Cleantech Update

Can an open source data management system do for the smart grid what Google’s open mobile operating system Android is doing for cell phones — spawn innovation and low cost development? Execs at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public power provider in the U.S., seem to think so. TVA analyst Josh Patterson says Google’s Android is a good analogy for openPDC, an open source version of a platform that aggregates and processes data about the health of the power grid , and which TVA has helped create. Like Android has done for the mobile industry, openPDC will enable utilities and the power industry to develop their own versions of data management services with more flexibility and at a lower cost than proprietary systems, Patterson points out. The comparison might be a tad abstract, but I think it holds water. OpenPDC could be as key to the deployment of the smart grid as Android has been for the recent sea-change in the mobile industry (see GigaOM Pro’s report o...

Silver Springs acquires Greenbox Technology This brings Silverspring up to Par with emeter in terms of product offering - they both will now offer all three components to the Smart Grid: IP meters Managmenet Software Network services -Editor Redwood City, Calif., September 22, 2009 — Silver Spring Networks, a smart grid solutions provider, entered into an agreement to acquire Greenbox Technology, a provider of web-based energy management software. The Greenbox interactive energy management web portal, built by the creators of FlashTM, delivers on a key benefit of the smart grid — enabling consumers to track, understand and manage their energy usage more efficiently. "We're thrilled to have the distinguished Greenbox Technology team join us," said Judy Lin, Chief Product Officer of Silver Spring Networks. "We are working with utilities to build the platform for a smarter grid. This acquisition allows Silver Spring to provide another critical application...

By Jeff St. John Comverge ( COMV ) has landed another deal that calls for it to turn down homes' energy use during peak demand times with pagers at first, and with smart meters later on.The deal is with Dominion Virginia Power ( D ), and calls for Comverge to manage about 117 megawatts of commercial and industrial power loads . Comverge will also provide its Apollo software platform to manage demand response devices for about 150,000 homes – representing roughly 150 megawatts of power use – which the utility wants to hook up with smart meters eventually. The idea is to turn down home air conditioners, water heaters and pool pumps – the devices Comverge can now control – using its existing mainly pager-based communication system at first, said Mike Picchi, Comverge's interim president and CEO. Then, as Dominion rolls out its smart meters, made by German manufacturer Elster, Comverge will switch over to using them as the gateway into the home instead, Picchi said. Comverge'...

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, June 2009 Business isn't so sunny these days for SolarCity, the country's largest installer of residential solar-power systems. But Lyndon Rive, chief executive of the Foster City, Cal., firm, says it's an absence of financing, rather than a lack of demand, that has caused the slowdown. "Once you address that bottleneck," he says, "solar power will boom." So, too, will the entire spectrum of renewable-energy stocks, which lately have generated as much sizzle as a solar panel in an eclipse. A year ago, alternative energy shone brightly. Then came the financial crisis, which starved the industry of its lifeblood: capital. Lack of it caused demand to tumble and inventories to grow. Says Gregory Wetstone, of the American Wind Energy Association : "Our astronomical growth came to a screeching halt in late 2008." As a result, alternative-energy stocks crumbled. The WilderHill Clean Energy Index, which ...

The number of smart electricity meters with two-way communications is poised to mushroom in the next two years, according to a study. Research company Park Associates this week released figures for smart-meter installations in the U.S., saying that there are 8 million units installed, or about 6 percent of all meters. (Credit: Martin LaMonica/CNET) As utilities upgrade equipment as part of smart-grid trials, the number of smart meters is forecast to grow to 13.6 million installed next year and to over 33 million in 2011. Having a method to broker regular communications between a utility and a customer will set the foundation for a widening array of home-energy management tools, said Bill Ablondi , Park Associates' director of home systems. Home energy management systems can be relatively simple displays or Web-based programs that show how much electricity a home is using. More high-end systems can be built around home-area networks where consumers can program smart appliances and...

IBM's energy and utilities group Is developing Multi-Micro Grid management Software. To make that possible, IBM is focusing on smart-grid software to manage the complexities of a system that might have 2,000 variable power inputs over 100 square miles, instead of two power plants. It's also developing cheaper photovoltaics (prices are already projected to fall by 20% to 30% this year), and Shepler has been working with the federal government to write recommendations for incentives and R&D investments. Allan Schurr, the VP of strategy and development at IBM's energy and utilities group , says simply, "Distributed energy is happening." The Rest @ Fast Company