’Smart Grid’ - It’s a term used often these days to describe a range of technologies that can help solve the many problems of our aging electricity distribution system. It has a multitude of dimensions, but collectively it is becoming the hottest investment opportunity in the electrical energy sector.
At the consumer level, smartening the grid means providing technologies such as sophisticated metering devices that allow consumers to monitor and control their energy use. At the distributor level, smartening the grid means applying advanced technologies that help manage power loading and distribution to better match demand patterns; that minimize energy loss or wastage; or the deployment of advanced technologies and strategies that can be used to turn the high voltage transmission system into what some have termed a "smart self-healing grid."
Once looked on indifferently by many utilities, advances in energy management technologies have made smartening the electrical distribution grid the next big play in the energy market.
While four years ago Microsoft had no interest in playing a direct role in smart-grid technology development, things have changed dramatically. After the U.S. Department of Energy set aside $4 billion to fund smart grid development and demonstration projects, Microsoft has launched its own web-based home energy management application dubbed Hohm See GLOBE-Net article Microsoft launches home energy monitoring tool.
In his latest column, Hamilton describes the Microsoft application as "an easy - to-use tool that helps consumers lower their energy bill and reduce their impact on the environment."
Other systems heavyweights are also entering the field. IBM Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., and Google all have signaled their intent to pursue technologies designed to improve the efficiency of various components of the electrical grid.
It’s not just big utilities and software developers that are players in this new market. Smaller entrepreneurs have made some real gains also.
Ottawa-based Lixar SRS for example, quietly made a name for itself as one of the top energy management software providers in North America.
A web technology services company, Lixar developed an extremely user-friendly, web-based interface to allow consumers to map their energy use and to lower their electricity consumption.
In a pilot project in Milton, Ontario, Lixar SRS worked with Milton Hydro, Direct Energy, and Bell Canada on an experiment to test different technologies designed to allow households to monitor energy use through the Internet or through smart-phone devices.
Consumers were able see the energy use of particular appliances, monitor historical trends of their energy consumption, and control their energy use remotely. The project showed that a network-centric power grid allowed consumers to reduce their energy consumption by 16%-18%.
As happens all too frequently investment opportunities in Canada were limited. But Lixar SRS caught the attention of American investors and last week sold its energy business to Arlington, Virginia-based GridPoint Inc.
Through its relationship with GridPoint, Lixar SRS could secure substantial contracts with major U.S. utilitiy companies like XCEL Energy and Progress Energy. Industry sources suggest Duke Energy has also expressed interest in Lixar’s technology.
Smartening the grid will not be an overnight process, and many technologies likely will be put in play to re-invent North America’s electricity transmission system.
For companies like Lixar SRS, a smart grid system presents one of most exciting and potentially profitable business opportunities in North America for the next few decades
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