Yesterday the Obama Administration announced several programs and initiatives that should help add IT to the electrical power grid in the US. ‚ So far investment by the current US administration totals some $4.5 billion, which was matched by $5.5 billion in private money. Monday’s announcement will follow up on this. The 9 programs and initiatives announced are as follows; A minimum of $250 million in loans for smart grid projects in rural places in U.S, as well as a potential $106 million in upgrades. A new non-profit program called Grid 21, which will focus on spurring consumer-facing tools enabling consumers to reduce energy consumption. DOE working on new projects, including a crowd-sourced map to track progress of smart grid projects and a student competition around home energy efficiency. Launch of a new website – http://www.smartgrid.gov A new “Renewable Energy Rapid Response Team,” that will review clean power and transmission line projects and improve “federal coordination” […]