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| INDUSTRY NEWS Smart Installations
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Dimitri R. Stein | ||
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| Industry news listed in IEEE Power & Energy Magazine is restricted to information related to the science and practice of electric power generation, transmission, distribution, or utilization. This information is provided as a reader service and does not constitute endorsement by the IEEE or PES. Submit industry news information to m.olken@ieee.org. Duke to Build Smart GridDuke Energy Corp. will build a “smart-grid” power-delivery system in Indiana after reaching a settlement with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor and other groups.The smart-grid initiative will use advanced digital technology to save energy and improve reliability in Indiana. The US$445 million project is subject to approval by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. The project is expected to take five to six years to complete. Duke says it will apply for stimulus funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help finance the initiative. According to the company, the system will allow consumers to track their energy use daily and use “smart” appliances as they come on the market. Eventually, consumers would be able to monitor and manage their energy use online and participate in other cost and energy-saving programs. The program also will allow Duke to detect trouble on power lines before outages develop. In addition, a new meter system will reduce the expense of on-site reading. Duke Energy has hired Cisco Systems to develop the utility's smart-grid system. The three-year agreement is the latest development in Duke Energy's effort to convert its analog electricity infrastructure into a digital system that reduces energy use and boosts reliability. The architecture will be based on Internet-protocol standards that will adapt to new communications technology. Hydro One Installs Smart MetersHydro One of Ontario, Canada announced they have completed the installation of 1 million smart meters in the homes and businesses of its customers. This is among the largest smart meter deployments by a utility in North America. Hydro One started smart meter installations in late 2006, in support of the provincial government's goal to have a smart meter in every home and small business in Ontario.Smart meters, when teamed with time-of-use pricing, will provide a financial incentive for people to shift some electricity usage from on-peak (higher cost) periods to off-peak (lower cost) periods. Ontario is introducing time-of-use rates to help consumers better manage electricity costs and to contribute to energy conservation by reducing their electricity use during peak times. Hydro One customers will start to convert to time-of-use pricing in 2010. SCE Plans Largest Installation of Solar PanelsA plan proposed by Southern California Edison (SCE) for the largest U.S. installation of advanced solar panels on otherwise unused large commercial rooftops across Southern California was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission.During the next five years SCE will install, own, and operate 250 MW of solar generating capacity. The utility also will conduct competitive solicitations offering long-term power contracts to independent solar power providers who will install an additional 250 MW, bringing to 500 MW the total generating capacity of the project, the largest photovoltaic program ever undertaken. During the fall of 2008, SCE completed the first of what eventually will be about 150 sites making up this program, a 600,000-square-foot distribution warehouse roof. The rooftop now holds 33,700 advanced thin-film solar panels with a generating capacity of 2.4 MW of direct current power, the largest single rooftop solar photovoltaic array in the United States. SCE already has begun construction of its second installation atop a 458,000-square-foot industrial building. | |
