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How to make the grid ‘smart’

From economic woes to commodity prices, climate change to national security, the list of prominent themes that permeated our lives in 2008 and into 2009 speaks of daunting challenges. In each case, energy innovation is central to our path forward. With the announcement of billions of dollars to be funneled by the stimulus plan into improving our electric grid, efficiency and sustainability are now top of mind in Washington, D.C., and on Main Street. Expectations are surging for a clean energy future that centers on the deployment of a Smart Grid that will enable revolutionary changes to the way we generate, deliver, and consume electricity.

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first published week of:   06/01/2009

Hydro One and Waterloo sign agreement to advance research in clean energy u

The University of Waterloo and Hydro One Networks Inc. signed an agreement on July 9 to strengthen ties in order to spur the use of clean energy technologies and train experts in the province's power sector.

As part of the agreement, Hydro One will support research projects and graduate students. Hydro One will contribute $2.5 million to the University of Waterloo; $1.5 million for a Hydro One Chair in Power Engineering, $500,000 to endow two graduate scholarships and an additional $500,000 to establish a research fund.

“This very generous gift is a substantial investment in Waterloo engineering and one which will provide significant benefits not only to our faculty, but to the field of engineering as well,” said Adel Sedra, dean of engineering. “We’re proud of our strong partnership with Hydro One and are extremely grateful for its ongoing support throughout the years.”

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first published week of:   07/20/2009

Hydro Ottawa to see outages instantly

For a century they worked their way along Ottawa streets, hopping over fences and floundering through snowbanks to reach the devices that would tell all about a property's power consumption. Today, the meter readers have been replaced by a network of "smart meters" that send in electricity readings automatically and can alert authorities when a marijuana grow-op tries to tap illegally into the power supply.

Soon, this network will do much more. As the first step toward the creation of a more sophisticated energy grid -- or “smart grid” -- it will be capable of diagnosing problems before they happen. It will turn down air conditioners in a particular city or region during electricity shortages, and monitor the exact electrical use of each home it services.

“Pretty much all customers are now sitting with a smart meter and the smart meters are now all talking to each other through a wireless network,” says Norm Fraser, chief operating officer of Hydro Ottawa. “The meters are all communicating with each other and we communicate with them. We can interrogate the meter to find out the usage. There are no more estimated bills -- they are all accurate.”

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first published week of:   08/03/2009

Italian power plants occupied by Greenpeace activists

Greenpeace activists occupied four Italian coal-fired power plants, demanding action from world leaders to stave off climate change on the opening day of a Group of Eight summit being hosted by Italy. At least 100 demonstrators took part in the protest at Enel SpA-owned generators in Brindisi, Marghera and Porto Tolle and at a fourth power station in Vado Ligure owned by Tirreno Power. G8 leaders must stop putting the interests of polluting industries such as coal ahead of the climate, Greenpeace said. “Greenpeace’s demonstrations are unjustified,” the president of Italy’s coal-operators association said in an e-mailed statement. “Italy doesn’t have nuclear power. Coal accounts for 12 percent of its energy mix compared to a European average of 33 percent, and it is a leader in clean-coal technology.” Power flows on Italy’s high-voltage lines were unaffected by the protest, according to a spokesman for grid operator Terna SpA. A spokeswoman for Greenpeace said that the coal conveyors were stopped in Venice and Brindisi, though all four plants continue to operate even with protesters trying to block production.

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first published week of:   07/20/2009

Kittery to remove wind turbine

The wind turbine located at the Kittery Transfer Station is proving to be not as efficient as planned, and it will be removed. A wind turbine at the Kittery transfer station will be removed and the town will be reimbursed for its cost, after testing indicated the turbine produced only 15 percent of the electricity expected. The town manager said Entegrity Wind Systems of Boulder, Colorado, will begin making monthly payments to the town until November, with a balloon payment for the remainder of the $191,028 cost of the turbine. After the town has received all payments, the company will come to Kittery and remove the turbine. The 50-kilowatt turbine produced less than 11 kilowatt hours of electricity since its installation last October, through the windy winter months, when Entegrity estimated the turbine would generate 70,000 kilowatt hours. He said he was somewhat surprised at those results. A town committee had collected data for seven months from an anemometer (a device that measures wind) that had been placed at the transfer station. “It appeared we had enough wind there,” he said. When a contract was put out to bid, Entegrity was the only company with a warranty and a price the town could afford, he said. He said the turbine under-performed due to wind turbulence from surrounding trees. The trees are 75 feet tall and the tower is 125 feet tall, not tall enough to prevent the turbulence, which he said undermines a turbine’s productivity.

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first published week of:   06/15/2009

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Volume 31

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