right now, the San Francisco-based firm’s portfolio includes thin-film solar company Nanosolar, and Oorja Protonics, maker of alcohol-based fuel-cell systems. In 2008, Paul joined forces with a number of other leaders in the cleantech and investment businesses to found the Clean Economy Network, a national advocacy group that lobbies for policies consistent with the growth of green employment, sustainable work practices and energy independence. Paul was also an investor in Advent Solar, which sold its assets to Applied Materials earlier this week.

Richard Wong — Partner at Accel Partners. Wong may have established his expertise in the mobile  and enterprise software sectors, but he’s also jumped on board to make the firm’s energy holdings some of the most ambitious in the business. Just one example of his foresight in cleantech — he threw his support behind SunRun, a residential solar power company that utilizes photovoltaic panels and their interaction with the grid in bold, innovative ways. Owning and operating the panels itself, SunRun hooks its equipment into the grid, and charges residents only for the amount of power they use. The company is a natural segue into Smart Grid technology — a perfect example of how smart metering, real-time energy data transfer, and new data points will give vendors of renewable energy the boost they need to become widespread. Seeing more than simply how these innovation fit together, Wong has a bird’s eye view of how both private and federal dollars will flow into grid development moving forward. Wong will be a judge in GreenBeat 2009’s Innovation Competition, showcasing the most promising and disruptive Smart Grid technology on offer.

VentureBeat is hosting GreenBeat, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, on Nov. 18-19, featuring keynotes from Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr. Register for your ticket today at GreenBeat2009.com.

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Trilliant, ABB partner to make Smart Grid technologies interoperable

Trilliant, provider of communications infrastructure used to beam energy consumption data between so-called smart meters, utilities and their customers, announced today that it is partnering with automation company ABB to make sure their technologies can talk to one another. This type of interoperability is one of the major issues impacting how and how fast the Smart Grid — a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid — takes hold in the U.S.

It seem to be all the rage these days for large companies and startups alike to form coalitions with their peers and third-party technology providers, announcing that all of them will use the same standards, allowing all their technologies to freely converse. For example, last week both IBM and Cisco announced formation of groups — or as Cisco likes to call them “ecosystems” — of companies working with the same set of standards. IBM gathered its brood by getting them all to use the same software package, called SAFE, providing basic infrastructure for Smart Grid startups. Recognizable names in these groups include Tendril, Echelon, EnergyHub, General Electric, GridPoint, Itron, Coulomb Technologies and, of course Trilliant — which seems to be roping in as many interoperability deals as it can.

In particular, Trilliant is integrating is SecureMesh communications network with ABB’s Station Automation and Protection suite. Trilliant’s network facilitates the collection of electric metering data. ABB’s products will help secure and automate these transmissions. The two companies have run performance tests of the combined technology, and report that information was channeled faster and more efficiently.

Trilliant has raised $40 million in venture funding from MissionPoint Capital Partners and Zouk Ventures.

VentureBeat is hosting GreenBeat, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, on Nov. 18-19, featuring keynotes from Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr. Get your early-bird tickets for $495 before Sept. 30 at GreenBeat2009.com.

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San Jose, PG&E lift veil on major Smart Grid collaboration

Pacific Gas and Electric announced today that it is partnering with the city of San Jose, Calif. to deploy a major project integrating smart meters provided by the utility with the city’s well-developed solar energy infrastructure.

PG&E has been gradually rolling out smart meters in its California service areas. Just like traditional meters, they record how much electricity a household or business is consuming in real time. Only now, they transmit the data they collect to both the utility and the consumer over wireless networks, eliminating the need for monthly meter readers and allowing energy users to keep track of how much they are spending on energy as they use it.

PG&E, which applied for $42.5 million in stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of Energy last month, says it will earmark some of the money it receives for the project in San Jose. The end goal of the collaboration is to equip 75,000 homes and commercial spaces in the area with smart meters, give PG&E control over more solar installations, and better manage grid loads to prevent brownouts and other disruptions.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed announced the partnership during a press conference today, backed up by representatives from IBM and Cisco Systems, two Silicon Valley companies working hard to grow their involvement in the development of a cleaner, faster and more efficient electrical grid. In fact, IBM also today announced the release of its new SAFE software package, providing Smart Grid startups with the IT infrastructure they need to accelerate their progress.

It’s unclear how San Jose’s solar facilities will be folded into the project. Just yesterday, the San Jose Mercury News reported that six major buildings in the city are newly running on solar power, including several community centers, two fire stations and a library. As home to industry leader Nanosolar, the city has placed emphasis on that form of renewable energy. But companies and municipalities are only starting to look at how best to draw renewables into Smart Grid efforts, so it will be interesting to see how San Jose proceeds.

VentureBeat is hosting GreenBeat, the seminal executive conference on the Smart Grid, on Nov. 18-19, featuring keynotes from Nobel Prize winner Al Gore and Kleiner Perkins’ John Doerr. Get your early-bird tickets for $495 before Sept. 30 at GreenBeat2009.com.

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Ford’s plug-in hybrids will talk to electrical grid

Several automobile companies have been taking steps towards the implementation of hybrid technologies, and Ford is not about to be left behind. On Tuesday, it announced the development of a control system that would allow its electric cars to communicate with electric grids to adjust the timing of its charging schedule. The technology is designed for use in Ford’s plug-in hybrid cars that will reach the market by 2012.

The new technology, which is conceptually similar to smart grids, allows customers to program when the car recharges, for how long, and at what utility rate. When plugged in, the battery system of the car can talk directly to the grid through a wireless network with smart meters provided by utility companies. The settings are chosen by the car’s operator through a touchscreen in the car’s dashboard, and works with other Ford technologies like SYNC, SmartGauge with EcoGuide, and Ford Work Solutions.

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More utilities look to the DOE for smart grid financing

Both Connecticut’s United Illuminating and Illinois’ Commonwealth Edison have filed applications to receive stimulus funds from the U.S. Department of Energy to accelerate their smart grid plans. Applying for $37.5 million and $175 million, respectively, the utility companies are hoping to match funds they have already raised for project-based development.

United Illuminating, based in New Haven, Conn., says it would use the money to install communication infrastructure to more easily monitor and manage its electrical grid across the network. The project, which will require installing new equipment in residential and commercial areas, as well as at substations and power plants, is slated to cost $75 million total and take a little less than three years to complete. From the description, its likely that advanced smart meters will be a main component of the shift, allowing energy consumers to view relevant data that could encourage conservation. United Illuminating says the new technology will also allow it to view almost immediately when and why outages take place, saving it maintenance costs and improving service.

Commonwealth Edison, which covers northern Illinois and serves 70 percent of the state’s population, says it would use the matching funds to roll out 141,000 new smart meters in Chicago and 11 suburban areas surrounding the city, according to VentureWire. The utility says that this project would generate 3,800 new jobs in the local area, and cut down the number of grid outages and distruptions a year by up to 400,000. As part of the smart meter deployment, the utility would also install monitors in people’s homes that would communicate energy use and costs, and even allow them to control their consumption from remote locations. This is a pretty advanced strategy for a utility, most of which are focused primarily on nailing down smart meters, not the end-user interface. It is partnering with General Electric and Silver Spring Networks in this effort.

This is the second application ComEd has recently filed with the DOE. It is also asking for funds for research on the integration of solar power with storage systems and smart meter networks.

Also in the flock of utilities tapping the DOE for support is Consolidated Edison, located in New York. The utility did not say how much it is seeking — only that it will go toward a $375 million series of smart grid projects, including the roll out of 40,000 smart meters. It says $6 million will be funneled into a 300-customer test program for in-home energy displays and web portals based in Queens, N.Y., as well as integration between New York City’s grid and the 100-kilowatt solar system on the roof of LaGuardia Community College.

The Department of Energy has $3.9 billion set aside to match funds for smart grid initiatives nationwide. About $3.3 billion will go toward commercial-scale projects with the remaining $615 million earmarked for the development and demonstration of new technologies in the area. The DOE says it will start distributing grants in October at the absolute earliest (not counting a few pilot projects that have already benefited).

United Illuminating, ComEd and ConEd join several other major utilities already waiting around the trough, including Texas-based Oncor (looking for $317 million), Baltimore Gas & Electric (looking for $200 million), Maryland-based Pepco Holdings (looking for $254 million), Washington-based Avista (seeking $20 million) and Arizona-based Salt River Project (seeking an undisclosed amount).

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