$3.4B toward a 'smart' power grid

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
$3.4B toward a 'smart' power grid
6
Tue, 10-27-2009 - 8:37am

Obama putting $3.4B toward a 'smart' power grid


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5izGwvLCRQiJtXRnozp0Xwfgp2-bwD9BJD7TG0


WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is giving a jolt to the futuristic "smart" electric grid, hoping to more quickly bring America's power transmission system into the digital age.


President Barack Obama, during a visit to a solar energy facility in Arcadia, Fla., is announcing Tuesday that he is making available $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the power grid. The projects include installing "smart" electric meters in homes, automating utility substations, and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors.


White House officials provided details of the initiative prior to the president's scheduled visit to Florida Power & Light Co.'s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the largest photovoltaic electricity facility in the country.


Officials have argued that a more modern grid is needed to give consumers better control over their electricity usage and costs, and to spur development of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.


The $3.4 billion in grants from the government's economic stimulus program will be matched by $4.7 billion in private investments, the officials said. The smallest grant will be $400,000 and the largest $200 million.


"We have a very antiquated (electric grid) system in our country," said Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change. "The current system is outdated, it's dilapidated."


Browner said the federal funding will spur the needed modernization of the grid and set the stage for the smooth introduction of large amounts of electricity from wind or solar sources into the transmission system.


Matt Rogers, the Energy Department official involved in the program, said the 100 projects were selected from 400 proposed. The money would be distributed over the next two months and the work is expected to be done over the next one to three years, he said.


The push to essentially bring modern computer and communications technology to the electric grid has been under way for some time but has gained momentum with the prospect of billions of dollars in federal support.


Rogers said the government funds will allow installation of 18 million smart meters and 1 million other in-home devices as well as more modern thermostats to allow homeowners to better monitor their electricity usage. The government and industry want to deploy 40 million smart meters — wall-based units that can monitor how much electricity various appliances use and turn them off when energy is costlier to consume — within the next several years.


Other projects funded under the program will result in the installation of 850 sensors to allow utilities to better monitor the grid; the installation of 200,000 digital transformers to reduce the risk of power outages; and the automation of 700 grid substations.


"This will save or create tens of thousands of jobs," said Jared Bernstein, chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. He said the jobs will include equipment installers and electrical engineers as well as communications systems analysts and data entry clerks.


A $200 million grant will go to Energy Smart Florida, a program involving Florida Power & Light that plans to install 2.6 million smart meters in homes and advanced monitoring systems in the grid substations, said Browner.


"The impact of this will be felt throughout Florida," she said.

Photobucket      The WeatherPixie Patriot

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-22-2009
Tue, 10-27-2009 - 9:28am

((A $200 million grant will go to Energy Smart Florida, a program involving Florida Power & Light that plans to install 2.6 million smart meters in homes))

Yea....I'm so glad that $200,000,000 of our tax dollars are going to buy meters for homes in Florida.

I wonder why when MY home got a new meter, I had to pay for it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Tue, 10-27-2009 - 9:33am

You must live in the wrong state. One was installed at my house, a couple of years ago,

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-24-2009
Tue, 10-27-2009 - 10:01am

Some don't see any benefits unless "MY" home also got it for free.


Same with most anything else.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Tue, 10-27-2009 - 10:27am

"It's discouraging to me."


Me too. It's so selfish. Aren't we supposed to care about our fellow man?

Photobucket

 


Photobucket&nbs

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-18-2000
Wed, 10-28-2009 - 5:56am

Smart Grid Grants


http://spectrum.ieee.org/blog/energy/renewables/energywise/smart-grid-grants


Today, Oct. 27, the Obama administration disclosed the winners of stimulus bill grants for smart grid projects. The president himself made the announcement touring a large photovoltaic power plant in Arcadia, Florida, which happens to be located in an electricity operating area that will benefit from a $200 million project in which Cisco, Florida Power, General Electric, and Silver Spring Networks are involved. By weird coincidence, another beneficiary will be Arcadian Networks (unrelated to Arcadia, Fla.!), which will be working with San Diego Gas & Electric to develop wireless communications for smart meter systems, relying on IEEE's 802.11 WiFi standards. Taking matching funds from private and other public sources, the administration says that total investments in the grid will be $8.1 billion.

 


Photobucket&nbs

Avatar for ddnlj
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 10-28-2009 - 8:28am

Rebuilding Iraq


The U.S. military is footing the reconstruction bill. Over the last two years, while Iraq has earned nearly $100 billion in oil revenues (and spent just $2 billion on capital investments such as roads, water and electricity), U.S. taxpayers have plowed $48 billion into reconstruction activities in Iraq. About half of that has gone to the oil and electricity infrastructures. The U.S. has also helped to renovate 3,000 schools, train 30,000 teachers, distribute 8 million textbooks and rebuild irrigation infrastructure for 400,000 people, as well as fund projects to improve drinking water, bridges, roads, sewage treatment, airports and, of course, oil pipelines and refineries.


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/iraq/complete/la-oe-bilmes15-2008aug15,0,110536.story


Yet

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket