Smart Energy Summit 2011, agenda and keynotes announced

Parks Associates announced the agenda and confirmed keynotes for the Smart Energy Summit, the premier executive conference focused on new energy management solutions, opportunities for multiple industries, and consumer demand.

The agenda for Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, January 24-26, 2011, in Austin, Texas, features presentations and in-depth discussion with experts in energy management and related industries. Sessions provide attendees with the knowledge and insight, research data, and perspective necessary to succeed in this space. The 2010 event hosted over 225 executives, including CEOs and vice presidents from major U.S. and international energy players.

Keynote Speakers:

George W. Arnold, Eng.Sc.D., National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce

Andres Carvallo, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer, Grid Net

Preliminary List of Sessions:

• 2011 Landscape for Energy Management Solutions

• Smart Grid Deployments: Balancing Benefits and Costs

• Solutions that Deliver on the Promise

• Perspectives on Europe and Asia

• Translating Lessons Learned: Europe and Asia to U.S.

• Energy as a Service

• Opportunities Ahead of the HAN

• Partners in Progress: The Ecosystem Continues to Grow

• Perspectives from the Ecosystem

• Opportunities beyond the HAN

• Gateways into the Home

For more information or to submit to speak, visit www.smartenergysummit2011.com .

George Arnold Confirmed to Keynote at Smart Energy Summit 2011

Dr. George W. Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, National Institute of Standards and Technology is confirmed to keynote at the 2nd annual Smart Energy Summit in Austin, Texas this January.

George Arnold served as the Deputy Director of Technology Services in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) within the US Department of Commerce until he was asked to take the lead on NISTs overall effort on smart grid. He joined NIST in September 2006 after a 33 year career in industry.

Dr. Arnold previously served as a Vice-President at Bell Laboratories where he directed the company's global standards efforts and management of intellectual property. Prior to this role, Dr. Arnold had a wide range of technical and managerial assignments at Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, and AT&T in research and development, product management, quality management and process re-engineering.

Dr. Arnold also served as Chairman of the Board of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private, non-profit organization that coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.

In addition to his NIST responsibilities, Dr. Arnold continues to be active in external standards organizations. He currently serves as Vice-President-Policy for the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and President of the IEEE Standards Association.

Dr. Arnold received a Doctor of Engineering Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Columbia University in 1978. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.

ZigBee and Wi-Fi Alliances to Collaborate on Smart Grid Wireless Networking

The ZigBee Alliance and the Wi-Fi Alliance announced an agreement to collaborate on wireless home area networks (HAN) for Smart Grid applications. The initial focus of the collaboration will be ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0, which is the next-generation energy management protocol for Smart Grid-enabled homes based on today's successful ZigBee Smart Energy Profile. The ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 is expected to operate over Wi-Fi technology as a result of the collaboration.

The two organizations will identify opportunities to use ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0, capitalizing on the unique strengths and capabilities of their respective technologies. This will expand the utility of the HAN in the management of energy consuming or producing devices, a crucial part of Smart Grid efforts now underway. ZigBee Smart Energy 2.0 was selected last year by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as an initial interoperable standard for HAN devices.

For more information, click here.

George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability at NIST, to keynote Parks Associates’ Smart Energy Summit

Parks Associates announced today that George Arnold, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), U.S. Department of Commerce, will deliver the afternoon keynote “NIST Smart Grid Interoperability Standards and the Home Area Network” at Smart Energy Summit.

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, hosted by Parks Associates in cooperation with Austin Energy on January 25-27 at the Hyatt Regency, Austin, Tex., focuses on the opportunities and challenges in residential energy technologies and identifies business strategies for in-home energy monitoring and management systems.

Sessions will include research from Parks Associates’ Residential Energy Management project, which features nationwide consumer surveys and industry profiles to assess the market for energy-related digital systems and services. The most recent consumer survey reports 80-85% of U.S. households are willing to pay for in-home energy monitors if these solutions can lower their electric bills.

In his keynote on January 26, 1:45 p.m., Dr. Arnold will discuss the challenges that need to be addressed in developing the interface between the Smart Grid and the Home Area Network. NIST is coordinating the development of a robust, interoperable framework of technical standards that will help transform the nation’s electric infrastructure into an “energy internet.”

Dr. Arnold was appointed National Coordinator for Smart Grid Interoperability at the NIST in April 2009. He is responsible for leading the development of standards underpinning the nation’s Smart Grid. He joined NIST in September 2006 after a 33-year career in the telecommunications and information technology industry.

For the full press release, click here.