Smart Grid
If you go by the old saying that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, you have to conclude that the same is true of our power grids. How reliable our electricity supplies are depends, ultimately, on where the greatest weaknesses in the system lie. One weakness
automation
The “internet of things,” as the smart grid is called, promises a new era of efficiency, convenience, automation and clean, sustainable energy. But could it also usher in yet another proliferation of apps that are just as pointless and stupid as, say, the iFart? As we’re still so early
Smart Grid
Building a fully smart energy grid — an “internet of things,” as it’s often called — means linking many millions of devices across our entire electricity infrastructure: meters, transformers, wind turbines, rooftop solar panels, power plants and more. Getting all these devices to “talk” with one another for optimum efficiency, which
utilities
Why would any utility provider undertake the massive expense to upgrade its customer base to smart meters and spend further millions — if not more — on infrastructure improvements that are designed to reduce, not increase, energy consumption? Wouldn’t that seem counter-intuitive for an industry dependent on selling energy? On the
energy recycling
Building an energy-secure future means more than developing clean renewables and ways to store power from intermittent sources like wind and sun. A huge part of the challenge in improving our electricity infrastructure is eliminating the vast amounts of energy it currently wastes. And that’s where some interesting new
sustainability
With 2011 now well under way, many big technology and IT companies are assessing their financial performances of the past year and using that intelligence to map the road forward. A transitional year, 2010 saw companies like IBM, GE, Siemens and Cisco rebound from the post-crash challenges of 2008 and
energy storage
Around the world, development of renewables has been speeding up, even if — in most regions — wind and solar energy continue to meet just a small proportion of energy needs. Still, every megawatt of capacity added somewhere is a good thing, another dent in our massive daily fossil-fuel budget, right? Yes
Energy
The deeper you delve into the proposed vision of a smart, clean-energy grid — much less a supergrid — the more daunting the task appears. Looking into the future is like working your way through a set of matryoshka dolls, never quite sure where it will all end. Still, as the Chinese
energy management
There’s a special kind of tormented satisfaction reserved for people like Lord Nicholas Stern and companies like Comverge, 1E, EnerNOC, GridPoint and other energy management specialists. The satisfaction comes from their knowing that money spent the right ways today can yield far greater savings over the long run. It’
smart technologies
Programs like the UK’s new Local Sustainable Transport Fund are right to emphasise the benefits of local decision-making and regionally appropriate strategies for reducing fossil fuel use and carbon emissions. But one of the big challenges in building truly smart cities is finding a balance between the local with
energy management
Despite all the hype about “sustainability,” too many companies still don’t get it. Insulating business against the growing limits on energy, resources and carbon emissions isn’t a feel-good exercise or simple PR strategy: it’s smart and cost-effective insurance in an era of uncertainty. And that’s where
Energy
Here’s another bit of data that might need tracking in a changing energy market: tradable energy quotas, or, another way to describe them, electronic rationing units for energy. Faced with increasingly tighter oil supplies as well as pressure to reduce carbon emissions, the UK needs to have plans in
