FERC Report Sees IT Smarts to Link Smart Meters, Smart Grid

Linking the electrical grids with smart electric meters in homes and businesses should create many job opportunities for IT professionals in the coming years.

Two trends in efficient energy management are converging. One involves advanced meters that monitor and manage electric use in homes and businesses. The other is advance response programs utilities offer that manage customer consumption of electricity in response to supply conditions.

According to a just-released report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 2008 Assessment of Demand Response and Advanced Metering the ratio of advanced meters to all installed meters has reached 4.7% for the United States, a significant jump from the less than 1% in 2006. On the demand response side, 8% of energy consumers in the U.S. participate in some kind of demand response program and the potential demand response resource contribution from all such U.S. programs is nearly 41,000 megawatts, or 5.8%, of U.S. peak demand, according to the FERC report. This represents an increase of about 3,400 MW from the 2006 estimate.

The report suggests the need for IT know-how to expand smart grid and smart metering use:

One way to mitigate risks in planning AMI (advanced metering infrastructure, the technology for gathering and disseminating information at a utility meter) communications networks is to ensure interoperability. Interoperability allows seamless sharing of data and integration of functionality between digital electronic systems (e.g., computing networks, communications networks, computers, computer programs, advanced metering systems, etc).

The technological means of achieving interoperability is through standards for software, hardware, or firmware. Recognizing a need for standards that would enable interoperability, the U.S. Congress in EISA (Energy Independence and Security Act) 2007 directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish “protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of smart grid devices and systems.”

In the meantime, many utilities proceeding with AMI plans are doing so cautiously, relying to some extent on open standards to mitigate technological risk exposure or planning and budgeting for periodic technology upgrades to their advanced metering system over the life of their system.

Design of Smart Electrical Grid Should Mirror the Internet

A posting, Smart Grid for a Smart Planet, on smartmeters.com explains why the experts designing the next generation of the electrical grid need IT smarts.

Technological advances of the modern age can take the power grid out of the dark ages and make it smart. Power grids around the world can be monitored and managed in much the same way a computer network is.

Smart meters can be applied to the power grid in a way that every aspect is constantly monitored from the point of generation, through transmission to consumers’ homes and businesses, and as it is consumed. In fact, the smart grid system would look much more like the Internet than it would resemble a conventional power system. A smart grid can handle multitudes of power sources no matter how widely distributed they are – including intermittent, but renewable, power sources such as wind turbines and solar panel arrays.

A piece of advice for IT pros: many information-tech jobs of the future will focus on battling carbon emissions and making energy use more efficient. Successful IT pros combine their IT know-how with industry knowledge, so learn more about the power generation industry and the environmental movement to cut carbon emissions.

Employing Smart IT Seen Reducing Energy Use, Industry Study Says

An analysis by the industry trade research arm Electric Power Research Institute shows how IT smarts can help reduce electricity use.

In a web posting this week, the institute contends a smart grid could potentially reduce annual U.S. energy consumption by 56 to 203 billion kWh in 2030, corresponding to a 1.2% to 4.3% reduction in projected retail electricity sales in 2030.

In addition, according to the institute, a smart grid can provide the catalyst for greater integration of renewable generation resources and greater deployment of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The combined deployment of seven applications enabled by a smart grid could reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 60 to 211 million metric tons in 2030.

A smart grid is one that incorporates information and communications technology into every aspect of electricity generation, delivery and consumption in order to: minimize environmental impact; enhance markets; improve service; reduce costs and improve efficiency.

(Click on image to enlarge)

The above diagram, from the institute, depicts the interaction between consumer devices with communication capabilities, energy providers and transmission and distribution functions enabled by smart-grid network operations.

Smart Grid Requires Smart Leadership

To create a real smart grid needs more than just smarts; it needs leadership.

In a letter to The Wall Street Journal, Accenture U.K. and Ireland managing director David Thomlinson writes: There is plenty of competition for clean technologies, but no country has yet established a leadership position in the evolution of smart grids.

With smart metering, Thomlinson notes, reducing demand for electricity becomes easier to accomplish.

The demand side has been an unfashionable part of energy policy for 30 years. Now we see smart meters being implemented to help consumers manage their consumption. But it is only through the transformation of our electricity networks into so-called smart grids that we can significantly reduce carbon emissions of buildings and vehicles.

The intelligence behind all of this will come from those with IT skills to create the needed systems and networks. In the U.S., with his energy and environmental nominees, there’s hope that President-elect Obama (above left with environmental advisor Carol Browner) will provide that leadership.

The Smart Grid At Any Cost?

How much should the U.S. government invest in smart grid technology?

The government really doesn’t have unlimited resources, despite talk of a stimulus package that could reach $1 trillion. So, should technologies like the smart grid be built regardless of cost?

Adam Stein, emissions reduction project manager and co-founder of the voluntary carbon offset provider TerraPass, posted the following response under the heading “The Wrong Question” to a blog on Grist.org, an environmental news and commentary site:

"Things that are worth funding are worth funding, regardless of funding source. The question is: should we build a smart grid given a cost of X? Not: should we build a smart grid provided we can find a source of thematically linked revenue?

"A spending program either makes sense or it doesn't, given everything we know about society's level of wealth, competing priorities, expected costs, and expected benefits. If the program doesn't pencil out, it doesn't make sense to do regardless of whether the cash is on hand. And if it does pencil out, then let the appropriation process sort itself out as it normally does. ...

... "It isn't the job of policy advocates to balance the federal budget."

IBM’s Interest Demonstrates IT's Tie to the Smart Grid

If IBM is interested in the electrical smart grid, you got to believe there’s a strong IT connection to smartly managing the efficient use of energy and the money to be made doing just that. In a posting on GreenTechMedia.com, Draw Clark, director of strategy, emerging markets, at IBM’s Venture Capital Group, is quoted as saying:

"Cleantech may be the only category [of venture investing] that is left relatively unscathed and [VCs] are looking to put new money into traditional IT type of companies and smart grid is exactly that."

As the article author Michael Kanellos points out, IBM's VC group doesn’t invest in startups, but meets with them to determine future trends and promising companies. Then, IBM figures out how best to tie its strategies and services with these emerging trends. As Kanellos writes:

If Big Blue is excited about something, there is a good chance that a channel for bringing a new idea to market is already being assembled.”

Kanellos writes that the IT angle better fits into the VC mold for building companies.

Unlike solar or biofuel companies, most smart grid outfits don't need to build huge factories. They develop software or networking devices for controlling various aspects of power transmission or consumption.

Who’s getting VC money to make the grid smarter: Trilliant, GridPoint, eMeter, Silver Spring Networks, Smart Synch, GainSpan, Grid Net and Onzo.

Today, the electrical grid isn’t too smart; its electrons mostly move in one direction. Making it a two-way highway is a challenge that will need lots of IT smarts.

How Fast Can Smart-Grid JobsBe Created Under Obama Plan?

Can the smart grid provide jobs quickly based on existing technology that will be flexible to adapt
to the innovations of tomorrow?

That’s a question raised by Patti Harper-Slaboszewicz, director of advanced metering and meter-data management at energy researcher and consultancy UtiliPoint International, who has analyzed comments made by the top nominees of President-elect Obama’s energy team. In her analysis posted on UtiliPoint’s website. Harper-Slatoszewicz says she’s aware of at least 100 projects far enough along to produce jobs at all levels, entry-level workers to manufacturing to professional. She writes:

Some of these projects may be in limbo waiting for confirmation that the project fits the description of the transformation to green energy and sustainability that the energy team is looking for. Smart metering projects, for example, need meter installers, appointment schedulers, manufacturing, project managers, software, software integrators, customer service training, marketing, network design and installation, computer hardware, uniforms, and more. Projects typically take four to five years to roll out, resulting in positions that would carry employees past the economic recovery period.

Smart meters don’t stand alone, and need an energy Internet with IT smarts to function. As Harper-Slatoszewicz notes:

Smart metering and the associated back office systems and hardware support innovative energy pricing that marry energy efficiency with demand response, allowing customers to reduce peak energy use and conserve energy, resulting in a reduction of green house gases, lower costs, and postponing or avoiding the need to build peaking plants that are only used 100 to 200 hours per year during seasonal demand or during an unexpected outage due to equipment issues.

Biz Green Tech Spend Seen Rising

Companies will continue to invest in green technologies in 2009 at the same or greater levels than in 2008, according to a study by Panel Intelligence.

In its first quarterly sustainability track studying, conducted in early November of 65 sustainability executives from Fortune 500 companies, the cleantech and healthcare market research firm reports:

• Sustainability and clean technology spending as a percentage of corporate revenues should increase 73 percent through 2010.

• 82% of respondents rated energy efficiency as the most important area of focus and investment.

• Corporate spending on sustainable waste management initiatives is expected to grow by 20% in 2009, the highest percentage increase of any subcategory.

• Cost savings, revenue generation and brand strength are the most important drivers of environmental and clean technology initiatives.

• Nearly 55% of respondents observe no financial criteria (i.e. ROI, payback period) when evaluating sustainability projects for their respective organizations.

• A majority of respondents believe capital remains available for sustainability projects.

Says Scott Packard, the firm’s VP of quantitative research:

Sustainability and clean technology initiatives have achieved a tipping point and are no longer perceived by U.S. organizations as an optional expense. Rather, sustainability is an opportunity to achieve a greater competitive advantage and higher efficiency, even in a down economy. Similar to competitive pricing, technology and product quality, sustainability is starting to be required by customers and supply chain partners.

Year in Ideas: Smart Grid

My favorite issue each year of The New York Times Magazine comes out in mid-December: The Year In Ideas (cover image at left, click on it to enlarge>.

Among the ideas in this eighth annual A to Z listing: the Smart Grid.

Info Tech Pros Could Benefit By Slowing Green Investments

Silicon Valley might pull back in their green startup investments in the coming year, and venture capitalist Rob Day sees that as a good thing.

Michael Kanellos, blogging on GreenTechMedia.com, cites @Ventures partner Day as seeing VC investing in green-tech declining by as much as 40% in the first half of 2009. Funds would be diverted away from crowded markets like solar and biofuels.

Why is that a good thing? Funds that will be invested would be redirected toward areas that could benefit IT professionals. Kanellos writes:

You can already see the re-education of many investors taking place. Many have begun to pay more attention to green software companies and smart-grid companies that hope to port classic IT technologies to the grid. Can smart grid become a bubble too? Sure, but at least it’s familiar territory to many, and these kind of companies don’t need big factories. Thus, the dangers of over-funding are reduced.

Defining the Smart Grid

This blogs gives a lot of attention to the smart grid,
mostly because it shows the convergence of the electricity grid with smartness brought on by information technology.

Two recent web postings help define the smart grid:

From the Wired Blog Network: The Austin Smart Grid.

From The New York Times: On the Road to a Smart Grid.

Green Jobs Board Launched

A clean-tech research-publishing firm and executive search firm have teamed to launch an online site that posts job openings for the clean-energy and clean-tech industries.

Clean Edge Jobs already has nearly 200 jobs posted. Among these are those demanding IT know-how such as system programmer, web developer, software engineer and data processing specialist.

It's been the contention of this blog that the greening of our businesses, economy and society will create many new employment opportunities for IT professionals.

Energy Internet: A Peak at the Future

Hot,Flat and Crowded author Thomas Friedman, writing Wednesday in his New York Times column provides a preview of what part of the Energy Internet will look like in the not too distant future.

Friedman writes of new business called Better Place, which is setting up vehicle electricity charging stations in Australia, Denmark, and Israel as well as Hawaii and the San Francisco Bay.

The Better Place electric car charging system involves generating electrons from as much renewable energy—such as wind and solar—as possible and then feeding those clean electrons into a national electric car charging infrastructure. This consists of electricity charging spots with plug-in outlets — the first pilots were opened in Israel this week — plus battery-exchange stations all over the respective country. The whole system is then coordinated by a service control center that integrates and does the billing.

Think of the IT jobs needed to help create and maintain this system.

Friedman analogizes the future of the auto industry with what Apple CEO Steve Jobs did in the music business, replacing a 20th century industrial platform for one designed for the 21st century.

What did Apple understand first? One, that today’s technology platform would allow anyone with a computer to record music. Two, that the Internet and MP3 players would allow anyone to transfer music in digital form to anyone else. You wouldn’t need CDs or record companies anymore. Apple simply took all those innovations and integrated them into a single music-generating, purchasing and listening system that completely disrupted the music business.

Friedman sees Better Place founder Shai Agassi doing the same in the automotive industry.

What Agassi ... is saying is that there is a new way to generate mobility, not just music, using the same platform. It just takes the right kind of auto battery—the iPod in this story—and the right kind of national plug-in network—the iTunes store—to make the business model work for electric cars at six cents a mile. The average American is paying today around 12 cents a mile for gasoline transportation, which also adds to global warming and strengthens petro-dictators.

Google Joins GridWise Alliance

Google has joined the GridWise Alliance, the industry group that fosters a more efficient and less costly distribution of electricity announced Tuesday.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Dan Reicher, Google's director for climate change and energy initiatives, said:

"Smart grid technologies will empower consumers with real time, money-saving information about their energy use. Building a smart grid—essentially an energy Internet—will also enable plug-in electric vehicles, speed the development of utility-scale renewable energy, and spur the creation of clean energy jobs."

The GridWise Alliance says it advocates a vision of an electric system that integrates the infrastructure, processes, devices, information and market structure so that energy can be generated, distributed and consumed more efficiently and cost effectively; thereby achieving a more resilient, secure and reliable energy system. Its members include utilities, IT companies, equipment vendors, new technology providers and educational institutions

Smart-Grid Questions Have IT Answers

Austin Energy in Texas is among the most innovative utilities in America, and its general manager Roger Duncan understands the connection between IT and developing the smart grid.

In an interview with Kate Galbraith, who covers renewable energy for The New York Times, Duncan concedes there are plenty of questions that must be answered before a grand vision of a smart grid is achieved. Quoting Galbraith in her posting:

“What are the actual hardware connections that we need? What is the software that will allow us to communicate, even to the level of communicating with appliances like your refrigerator or your pool pump?”

Report Details Government Smart-Grid Policymaking

A new report from the Demand Response Coordinating Committee, a not for prof that promotes efficient energy use, suggests federal and state governments have done much in promoting a smart grid to intelligently distribute electricity, but adds that more must be done.

The report, Demand Response and Smart Metering Policy Actions Since the Energy Policy Act of 2005, points out that Congress has demanded response be incorporated into the nation’s electricity system from a policy and business perspective. (Demand response, according to Wikipedia, refers to dynamic demand mechanisms to manage customer consumption of electricity in response to supply conditions, for example, having electricity customers reduce their consumption at critical times.) Congress, the report says, has recognized that demand response and its enabling technologies are key ingredients to the development of a smart grid. The report continues:

At the same time, Congress has not yet moved to use tax policy and mandates to stimulate the growth of demand response in a way similar to what it has done in the past for renewable energy and traditional energy efficiency. Elsewhere at the federal level, however, federal regulators have used their jurisdiction over wholesale power and regional markets to directly require development and deployment of demand response.

The report reflects the great diversity of approaches and the many levels of activity underway in the states, some prompted by the Energy Policy Act but most by individual states' own initiatives. The report reinforces the significant role of states in demand response:

Much demand response involves modification of retail rates and approval of utility infrastructure investments, each of which are subject to state jurisdiction.

Smart-Grid Net, Not Specific Fuels, Seen as Focus of VC Investments

Infrastrucutre to deliver energy, not specific altneratives to fossill fuels such as solar or biofuel, is where much of venture capital's "green" investments will be made, Arrun Kapoor (below) of SJF Funds, a venture capital fund where half of the investment is in "green" projects, tells Reuters:

Because the current electric grid is 30 to 40 years old, Kapoor sees a new "smart" grid as an attractive investment.

So-called smart grids let customers instantly see the price of the power they are buying, which is expected to cut demand during daily peak load hours and reduce demand from centralized traditional fossil-fuel power plants.

Can Cyber-Thieves Threaten the Energy Internet?

Cyberattackers present such a threat to the Internet that they could hamper development of new forms of online commerce, including the creation of an energy Internet.

A story in The New York Times on Saturday says cyberattackers are handily winning a technology arms race with vast resources from stolen credit card and other financial information. And, despite efforts by the computer security industry, the situation is getting worse.

That could have an adverse impact on commerce, including the development of smart grid online applications that could be hacked by the bad guys. Here's part of what reporter John Markoff wrote:

Beyond the billions of dollars lost in theft of money and data is another, deeper impact. Many Internet executives fear that basic trust in what has become the foundation of 21st century commerce is rapidly eroding.

“There’s an increasing trend to depend on the Internet for a wide range of applications,many of them having to deal with financial institutions,” said Vinton G. Cerf (left), one of the original designers of the Internet, who is now Google’s chief Internet evangelist.

“The more we depend on these types of systems, the more vulnerable we become,” he said.

Can IT Help Propel a Fundamental Shift in the Energy Industry?

Clean-tech venture capitalist Vinod Khosla writes in a Newsweek.com posting that beyond increasing support for research, the government can require a market for renewable fuels and renewable electricity. That, he writes will encourage entrepreneurs to develop these technologies and venture capitalists to invest in them. And, he's convinced the best companies that emerge can achieve unsubsidized market competitiveness relative to their fossil-energy competitors.

Is the idea of such fundamental change in the energy industry too idealistic? Here's Khosla's answer:

I think not. Just over a decade ago, every major telco said that it would not adopt the Internet protocol as its core network, even as a company called Juniper was being launched to produce IP equipment. Now Juniper is a successful public company, and carriers using its equipment are offering free long-distance calls using Internet technologies that have become the norm. As a result, telecommunications has changed more in the past 10 years than the previous 50.

The same seems likely for energy as IT know-how will help make its distribution and use more efficient.

IT-Green Visionaries

The World Economic Forum has selected 34 visionary companies, including two that couple IT with green, as Technology Pioneers 2009 for their accomplishments as innovators and deep impact on business and society.

The two, cited in the field of Energy/Environment are the Current Group and GreenPeak Technologies.

Here's what the World Economic Forum said about each of these companies:

Current is the leader in enabling electric utilities worldwide to implement a Smart Grid benefiting utilities, consumers and the environment.

GreenPeak is a semiconductor, module and software company offering wireless and green ultra low power network communication technology for sense and control applications.

Is Green Behind Growth in IT Services Payrolls?

Though still a minute part of their businesses, IT services firms are winning more contracts to help improve the smart electricity grid, adding even more intelligence to what could evolve into the energy Internet.

So, could one reason payrolls expanded at IT services firms last month when nearly every other sector shed jobs be its entry into this new green-tech field? The primary factor for job growth of IT services firms is the need of IT know-how to keep businesses functioning in these stressful times, according to the blog The IT Job Analyst.

2009 Prediction: Information TechTurns to Energy Opportunities

2009 is just around the corner, and with the new year, comes predictions. Cleantech Group Executive Chairman Nicholas Parker has come up with nine trends to watch for in 2009. What's dear to Tech2Green's heart is No. 7.

The IT and telecom industries over the last few years have started to get increasingly engaged in clean technology. Companies like IBM, Autodesk, Cisco and Intel are becoming ever more important.

What we’re seeing now, and this was particularly clear in India this year, is that the IT industry is seizing the energy opportunity as a chance to make money in this area. Whether it’s moving towards more integrated energy management systems or platforms, or smartening up the grids, or lowering carbon content in the supply chain, we see the IT industry turning on the taps this year and really rolling out new a range of products and offerings and driving a great deal of innovation in the cleantech space.

2009 will be the year IT turns its eyes to energy opportunities, not just in algorithms and software. For example, Intel is turning its quantum dot people, who’ve been working on next generation processors, to the solar challenge and opportunity, looking to develop new nano-based solar cells. We could well be in 10 years time calling Intel an energy company, in much the same way Applied Materials is becoming better known as a solar company.

Here are all nine of Parker's predictions:

1. Energy efficiency infrastructure boom initiated.

2. Global climate talks bog down—no serious deal until 2011/12.

3. U.S. passes national Renewable Portfolio Standard, but cap and trade bill only in 2010.

4. Wind stocks come back; thin film photovoltaics shakeout.

5. Clean technology venture capital stabilizes at $7 billion globally; private equity more active.

6. Failure rate of clean-tech startups doubles.

7. IT turns to the energy opportunity.

8. R&D stagnates; corporations acquire green growth assets.

9. Energy-water-food nexus emerges.

Would Bell, Edison Recognize Their Inventions' Descendents?

My favorite quote of the week comes from Tom Raftery, a social-media blogger and business-tech manager from Ireland, speaking at a European conference last week:

“If you placed an iPhone in front of Alexander Graham Bell (below), he wouldn’t recognize what it was. But if you put an electricity grid in front of Thomas Edison (right), he’d recognize it straightaway; that’s because electricity grids haven’t changed much in the past 100 years.

“These grids need to change, they need to harness electricity in smarter ways, and they need to harness renewable energy from wind, solar and wave power. If the electricity grid went the way of the Internet in terms of interconnectivity, every householder and car holder could be a power broker.”

Obama Constituencies May Clash Over Clean Cars, Protecting Jobs

Two strong backers of Barack Obama presidential bid, environmentalists and union autoworkers, could be butting heads over an auto industry bailout and the aim to manufacture energy-efficient cars. According to an Associated Press analysis:

The United Auto Workers, along with Detroit's Big Three, are pushing for an infusion of emergency loans for the carmakers' immediate needs—even if that means diverting $25 billion that had been set aside for creating cleaner vehicles. Environmentalists balk at that notion, saying the money is sacrosanct and insisting that any new help be tied to strict requirements for greener cars.

Unions provided far more financial support to Obama and Democratic candidates than environmental organizations—more than 20 times as much in the last election, the AP reports, citing the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign finance research organization. Still, the AP says, environmental groups enjoy powerful allies in the Democratic Party—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi prominent among them—and exert a strong pull in policy debates.

"It is a challenge, because here you have the union core group that supports the Democratic Party and was very strong supporting Obama's candidacy, and you have environmental groups who also are very strong in the Democratic Party, and when it comes to autos, those two constituencies conflict with each other," Richard Hurd, a Cornell University labor relations professor, tells the news agency.

Are Green Jobs More Secure?

Despite massive job reductions in many industries, green jobs are proving to be resilient, at least in Europe, some recruiters say.

According to a report posted on ClimateChangeCorp.com, the low-carbon job market in Europe continues to prosper. Here's what Ben Cartland of the environment, sustainability and climate-change job recruiter Acre Resources says:

“Appointments are still being made and we are hearing from clients that there is a need to grow their teams. And we are not talking about the standard replacement roles when people leave, these are newly-generated positions.”

Acre is conducting its second annual salary survey, and preliminary results suggest green workers feel more secure about their jobs than they did a year ago.

Cartland says sustainability managers with experience working in large corporations are hard to find as are professionals with renewable energy and engineering experience.

The ClimateChangeCorp posting cites Dawn Kenworthy at environmental recruiter Allen and York as saying the job market for renewables and energy management is booming. She says jobs in energy management are sought after because companies, in a recession, seek to save as much money as possible.

Obama on Richardson, Green Jobs

Here's what President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday when he nominated New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson as his Commerce Secretary:

As a former Secretary of Energy, Bill understands the steps we must take to build a new, clean-energy industry and create the green jobs of the 21st century. Jobs that pay well and won’t be shipped overseas—jobs that will help us end our dependence on foreign oil.

Clemson Profs Research Power Distribution Nets

Two Clemson University mathematical scientists are developing mathematical models of complex power-distribution networks to advance the understanding of monitoring in real time the electric grid so utilities can ensure uninterrupted service, improve distribution efficiency, save energy and reduce operating costs.

The challenges of modeling and system identification of the smart grid lies in the fact that the network is vast, complex, time-variant, non-linear and noisy,” “said one of the researchers, Taufiquar Khan (at right), who along with Irina Viktorova received a $285,000 research grant from tech provider Itron. “By noisy,” Khan said, “I mean the millions of light bulbs, computers, televisions, appliances, heaters and electrical motors going on and off contribute to the disorderly pattern of variations of voltage, current and impedance of the AC network. Therefore, we are working on mathematical solutions to optimize metering and communications.”

Also commenting in the Clemson statement is mathematics department chairman Robert Taylor: “The metering and communication data provide excellent opportunities for applied mathematical and statistical modeling and will lead to greater efficiencies in the energy industry.”

Who'll Pay for the Smart Grid?

A consumer advocate wonders who will pay for a smart electrical grid.

The executive director of the Illinois consumer watchdog Citizens Utility Board, David Kolata, writes on SouthtownStar.com:

President-elect Obama favors development of a "smart grid," but big questions remain about how it gets built and who foots the bill. The big utilities are all-too-eager to slap consumers with the costs before we see any of the energy-saving improvements. We're fighting them on that front but need federal policies to help protect consumers.

Smart Grid Getting Smarter

How IT will help reduce carbon emissions, and the need for tech-savvy pros to develop such systems, is at the heart of this blog. And, here's an example of one such technology.

GridPoint this week is demonstrating software that allows owners of electric vehicles to set parameters so utilities can charge their cars and trucks to optimize a smart electric grid, charging when renewable energy is available or when grid energy usage is low.

In a statement issued by GridPoint, Tony Posawatz, line director for General Motors' hybrid auto Volt, says:

“By embedding GridPoint’s software in electric vehicles, we enable utilities to offer reduced charging costs to customers and allow clean energy, such as wind and solar power, to be used as a source for recharging vehicles. Additionally, we help utilities eliminate the need to build new power plants that would otherwise be required to support the mass adoption of electric vehicles.”

Report: Info Tech Seen Reducing CO2 Emissions Significantly

Much must and can be done by the information and communications technology (ICT) industries to reduce their own carbon emissions. But a just-released addendum to last June’s study for the Global e-Sustainability Initiative, Smart 2020: Enabling the Low Carbon Economy in the Information Age says ITC can help reduce 97% of emissions for the rest of the economy.

Written by the Boston Consulting Group for Ge-SI, the addendum says information and communications technologies are powerful enablers because they give people the information to understand how carbon emissions hurt the environment and the economy. Technology can furnish energy-efficient alternatives to manual, mechanical and physical processes to reduce emissions. According to the addendum:

Replacing physical experiences with virtual experiences, providing information to make better decisions, or cutting waste where it won’t be noticed are just some examples. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy recently issued a report estimating that for every kilowatt hour of energy consumed by ICT, the U.S. economy increases its overall energy savings by a factor of 10. The report cites investment in ICT as a major factor in allowing both the population and economy of the U.S. to grow faster than its energy consumption.

ICT’s capacity to enable energy efficiency can help the economy and reduce the effects of climate change. By 2020, the ICT solutions outlined in this report can reduce an estimated 810 million to 1,410 million metric tons of CO2 from the U.S. baseline of emissions, representing a 13% to 22% reduction in the federal Energy Information Administration’s business-as-usual scenario. This translates to gross savings of $140 billion to $240 billion in avoided electricity and fuel costs. These savings also have significant national security implications as they translate to a reduction in total oil consumption of 11% to 21% and a reduction in dependence on imported oil of 20% to 36%. The range of estimates depends on the rate of adoption of ICT solutions.

In addition to the CO2 abatements sized by this report, ICT can be a powerful lever to change and influence behavior, because it touches the daily lives of people and provides powerful tools for understanding their decisions. ICT’s impact spans beyond technology; it enables the creation of radically new low-carbon business models. For example, ICT can ease coordination among different users to enable services like car-sharing or appliance-sharing to replace individual ownership. These solutions can help reduce the embedded carbon from manufacturing more goods. Thus, ICT’s ability to create transformative change makes it a critical pillar in an energy strategy for a sustainable and prosperous America.

Here's more from the addendum (click on charts to enlarge):

Stimulis Could Provide $50 Billion for Green Projects

As part of its economic stimulus package, the Obama administration may earmark $50 billion to fund environmentally sound infrastructure projects, according to a key economic advisor.

Obama adviser and Economic Policy Institute economist Jared Bernstein (left) along with other economists see the money funding at least $50 billion in environmentally sound infrastructure projects that could be up and running within a few months, according to a posting on Bloomberg.com.

Among the steps along the “green path,” Bernstein said, could be a requirement that repairs made to public buildings be environmentally friendly.

According to Bloomberg:

A critical mass of support for clean-energy spending and green-collar-job creation is building among environmentalists, labor groups, local governments and companies such as Google Inc. and American Electric Power Co., the biggest U.S. producer of electricity from coal.

The loosely knit coalition is advocating for what (Obama transition team advisor Bracken) Hendricks calls a “green recovery” stimulus that would create jobs with an eye toward conserving resources and reducing reliance on fossil fuels such as coal and oil.

Google backs long-term tax rebates for renewable energy plus a federal investment in electric smart-grid technology to cut energy use by developing two-way communications between utilities and their customers. Again Bloomberg:

Both provisions would create high-technology jobs, said Harry Wingo, energy policy counsel for Google, which has been meeting with Obama advisers and Capitol Hill lawmakers.

Green-jobs provisions “are going to lead to more job creation here and put us in a better spot to compete for the global market in clean energy,” Wingo said.

And, no doubt, among those new jobs will be some for IT pros to make the smart-grid, well, smart.

Economist Struggles to Define What Exactly is a Green Job

Nicholas Jolly is trying to define exactly what is a green job, but he isn't having much success.

"Defining a job as green is difficult, for green is becoming ubiquitous, encompassing many areas of the economy," Jolly, an economist for the Connecticut Department of Labor, writes in the December issue of The Connecticut Economic Digest.

Everyone agrees that environmental engineering is a green job, but does a construction worker who maintains green building practices hold a green job? Jolly observes that

standard occupational and industrial codes do not exist that differentiate green construction workers from traditional ones. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to estimate the number of environmentally friendly construction jobs. However, there are predefined codes for environmental engineers, thus making it easy to count the number of these occupations.

Further complicating matters are those hybrid jobs, such as an autoworker who one day assembles cars running on biofuels but the next day builds gas-powered vehicles. And, how about the office clerks, accountants, custodians and other non-production workers employed at a company producing fuel cells; should their jobs count as green? Adds Jolly:

It is impossible to count the number of green jobs because this employment category is not dichotomous, and researchers cannot draw a clear distinction between green and non-green jobs. What is also clear, however, is that companies and consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious, and this will affect the labor market through some job creation, but, to a much greater extent, by changing the nature of existing occupations.

So, can economist estimate the number of green jobs in Connecticut? Sort of. One method using the North American Industrial Classification System, concludes that 22,373 people, or just over 1% of the state's workforce, were employed by companies that produced products or services that contribute directly to preserving and enhancing the quality of the environment, or green industries.

Bundling Energy Management Systems with Other Home Services

Mobile device maker Nokia envisions building a mobile platform that could bundle household energy management system with other residential offerings.

Nokia last week announced a partnership with one of Europe's biggest energy companies, RWE, to develop a comprehensive solution for managing energy consumption and limit residential CO2 emissions. According to Nokia:

With this in mind, the first joint solution from Nokia and RWE on late 2009 will focus on home heating management. The product consists of a central control unit together with remote-controlled thermostats for the actual radiator. The user interface will be the PC and the mobile phone. In addition, a separate display will be available. RWE is also planning special offers combining these devices with new energy supply contracts. In a second step, Nokia and RWE are planning additional services in connection with smart meters beyond 2009. These services will provide consumers with real-time information about their energy consumption and allow them to control their energy bill remotely.

What's most interesting about Nokia's mobile solution is its intent to develop a mobile smart-home platform to offer a variety of residential services, such as energy efficiency, security and wellness.

Intelligent Grid Seen As Essential

An interconnected smart power grid is the fastest way to a low-carbon energy system in Europe.

That was the takeaway from a two-day gathering of 160 scientists, businesspeople and government officers meeting in Denmark late last month to identify the quickest means to lessen CO2 emissions, according to a statement issued by Risø DTU, the National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy at the Technical University of Denmark.

Risø notes a major obstacle is the development of better batteries to store energy, which will take time. But, Risø adds actions must be taken now, including:

An interconnected intelligent power grid, integrated on a European level and able to store a higher level of renewable energy.

Risø says more research funds for new energy technologies and systems will be required.

We can achieve much with known technologies in the short term, but there is a need for research into new energy technologies and systems to enter the market after 2050.

Smart Grid = IT Jobs

The incoming Barack Obama administration's commitment to a smart grid should increase the demand for those with IT skills to help enhance the so-called energy Internet. The following is from Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle:

Obama is considering creating an energy council within the White House, much like the National Economic Council. He has asked former EPA administrator Carol Browner to lead his transition team on energy and the environment. The economic stimulus plan could offer Obama a chance to make an early mark on energy: It is expected to include a multibillion-dollar investment in a "smart grid," upgrading the nation's electrical transmission system to boost energy efficiency while also creating new jobs.

Movement on the energy council will come after Obama names an energy secretary. Possible nominees include Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius; Dan Reicher, a former assistant energy secretary in the Clinton administration who directs energy and climate initiatives for Google.org; and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Also, according to the Chronicle, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a "splashy pick," but he's says he plans to finish his term.

Global Warming and IT Jobs, Part II

I’m not alone (read Global Warming and IT Jobs: A Lose-Win Proposition) in seeing the battle against global warming benefiting the IT profession.

Jack Santos, CIO executive strategist with the advisory firm Burton Group, in a post on the business-tech pub Baseline’s website, writes:

We are embarking on the greatest period of innovation the world has known. What does this mean for IT? Consolidated and more-efficient data centers (virtualized storage, processors, desktops and cloud computing), smart-grid energy-use alternatives and a push toward Internet-based work-anywhere options (which affect employment).

As economic incentives and energy policies kick in, business will quickly begin to take advantage of credits or incentives to think differently about its energy use. This will continue to put pressure on wireless and mobility options, new technologies in unified communications and innovations such as tele-presence video systems. IT is center stage in these innovations.

No doubt IT will play a significant role in helping companies reduce their carbon footprints, as I opined in this video and a CIO Insight Editor's Note.