The number of smart meters in Asian markets will increase from 52.8 million in 2010 to more than 350.3 million by 2016 as governments and electric utilities across the region increasingly emphasize the technology, according to a new market report.
That represents an annual growth rate of
Urbanization in the 21st century is creating a set of new challenges for governance. How will national, state/provincial, and city governments effectively provide vital services to citizens? And as a greater portion of the world’s population gets connected through smart phones and other slick new data-sharing devices, how will people access those services?
Mesh Comm is an Atlanta, Georgia, company and the owner of U.S. Patent No. 7,379,981 (’981 Patent) relating to a system for enabling wireless communication between meters so utilities can remotely monitor and control energy usage.
Entitled “Wireless communication enabled
The U.S. launch of the Global CleanTECH Cluster Association took place in America’s Finest City San Diego, California last month. With this Association, a partnership representing more than 20 leading cleantech clusters, hosting this launch was quite a plum for San Diego. But then, the San Diego region is deserving of this accolade, having distinguished itself as a
The industry has been abuzz this past week over the announced acquisition (ahem – merger) of Progress Energy by Duke Energy. The combined entity will become the largest electric utility in the U.S. by revenue and generation capacity if approved by the various regulatory bodies, which is no sure thing. Like most mergers, the promised benefits, for shareholders and
Cleantech in Georgia is booming lately as the state has been enacting new energy policies and has increased commitments to attain a higher level of total energy efficiency. Georgia currently houses numerous companies involved in different aspects of cleantech, such as energy efficiency, solar power, advanced
Many of us are generally quite gung-ho on the amazing power of wireless technology. From convenience to efficiency and cost savings, there’s plenty to rave about.
Yet in the San Francisco Bay Area — and in particular in my Marin County home — citizens are up in arms, blockading trucks and opposing mandatory installation of
I have three predictions for 2011:
As we’ve written before, “consumer engagement” just might be today’s top smart grid buzzword. This is driven by fears that well publicized consumer push-back against smart metering will torpedo the industry’s smart grid vision. Many industry participants (including this one) have observed the frenzied scramble to “engage consumers” with a mix of amusement and
We think we know how smart grid technology will change the utility industry. But do we really?
Take a look at this documentary made in 1969. It’s a view of how the world perceived the coming Internet (It’s also a pretty amusing look at how sexist our society still was at that point.)
Of the 12 smart grid projects to win an award as part of the GE Ecomagination Challenge, one in particular caught my attention.
That is GE’s collaboration with Columbia University’s School for Engineering and Applied Science, FedEx Express and Con Edison to take Columbia’s patented
The cleantech industry, and more specifically the clean energy sector — firms in renewable energy, smart grids, clean energy finance, biofuels, and depending on your definition, natural gas — has a lot on its plate. Not only do these businesses, many of which are in their nascency, need to focus on standard business development operations like R&D, market research,
In a previous blog, I highlighted the embarrassing resignation of Pacific Gas & Electric’s manager of its SmartMeter program after it was revealed that he was eavesdropping on the online networking of grassroots activists that have been blockading the installation of smart grid infrastructure in northern California. Turns out, this was just a harbinger of things to
Last week’s G20 summit in Seoul was focused on solving current tensions in the global currency war. A two-day meeting may be too short to reach instant action items between twenty countries representing the global economy because they face complicated domestic economic situations. Global media outlets have different views on Seoul summit outcomes