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Cisco Brings Smart Cities Within Reach

The concept of the smart city is one that holds a lot of promise and potential in terms of how computerized, networked public infrastructure might improve energy efficiency, resource management, and the overall quality of life in cities. Cisco created an interactive infographic showcasing its smart, connected City of the Future. The company also recently announced the addition of a whole new suite of technologies and services that are aimed at helping utilities modernize their grids.
10 Green Building Predictions for 2012
Which Companies Pitched Green Products at CES?
Look to College Campuses for Schooling on Nationwide Smart Grid
A Virtual Tour of Commuting’s Future in Korea
Green Energy Park a Laboratory for Japan’s Future
Panasonic Bets the House on Solar and Fuel Cells
Smart Grids Deliver Touted Economic and Environmental Benefits

Smart grids are billed as the hub of a smarter, more sustainable and democratized electricity distribution system, a core element of making a transition from fossil fuel to cleaner, renewable energy sources. Investing in smart grids is also touted as an engine for creating relatively well-paying, clean tech jobs. A study released yesterday by the Silicon Valley Smart Grid Task Force found that these claims aren’t unfounded.
Water Infrastructure Monitoring Pioneer TaKaDu Wins Global Cleantech 100 Award

On Tuesday, while Israelis celebrated the release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier held captive in Gaza for five years by Hamas, the team of TaKaDu, an Israeli start-up had another reason for celebration. That same day their company was the “Company of the Year – Europe & Israel” in the prestigious 2011 Global Cleantech [...]
IBM Joins EcoGrid EU Renewable Energy-Smart Grid Consortium

IBM’s signing on as a member of EcoGrid EU, a consortium of companies that is planning a European Union (EU) smart grid that will source at least 50% of its electrical power from renewable sources, such as wind, solar and biogas. Smart grids are central elements in making the transition from fossil fuel-based to clean, renewable energy systems. It will take massive investments in electrical power infrastructure and may take a decade or more to make the transition worldwide. The EcoGrid EU project is likely to speed up the process substantially.
Smart Grid & Residential Solar: A Match Made in Heaven?

Mark Twain famously said, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” The same might be said of the American solar industry. Solyndra Solar collapsed despite substantial government assistance, and Evergreen Solar and SpectraWatt both went bankrupt due to competition from low-cost Chinese imports. There is certainly cause for consternation. But the DOE remains committed [...]
Smart Grids Could Reduce Impact of Hurricanes Like Irene

Boyd Cohen, Ph.D., Co-Author, Climate Capitalism Writing this last Saturday afternoon, the nation and the world are warily observing the path and wrath of Hurricane Irene. There have already been documented losses of life as well as reports that more than a million Americans have been left without power so far. Given that the changing [...]
Denmark’s Roadmap for Fossil Fuel Independence

This post is a condensed version of an article in the August issue of The Solutions Journal, based at the Institute for Sustainable Solutions at Portland State University. In October 2010, Denmark became the first country to embrace the goal of renouncing fossil fuels by 2050. Based on Denmark’s analysis, other developed nations may be [...]
Smart Grid Surges Ahead in South Korea

Over the past several decades, South Korea has become a pre-eminent developer of technology, ranging from computers and electronics to automobiles. Companies like Hyundai, LG, and Samsung have entered the US market at the low end and gradually earned respect by offering their customers high quality products, often carrying prodigious warranties. But South Korea imports [...]
Southern California Edison’s Journey Towards the Smart Grid
The smart grid is getting more and more attention these days. With all this talk, a few questions lingers in the mind. What exactly is the smart grid? When will we actually get the smart grid in place? How smart can the grid really be? Recently, Southern California Edison (SCE) held a smart grid roundtable [...]
Geothermal Energy Provides Key to Airport Expansion

A new geothermal project for the Portland International Jetport in Maine provides a hint of the potential for U.S. businesses to expand their operations without being hobbled by the high price of fossil fuels, or by local concerns over fossil fuel emissions. While some new forms of renewable energy are still years away from commercial [...]
Tendril Networks Demand Response Solution for the Smart Grid

By Matthew Madden By definition, disruptive technology usually results in a variety of unintended consequences. When considering the ancillary effects that would result from the widespread adoption of electric vehicles, the road taxes currently embedded in the purchase of a gallon of gasoline are generally an afterthought. Of course, TriplePundit’s coverage is the exception. While [...]
$130 Million in Federal Funding Available for New Energy Projects

When the BP oil spill happened right around this time last year, Triple Pundit asked if the Obama Administration would deliver on its promise of transitioning the U.S. out of high risk fuels and into cleaner, safer forms of energy. Despite pushback against renewable energy from some legislators at the state and federal level, that [...]
5 Green Products to Watch in 2011-2012

By Elizabeth A. Weisser Innovating for sustainability brings with it exciting opportunities for businesses to grow their top-line sales and even evolve and transform their business models. To stay competitive and meet the challenges of sustainable development, forward-thinking businesses will need to combine innovation with ecology, through the power of “eco-innovation.” That’s a key message [...]
Microsoft on Sustainability: How the Cloud Changes Everything

Rob Bernard, Chief Environmental Strategist of Microsoft, gave a “Big Idea” talk at the State of Green Business Forum on cloud computing. Cloud computing has been cited as a great way to save energy across the grid. Bernard asked how many people thought they understood cloud computing. Of the roughly 200 people at the SOGB [...]
Report: 2011 to be a Breakthrough Year for Electric Cars

A recent report by Zpryme Smart Grid Insights shows the US poised on the brink of a breakthrough year for both the smart grid and electric vehicles. A synergistic series of converging developments have aligned the stars, both on the vehicle and the infrastructure side to make this possible. The only real question remaining is whether or not American consumers will write the checks and bring these vehicles home.
GE Brings Energy Management Home: The Nucleus

If you can imagine this somewhat Jetsonesque scenario where you have a smart meter, like a stock ticker, updating the system on the latest real time utility rates, a bunch of smart appliances, say a clothes dryer and a dishwasher waiting for a price signal to turn themselves on, a central thermostat, a small wind turbine in the backyard with a variable output rate and a plug-in vehicle in the garage that can either put energy into the system or take it out as it charges up, you can imagine the opportunity to save money, provided the right things are switched on and off and the most optimal times. But who has time to worry about all that not to mention the brain capacity to keep track of it all. That’s where a Home Energy Management system could make a lot of sense.
Coming Soon to a City Near You? The 2012 Ford Focus Electric

Ford has identified the markets it will target with its debut fleet of Focus Electrics, which is slated for release in just over a year. The chosen few are a variety of cities from coast to coast. Ford used a number of criteria to determine where best to launch its first electric vehicle, including sustained [...]
Getting Trendy about the Smart Grid
Dear Public Sector: FAIL

By Brandon Tidwell My eight year-old niece has adopted a new term: fail. It’s a definitive way to tell someone they didn’t measure up, they didn’t come through, or they simply missed the mark. As I’ve considered the most pressing sustainability issues of our time, businesses and non-profits are leading the way. Woefully absent is [...]
Smart Grid’s Long Road Ahead: An interview with Katherine Hamilton
By Amy Hsuan The nation’s electric power industry, dating back to the 19th century, is in the early phases of an unprecedented change. With new, renewable resources coming online and commercial users searching for new modes of efficiency, the underlying infrastructure that has served the power needs of the United States for the better part [...]
Funding and Industry Collaboration Vital in Developing Smart Grid Workforce of the Future
Green Jobs in the Rapidly Growing Smart Grid Space

Consultant company KEMA published a white paper in 2008 that predicted that federal and state smart grid incentives of $16B would be leveraged by a factor of four, resulting in the creation of some 280,000 new smart grid jobs, roughly half of which will be permanent. While the spending levels to date have not quite [...]
CEO Suggests Duke Energy Could be Amazon of Utilities

Duke Energy’s CEO, Jim Rogers, imagines utilities like Duke transforming their business models so that they become analogous to those of Amazon.com’s and eBay’s. Just as Amazon sells discounted books via the popular Kindle e-reader, Rogers envisions a utility, backed up by a smarter grid, that pitches energy efficient products to its customers.
























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