OPower waiting to add devices to its portfolio

Tendril's purchase of GroundedPower does not change OPower's strategy with respect to entering the smart grid devices space,according to Ogi Kavazovic, OPower senior director for marketing & strategy. The Tendril-GroundedPower deal is gratifying in some ways, he said, noting OPower has been preaching for some time that energy data is not enough to engage consumers.

The acquisition of GroundedPower made public last week will let privately held Tendril offer more management services in the energy-efficiency space. Tendril currently focuses such efforts on real-time energy use displayed on websites and in-home displays. GroundedPower helps consumers set energy-efficiency goals and provides reports on individual and community participation.

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Honeywell UtilityPRO Becomes Fastest-Selling Demand Response Thermostat

Honeywell announced that UtilityPRO™ has become the fastest-selling thermostat for utility-sponsored demand response programs. Since the technology was introduced in 2008, Honeywell has shipped more than 350,000 of the touchscreen programmable thermostats, which give utilities control over peak consumption while helping homeowners cut energy costs.

Thirty-three utilities in the United States and Canada have already selected the thermostat for their demand response efforts. By 2011, Honeywell expects UtilityPRO will give these utilities combined control of more than 500 megawatts of peak energy use — equivalent to the generation capacity of approximately 10 gas-fired peaking plants.

Utilities and end users access UtilityPRO through a built-in communication module. In addition, utilities can communicate directly with customers by sending customized text messages — an industry first. Specifically, they can send information like weather forecasts, and updates on other efficiency and conservation programs.

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Tendril and Lockheed Martin Collaborate to Deliver Integrated Demand Response Solutions

Tendril, a leading energy management technology provider and Lockheed Martin announced they will be working to integrate Lockheed Martin's SEEload™ Demand Response Management solution with Tendril's energy management platform. The integrated solution provides a comprehensive demand-side management solution that gives consumers greater control over their energy consumption and enables utilities to deploy comprehensive, secure and standards-based demand response (DR) programs.

The integration enables utilities to deploy Open ADR-based (automated demand response) programs across their residential, commercial and industrial customers. Demand response is increasingly viewed as an essential way to meet growing demand, comply with peak load and emissions reduction targets, and help customers control energy costs.

Lockheed Martin's Smart Energy Enterprise Suite, or SEEsuite Smart Grid Command and Control™ applications gives utilities and system operators unprecedented insight into enterprise operations and control of their smart grid assets.

The Tendril platform helps energy service providers gain insight and control over their energy load by utilizing products and applications that communicate directly with a Utility's existing infrastructure, and subsequently provide customers with the information they need to make good energy management choices day to day.

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Toyota To Release a Smart Energy Management System in 2012

In an effort to enable its customer base to better control its energy consumption, Toyota recently announced that it is developing a smart center system that links homes, vehicles and electric power companies. The Japanese automaker will launch the smart grid initiative in 2012 when it rolls out its new line of plug-in hybrids.

The all-in-one energy management system will allow customers to use their television or mobile phone to monitor the amount of energy that is consumed by their home. Users can also check how much their hybrid vehicle has charged and how much power has been stored at their house.

Authorities with the auto giant expect the system will be able to reduce home energy consumption by as much as 75 percent, according to the Daily Tech. Unfortunately for consumers, Toyota will only launch the system in Japan for the time being, and consumers must own a brand-new plug-in Toyota to incorporate the system into their home.

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HomePlug Powerline Alliance Becomes The Newest Sponsor Of The Smart Energy Summit 2011

Parks Associates welcome HomePlug Powerline Alliance, a company that enables and promotes rapid availability, adoption and implementation of cost effective, interoperable and standards-based home powerline networks and products, as the newest sponsor for the 2011 Smart Energy Summit in Austin.

Founded in 2000, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is an industry-led initiative with 70 member companies that creates specifications and certification logo programs for using the power lines for reliable home networking and Smart Grid applications.

The Alliance accelerates worldwide adoption for HomePlug technology by collaborating with international standards organizations such as the IEEE and through market development and user education programs. Sponsor members include Atheros Communications (ATHR); Cisco (CSCO); Comcast (CMCSK); Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK); GE Energy, an affiliate of General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE); Gigle Networks; Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723); SPiDCOM Technologies; and STMicroelectronics (STM). Contributor members include Arkados (OTCBB: AKDS) and Corporate Systems Engineering.

For more information, visit www.homeplug.org.

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Climate Talk Alliance Joins 2011 Smart Energy Summit Supporter List

Parks Associates welcome Climate Talk Alliance, an organization of companies committed to developing a common communication infrastructure, to the newest list of supporters for the 2011 Smart Energy Summit in Austin.

The ClimateTalk Alliance is an organization of industry-leading companies who are committed to developing a common communication infrastructure for HVAC and Smart Energy devices and enabling the interoperability of diverse systems. The ClimateTalk Alliance has been formed as an ecosystem to drive collaboration on standards to address fragmentation in the HVAC Communications market and provide interoperability for applications in the Smart Energy arena.

The ClimateTalk Alliance is open to companies committed to providing long term interoperability of communicating devices that provide reduction in energy consumption while improving comfort and end user experience.

For more information, visit www.ClimateTalk.org.

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Landis+Gyr is Selected by CoServ Electric to Provide Advanced Metering and Smart Grid Technology for the Utility's eCoGrid Initiative

Landis+Gyr announced it has been selected by CoServ Electric to provide advanced metering and smart grid technology for the utility's eCoGrid initiative. CoServ Electric will deploy Landis+Gyr's Gridstream™ technology that supports advanced metering, distribution automation and personal energy management applications, and will bring two-way communications capabilities to the utility's more than 150,000 electric meters.

CoServ Electric is an electric cooperative that serves six North Texas counties. The utility plans to begin installing Gridstream RF advanced meters in March 2011, with an anticipated project completion date of 2013.

CoServ Electric currently offers a variety of resources to help members reduce energy usage, including free energy audits. Earlier this year, CoServ Electric accepted a $17.2 million grant from the Department of Energy to support the eCoGrid initiative.

Landis+Gyr's Gridstream RF technology uses a powerful radio mesh network to communicate with meters and distribution devices, such as monitors and switches. Gridstream devices use the Smart Energy Profile standard to communicate with smart appliances and in-home devices.This technology is currently being deployed to millions of residential and commercial sites across the United States. For more information, please click here.

Calix counts on smart grid to feed fiber builds

Both the town of Concord and the city of Highland, Ill., are deploying the Calix Unified Access portfolio. The vendor claims that the $4.5 million Concord deployment, orchestrated by government utility Concord Municipal Light, is the first smart grid project in the U.S. that combines GPON and wireless technologies. The Calix E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform is being used to deliver GPON to the Calix 700GX/GE optical network terminals located at wireless collector sites attached to transformers in the network. The configuration will allow the utility to better manage peak energy demand and allow residents to monitor their own energy usage using tools like Google’s PowerMeter.

The revenue and cost savings angles mean that smart grid projects are becoming a significant contributor to the average fiber access business case. Municipalities deploying fiber on their own may look at the bottom line savings, while a telco or other service provider involved in such projects may focus more on how smart grid revenue can be added to the top line of their business cases.

Overall market conditions, including low interest rates, increasing competition, government subsidies and increasing demand for video, are helping to prime the pump for vendors like Calix.

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