Tag: Utilities - Page 3
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Solid-State Transformers Will Make the Smart Grid Run Smoother
As the smart grid grows, smarter technologies are be needed to handle issues like incorporating
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Biggest Smart Grid Challenge Facing Utilities? Consumer Education.
There are myriad challenges utility companies face as we work to upgrade our electrical grid. However, there is one that stands out as easily fixable. The stories we've heard over the past year about
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Smart Meter Opt-Out Bill Introduced In California
Several utilities in California have been installing smart meters like crazy across the state, though none with as much attention as Pacific Gas & Electric. The utility has made great strides in
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EcoFactor Helps Customer Discover Botched Home Improvement Project
EcoFactor is an energy management software start-up that recently won a Cleantech Open award. It aggregates data abut your home's energy use and gives a grade for each zone of the house. The grade reflects how sealed a building is
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People Power Bring ESP to the Smart Grid (Video)
Image via People Power People Power, a company we first learned about a couple years ago at West Coast Green, is moving into more serious territory than the energy-saving Facebook app launched earlier this year. Current trends show we're on a path to
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57.9 Million Smart Meters Already Slated for Installation in US
Despite reluctance on the part of consumers in some communities, smart meters are becoming a new fact of life for Americans as we slowly upgrade to a smart electric grid. The installation of the new smart meters are one of the most visible signs that the
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In the City or Off the Grid: Which is Greener? Lloyd Alter and Nick Rosen Debate (Podcast)
Nearly a million Americans (ranging from eco-purists to gun-toting isolationists) live off the grid, unplugged from the sprawling infrastructure that the rest of us have learned to both love and hate. But how green is it, really? This week we pit our
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Progress? 302.5 Million Smart Meters Installed by 2015
According to Berg Insight, the worldwide installed base of smart electricity meters will hit over 300 million by 2015. The research firm states that over the next five years, smart meter technology is projected to move
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Win a Home Energy Monitor! Enter Our Sweepstakes with Microsoft Hohm
We're seeing a boost in partnerships between software and hardware companies when it comes to monitoring energy consumption at home. The latest partnership joins up Microsoft's Hohm, an online platform for managing energy use,
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GE Survey Shows Consumers' Love for Smart Grid is Growing
With consumers only just starting to hear the term "smart grid," let alone trust utilities as they install millions of smart meters in homes nationwide, we're used to hearing stories about how consumers are pushing back against
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Urge New York State Legislators to Pass Solar Jobs Act
New York City and New York State may not be the first places that come to mind when you think of places leading in the use of solar energy, but a pending piece of landmark legislation might work to change that. The New York Solar
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MIT Plan to Slash Energy Consumption on Campus Could Save $50 Million
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is partnering with
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Does Google's PowerMeter Make Smart Meters Irrelevant?
Google's PowerMeter is making huge strides in leapfrogging the lumbering smart meter installation process, with utilities slowly integrating them into the nation-wide smart grid upgrade. For a quick refresher: the smart grid is an
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California Town Trying to Stall Smart Meter Installation Over Health Risk Concerns
The small town of Fairfax, just north of San Francisco, California, is hoping to stop or at least put a pause on Pacific Gas & Electric's smart meter installation project planned for July. The town council is raising concerns over the
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Smart Grid Will Be Bigger Than the Internet, Says Cisco (Video)
Cisco has made the smart grid a primary focus for the company, and has determined that they want to be the leader when it comes to technology used for managing electricity. They've identified over $20 billion in potential
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How One Utility Company's Customers Save Enough Energy to Power 18,000 Homes
Talk about an energy efficiency success story! Consumers Energy, a utility in Michigan, needed to meet the requirements of Michigan's 2008 energy reform law, which says that utilities have to work with customers to
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Denis Hayes on the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day
When he was just in his mid-20s, Denis Hayes was made national coordinator of the very first Earth Day. That was forty years ago, and a lot has changed. Over his career as a lawyer, technologist, investor, and advocate, Hayes has watched Earth Day
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Going Way Beyond Paper, Plastic & Cardboard, New York Utility ConEd Recycles 91% of Its Waste in 2009
photo: ConEd ConEd's my local electric utility and I've long touted their green energy programs, but here's another reason to give them a pat on the back: In 2008 they recycled some 50,000 tons of industrial waste materials, some 90% of all waste they
