Smart Grid
State of the Smart Grid Business in 2013
March 6th, 2013Smart Grid Business Thrived in 2012 but Framework to make it Sustainable still not in Place
February 24th, 2013White Paper: MicroGrids Contribution to the Smart Grid
It is now becoming clear that the fundamental architecture of today’s electricity grid, based on the idea of a top down radial transmission system with unidirectional energy flows from large centralized power plants, is not the most appropriate to meet the needs of the low carbon economy. Micro-generation and micro-grids need to be incorporated into […]
World Forum to Examine Latest Microgrid Advances and Opportunities
Interest in microgrids as a strategy for ensuring energy security and reliability is growing worldwide, especially in the wake of events such as Hurricane Sandy. Military installations, hospitals, data centers and remote off-grid regions that must have dependable power – no matter what – are increasingly turning to the microgrid paradigm. This is helping to […]
The Return to Climate Change Issues & CO2 Emission Levels
Will the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy and other “once-in-a-lifetime storms” experienced across the globe in the last 2 years, now force our politicians to ensure that we at least meet the CO2 reduction targets now in place? There is now serious concern that even these targets will not prevent an increase in global temperature […]
Demand Response & Distributed Energy can get the UK & US Electrical Utility Industries out of Trouble
In our last Smart Grid article we reported that OFGEM, the UK regulator of electricity and gas markets in the UK was warning that electrical generation will plunge to 4% spare capacity from its present level of 14%. Some 12GW of coal fired plants; equivalent to a sixth of the total generation capacity can now […]
Can Distributed Energy Help Keep the Lights on after 2015?
Britain is facing the rising risk of an energy shortfall within 3 years, Ofgem has warned as electrical generation will plunge to 4% spare capacity from its present level of 14%. Some 12GW of coal fired plants; equivalent to a sixth of the total generation capacity can now only operate for a limited number of […]
Why Make Smart Buildings Smart Grid Compatible?
Over the last 20 years many billions of dollars have been invested throughout the world in making commercial and industrial buildings energy efficient. Much of this has been spent on more efficient HVAC hardware and further improving efficiency through DDC control systems. Initially the driver was to reduce operating costs through minimising energy consumption but […]
Total World Sales of Building Energy Management Systems Hit $13.39b in 2011
Memoori highlights the growing market for intelligent building controls and the huge opportunity presented by interfacing Smart Buildings with the Smart Grid. The size of the world market for Building Energy Management Systems (BEMS); DDC controls that monitor and control environmental plant in industrial and commercial buildings was $13.39 billion in 2011 and Memoori forecasts […]
Strategic Acquisitions in the Smart Building to Smart Grid Space
Although the Smart Building to Smart Grid Interface business is still in its infancy, just a quick take on the strategic acquisitions that have been made over the last 2 years makes a strong statement that the world’s major suppliers see this as a great opportunity to extend their business. They have invested heavily in […]