Investments supporting smart grid innovations

Investments in the smart grid and related technologies continue to grow. The latest was made last week by General Electric which announced the first round of winners of the GE ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid. The competition was launched in August, 2010 and is co-funded by venture capital firms Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, KPCB and Rockport Capital. 3,500 applications from 150 countries were received by GE for the $200 million prize pot.

Last week’s announcement showed GE’s strong interest in supporting solar, EV charging stations, energy management software and grid optimization projects. $55 million have been awarded as part of the first round; GE plans to make more rounds of investments over the next 18 months. Included in the list of winners is North Carolina based Consert, which Parks Associates has profiled in our Residential Energy Management: Company, Alliance & Technology Profiles report and will also be covered in our latest Home Area Networks (HAN): Analysis & Forecast 2010 report scheduled to be published by the end of this month. According to the press release from GE, Consert’s load curtailment technology helps increase operations efficiency and act as a virtual power plant. The product complements GE Digital Energy’s existing solutions to meet the unique needs of these market segments.

Besides supporting the firms financially, GE will provide winners access to its engineers and sales staff. The fact that GE is also developing energy management technology in-house, such as the GE Nucleus, and investing in competing technologies along with other cleantech ventures, it is clear that GE wants to be involved in all facets of the new and improved power grid.

The government and academia have also continued their financial support for the smart grid with the DOE announcing investments of $19 million in five smart grid projects and Stanford University’s TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy launching a $1.2 million fund for researchers focused on smart grid related studies. Investments in consumer focused solutions are still taking a backseat to grid and renewable energy related investments, but we expect this to change over the next 4-5 years. Based on our forecast, by the end of 2014 approximately 9 million residential energy management systems will be in use in U.S. households. This fact, coupled with a growing interest among consumers to have better insight into their consumption, is attracting interest from all smart grid participants.

Parks Associates announces Smart Energy Summit Advisory Board

Parks Associates announced the executives on the Advisory Board for the upcoming Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, Austin, Texas, Jan 24-26, 2011, which will examine the business opportunities and technical challenges as smart grid technologies move into the home.

The advisory board for Smart Energy Summit provides guidance and recommendations into topics, strategy, and marketing for the event. This year's advisory board includes representatives from the following companies:

Control4
ecobee
eMeter Corporation
Gigle Networks
GreenWave Reality
GridNet
HomePlug Powerline Alliance
Lantiq North America, Inc., representing HomeGrid Forum
Sigma Designs
Smart Grid News
U.S. Department of Energy

Smart Energy Summit analyzes the business strategies in conjunction with the latest consumer data to determine the best opportunities for success. Agenda sessions focus on smart grid deployments in the U.S. and around the world, new players and business models, cloud-based energy management, new services, growth of the ecosystem, and strategies to engage consumers.

For more information, visit www.smartenergysummit2011.com .

Vice President Biden Launches Home Energy Scoring Program

Vice President Biden joined U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu to announce the launch of the Home Energy Score pilot program. The Home Energy Score will offer homeowners straightforward, reliable information about their homes' energy efficiency. A report provides consumers with a home energy score between 1 and 10, and shows them how their home compares to others in their region. The report also includes customized, cost-effective recommendations that will help to reduce their energy costs and improve the comfort of their homes.

DOE also released the Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades, a comprehensive set of guidelines for workers in the residential energy efficiency industry. The guidelines will help develop and expand the skills of the workforce, ensuring the quality of the work performed, while laying the foundation for a more robust worker certification and training program nationwide. Vice President Biden made the announcements on November 9 at a Middle Class Task Force event, highlighting the progress that has been made on implementing the recommendations of last year's Recovery through Retrofit report.

A score of "10" represents a home with excellent energy performance, while a "1" represents a home that will benefit from major energy upgrades. Along with the score, the homeowner will receive a list of recommendations for home energy upgrades and other useful tips. For each specific improvement, the estimated utility bill savings, payback period, and greenhouse gas emission reductions are included. To see a sample copy of the Home Energy Score and get more information on how it is calculated, visit the Home Energy Score Web site.

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DOE Announces Report on Encouraging Homeowners to Invest in Energy Efficiency Improvements

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory recently released a report on how governments and industry can spark homeowners to seek out home energy improvements, or retrofits, which save energy and money for consumers.

Energy efficiency upgrades include energy saving improvements such as adding insulation, sealing air ducts, installing high-efficiency lighting, enhancing or replacing windows and doors, and replacing furnaces, heat pumps, water heaters, and air conditioners. Called "Driving Demand for Home Energy Improvements," this study will help ensure that the Department's investments in energy efficiency provide taxpayers with a high rate of return on their investments, deliver the maximum impact in local communities, and support a self-sustaining industry for residential energy efficiency improvements that will help grow America's economy and create new jobs.

The report concludes that success will require multifaceted approaches that acknowledge a deeper understanding of what motivates homeowners and what contractors are concerned about. Effective programs will tend to be tailored to the location, thoughtfully researched and piloted, personalized to the target audience, and more labor-intensive than simple incentive programs.

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GE Announces Largest Single Electric Vehicle Commitment, Commits to Convert Half of Global Fleet By 2015

GE announced it will purchase 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015 for its own fleet and through its Capital Fleet Services business - the largest-ever single electric vehicle commitment.

GE will convert at least half of its 30,000 global fleet and will partner with fleet customers to deploy a total of 25,000 electric vehicles by 2015. GE will initially purchase 12,000 GM vehicles, beginning with the Chevrolet Volt in 2011, and will add other vehicles as manufacturers expand their electric vehicle portfolios. GE and its partners will use a mix of electric vehicle technologies to meet their respective needs. Chevrolet Volts will roll off production lines this month and other automakers are bringing electric vehicles to market. As this occurs, GE is in a strong position to help deploy the supporting infrastructure to help its 65,000 global fleet customers convert and manage their fleets.

GE businesses including Capital Fleet Services, Energy and Licensing & Trading will benefit from an emerging electric vehicle market that could deliver up to $500 million in GE revenue over the next three years. This includes rapidly developing markets for GE’s charging station, the WattStation.

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eMeter Announces Smart Grid Partnership with Convergys to Extend Next-Generation Rating and Billing Capabilities to Utilities

At Knowledge 2010, eMeter, a leader in Smart Grid management software, announced its partnership with Convergys Corporation, a global leader in relationship management, to provide proven real-time rating, billing and data management capabilities to utilities and their customers. The partnership is aimed at evolving current utility billing and customer care systems to enhance the time it takes for utilities and consumers to realize true Smart Grid value while reducing any potential risks which may arise during deployment.

With the introduction of the Smart Grid and the technology advancements made to date, utilities are facing challenges with data management and customer engagement - key elements to the success of any Smart Grid project. These challenges are not unlike those that the telecommunications industry addressed in its nascent years. Convergys and eMeter together deliver proven and responsive technologies designed to help address the needs of utilities while addressing the concerns of their customers by providing them with clear and relevant information about their personal energy use in a timely manner.

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SmartSynch GridRouter Performs Successfully During Duke Energy Pilot Program

SmartSynch, a smart grid technology company utilizing standard IP communications via cellular networks, announced that its GridRouter™ universal communications solution has performed successfully in energy management pilot programs conducted by Duke Energy at businesses and universities.

With the aid of a custom software application developed by Duke Energy for this project, the GridRouter enables distribution of energy efficiency data, demand response and pricing information from Duke’s corporate information systems back to the customer’s building automation systems. Duke Energy designed the software application, which resides on the GridRouter, using a software development kit that SmartSynch built into the solution to allow utilities to design custom software applications to meet specific smart grid needs.

Launched in December 2009, SmartSynch’s GridRouter is one of the industry’s first universal smart grid communications solution. With the GridRouter, utilities can seamlessly and easily communicate with every possible device on the smart grid regardless of make, model or communication protocol.

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