Here’s a smart energy idea: review all the websites an organization or company might have, and eliminate or consolidate sites to make information easier to find, site navigation more streamlined and — here’s the kicker — web hosting a lot more energy efficient and a lot less costly. How much
solar energy
GE and Germany’s Gehrlicher Solar plan to build a series of solar power plants around the world. The two companies have already begun construction on one of their first joint projects, a 1-megawatt (MW) solar park in Aschheim, German. Being planned and built by Gehrlicher Solar, the plant will
While smart meters are watching your home electricity consumption, and intelligent sensors are keeping an eye on grid health, who — or what — is watching the meters and sensors? It’s a reasonable question, considering how much more data and how many more potential points of entry a smart-energy infrastructure will
hydrogen
Renewable power sources, coupled with improvements in how we currently split water into hydrogen and oxygen, could make it possible to develop large-scale energy storage systems based on hydrogen. Siemens says it’s further developed an electrolysis system — a way to split water molecules into their components, hydrogen and oxygen
utilities
Clean-energy advocates will find some bright spots in the latest survey of electric utilities, but they’ll find plenty of causes for concern as well. The more than 700 US utility leaders who took part in Black & Veatch’s fifth annual Strategic Directions in the Electric Utility Industry survey
smart meters
Metering companies Itron and Landis+Gyr plan to use each other’s smart-grid communication technologies in their advanced energy meters. The move is designed to give utility companies more choices when deploying smart electricity meters to their customers. “Our customers have asked for multi-vendor systems,” said Russ Vanos, vice president
solar energy
Google and SolarCity have launched a $280 million fund to help bring solar power to residential customers. It’s Google’s largest investment to date in the clean-energy sector, as well as the largest residential solar fund ever created in the US. It’s also the 15th project fund for
solar thermal power
Construction is about to begin on the world’s largest solar power facility. To be located in Blythe, California, near Palm Springs, the Blythe Solar Power Project is expected to generate up to 1,000 megawatts (MW) of clean energy when it’s completed. That’s enough power to meet
smart meters
Major meter makers have come together to form the Smart Meter Manufacturers’ Association of America (SMMAA). The non-profit will focus on advocacy work and education on the topic of smart meters. Founding members include Echelon, Elster, GE, Itron, Landis+Gyr and Sensus. Each company will have representatives on the board,
smart meters
More than five million advanced “smart” electricity meters have been installed across the US as part of the $787 billion Recovery Act bill passed in early 2009. Nearly 90 percent of those new meters can be found in just eight states: Florida, Texas, California, Idaho, Arizona, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Nevada.
home energy management
Siemens Energy has expanded its smart-grid offerings yet again, this time by partnering with Tendril to provide the Tendril Connect platform to energy service providers and distribution network operators. The two companies will initially target utilities in the US and Canada, and plan to later expand internationally. Siemens’ investment arm,
microgrid
Mahindra Satyam, an India-based consulting and IT services provider, is taking its utility offerings to the next level with a new Smart Grid Customer Demonstration Center (CDC) at its 120-acres campus in Hyderabad. The center is designed to help customers better understand both the smart grid and the various technologies
