TAMPA, Fla. — Lockheed Martin and Itron, Inc. today announced an agreement to integrate Lockheed Martin’s SEEload Demand Response Management Solution with Itron’s smart grid platform. The integrated solution, which includes the OpenWay smart metering and Itron Enterprise Edition Meter Data Management (IEE MDM) systems, will reduce the cost, complexity and risk for utilities deploying smart meters and implementing demand response (DR) programs.

The offering leverages Itron’s global leadership in smart metering and enterprise utility software solutions and Lockheed Martin’s world-class capabilities in security, command and control and systems-of-systems integration. Both contribute technically-proven, market-ready products prepared for integration.

“The pre-integration and testing of Itron’s MDM platform with our demand response management technology will allow utilities to reduce technical risk and scheduling risk, while simplifying the deployment of DR programs,” said John Mengucci, president of Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Services-Defense. “Further, integration to OpenWay standard demand response interfaces will make it easier and quicker for utilities to deploy advanced energy management services to their customers, and will help maintain grid stability.”

“Fostering the smart grid requires unprecedented collaboration,” said Philip Mezey, Itron North America’s vice president and chief operating officer. “If there’s one thing that 30+ years of experience driving innovation for utilities has taught Itron, it’s that our complex industry is bigger than any one company. The importance of combining the complementary expertise of Itron and Lockheed Martin cannot be overstated.”

SEEload is one of Lockheed Martin’s SEEsuite Smart Grid Command and Control applications, and enables utilities and independent system operators to precisely and easily manage demand response events across an entire distribution network, including substations and individual feeders. SEEload provides complete DR life- cycle management, including DR program definition and customer enrollment, real-time DR event management, and post-event DR analytics.

OpenWay empowers customers to participate in energy management and conservation by providing a two-way network between the utility and each premise it serves. IEE MDM then brokers the communication between the OpenWay field communications architecture and utility back-office systems, providing an enterprise repository for managing the data generated by smart metering.

Itron is the world’s leading provider of intelligent metering, data collection and utility software solutions, with nearly 8,000 utilities worldwide relying on our technology to optimize the delivery and use of energy and water. Itron offerings include electricity, gas, water and heat meters, data collection and communication systems, including automated meter reading (AMR) and advanced metering infrastructure (AMI); meter data management and related software applications; as well as project management, installation and consulting services.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.
(source www.lockheedmartin.com)

President Barack Obama has called for one million plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) to hit the road by 2015. If the demand for PHEVs skyrockets, a flood of new electric cars could strain America’s power networks to the limit.

That is why the U.S. Department of Energy is analyzing how the power grid can be redesigned to better meet America’s energy needs. A multidisciplinary mix of scientists from Argonne National Laboratory is working to help develop a “smart grid” that will not only adapt in real-time to handle larger electricity loads, but also operate more cheaply and efficiently than the existing grid.

“The smart grid proposes to reorganize the way power is used in the home and how it is distributed,” said Ted Bohn, an electrical engineer at Argonne’s Center for Transportation Research.

In the home, electric vehicles and all major appliances would be connected to a central hub that monitors how much electricity they use. The hub in turn would “talk” to local power suppliers. All of these appliances and the grid would talk to each other and could also share power.

Today manufacturers are meeting to agree on a standard plug for the home hub, cars and appliances. But it turns out that American manufacturers already agreed on a standardized electric vehicle plug—in 1913! In the early days of cars, electric vehicles seemed a likely competitor for gasoline-powered engines and 30,000 were on the road; thus, the plug seen here—complete with wooden handle.

The communication between vehicles, appliances and the grid allows suppliers to track electricity use in real-time. With that information, more utilities could vary the price of power by time of day and create incentives for consumers to use electricity at certain times. If power suppliers are overwhelmed during peak demand, consumers will receive a high price signal that will encourage them to reduce their consumption until the situation eases.

“Say you’re running the air conditioning and charging your car battery at the same time during a hot afternoon,” Bohn said. “With a smart-grid infrastructure, your AC and battery charger will automatically dial down their consumption, and then run it back up again when prices are lower.”

The smart grid offers more choice to consumers by letting them micro-manage their energy bills. A consumer concerned about price could set a dishwasher to run when power is cheapest, usually at night, when demand is lowest. Environmentally conscious consumers could also choose to pay a clean energy premium for solar and wind power and thereby promote the use of these renewable energy sources.

“The smart grid doesn’t propose to revolutionize the way we do power,” Bohn said. “It’s just about doing the same things more efficiently—smarter.”

Les Poch and Matt Mahalik of Argonne’s Center for Energy, Environmental, and Economic Systems Analysis (CEEESA) are concerned with the demand on the existing grid as more and more electric vehicles hit the road. Poch and Mahalik model the potential strain on the grid if millions of new electric vehicles were to plug in every night.

“Depending on what Americans do with their new cars, energy suppliers could be overwhelmed—or they could stand to gain a lot,” Poch said.

Electricity suppliers closely monitor regional demand. To prevent shortages, they must predict how much electricity will be needed at any given time. “Until now, the pattern of power use in the U.S. has been relatively stable and predictable for the past 30 years,” said Mahalik. “The last major bump was probably the widespread adoption of air conditioning.”

Now, electric vehicles stand poised to throw off that stable pattern. No one knows how quickly electric cars will catch on, in what areas they’ll be most popular, or when everyone will choose to plug in their cars.

Today’s electricity demand follows well defined cycles. It increases during the daytime when commuters head to work, as homes and offices turn up the air conditioning and factories power up the machinery, and falls sharply during nighttime.

Utilities must prepare for that afternoon peak. “The way we build power plants now is to make sure we have enough to meet the highest demand possible—the maximum amount of power on the afternoon of the hottest day of the year,” said Vladimir Koritarov, deputy director of CEEESA. “Then they add some more for backup in an emergency. The rest of the year we won’t need nearly so much power, but we have to be prepared for that one day.”

For this reason, utilities must maintain a large reserve capacity that is unused for the majority of the year. Koritarov thinks that with the right approach, the smart grid could work out to everyone’s advantage.

By using incentives to smooth out demand for electricity between day and night, a utility can produce power more economically. Also, smart charging of electric and hybrid vehicles during the off-peak periods can significantly help with that goal by filling up “demand valleys.”

A significant stumbling block for power distribution is the lack of technology to store power for extended periods. Stockpiled power from variable resources, such as solar and wind, could be fed back into the grid at peak times to reduce the strain on the grid and conventional power plants. A team of Argonne materials scientists, chemists and engineers – already renowned for their successes in the field of advanced battery development for vehicles – is working to develop large-scale energy storage technologies that will capture energy whenever it’s available and store it for use at a later time.

“The smart grid isn’t a theoretical concept,” said Bohn. “It’s happening now.” Across the country, aspects of the smart grid are being tested in homes and neighborhoods. As America moves forward, science and Argonne work to improve the future—for households, businesses and utilities alike.

Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to pressing national problems in science and technology. The nation’s first national laboratory, Argonne conducts leading-edge basic and applied scientific research in virtually every scientific discipline. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state and municipal agencies to help them solve their specific problems, advance America ‘s scientific leadership and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from more than 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. (source www.anl.gov)

(Download a fact sheet on the smart grid.)

Watch a demonstration of the smart Grid

COLUMBUS, OHIO – At an event in Columbus, Secretary Chu announced that the Department of Energy is awarding $620 million for projects around the country to demonstrate advanced Smart Grid technologies and integrated systems that will help build a smarter, more efficient, more resilient electrical grid.  These 32 demonstration projects, which include large-scale energy storage, smart meters, distribution and transmission system monitoring devices, and a range of other smart technologies, will act as models for deploying integrated Smart Grid systems on a broader scale. This funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be leveraged with $1 billion in funds from the private sector to support more than $1.6 billion in total Smart Grid projects nationally.

“These demonstration projects will further our knowledge and understanding of what works best and delivers the best results for the Smart Grid, setting the course for a modern grid that is critical to achieving our energy goals,” said Secretary Chu.  “This funding will be used to show how Smart Grid technologies can be applied to whole systems to promote energy savings for consumers, increase energy efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.”

These efforts will provide invaluable data on the benefits and cost-effectiveness of the Smart Grid, including energy and cost savings. An analysis by the Electric Power Research Institute estimates that implementing Smart Grid technologies could reduce electricity use by more than 4 percent by 2030.  That would mean a savings of $20.4 billion for businesses and consumers around the country, and $700 million for Ohio alone — or $61 in utility savings for every man, woman and child in Ohio.

The demonstration projects announced will also help verify the technological and business viability of new smart technologies and show how fully integrated Smart Grid systems can be readily adapted and copied around the country.  Applicants say this investment will create thousands of new job opportunities that will include manufacturing workers, engineers, electricians, equipment installers, IT system designers, cyber security specialists, and business and power system analysts.

The funding awards are divided into two topic areas.  In the first group, 16 awards totaling $435 million will support fully integrated, regional Smart Grid demonstrations in 21 states, representing over 50 utilities and electricity organizations with a combined customer base of almost 100 million consumers.  The projects include streamlined communication technologies that will allow different parts of the grid to “talk” to each other in real time; sensing and control devices that help grid operators monitor and control the flow of electricity to avoid disruptions and outages; smart meters and in-home systems that empower consumers to reduce their energy use and save money; energy storage options; and on-site and renewable energy sources that can be integrated onto the electrical grid.

In the second group, an additional 16 awards for a total of $185 million will help fund utility-scale energy storage projects that will enhance the reliability and efficiency of the grid, while reducing the need for new electricity plants. Improved energy storage technologies will allow for expanded integration of renewable energy resources like wind and photovoltaic systems and will improve frequency regulation and peak energy management.  The selected projects include advanced battery systems (including flow batteries), flywheels, and compressed air energy systems.  (source www.energy.gov)

Alliant Energy, CLECO, Comverge, GE Consumer & Industrial, Portland General Electric, Radio Thermostat Company of America, Sensus, Trilliant and eleven other companies join U-SNAP Alliance in smart grid home area network standard creation.

Morgan Hill, CA. (September 10, 2009) – The U-SNAP Alliance, formed by a group of utility industry leaders to create a low cost connector standard to enable consumer products to communicate with any vendor’s smart meter, announced the formation of the alliance and first members to join the Alliance, bringing total membership to 19 companies.

U-SNAP (Utility Smart Network Access Port) Alliance addresses a key portion of the Smart Grid, the home area network (HAN), where consumer appliances and other energy aware devices talk to smart meters. As the Smart Grid and smart metering market grows, the development of an industry standard to enable plug and play connectivity between smart meters and home networks will be key to the creation and adoption of energy aware devices.

Members of the U-SNAP Alliance represent several key elements of the smart grid ecosystem, including utilities, product design and manufacturing, semiconductors, smart meters, software, thermostats, and in-home displays.

Founding members leading the Alliance at the Promoter level and as members of the Board of Directors are Radio Thermostat Company of America and Sensus. Contributor Members, consisting of product manufacturers, includes Comverge, eRadio, GainSpan, GE Consumer & Industrial, Intwine Connect, NURI Telecom Co., Ltd, Trilliant and ZeroG Wireless. Influencer Members, consisting of non-manufacturers, namely utilities, includes 4Home, Alliant Energy, Benton PUD, Celestica International, CLECO, LS Research, Niagara-on-the-Lake Hydro, Portland General Electric and Our Home Spaces.

“I am quite pleased with the first wave of companies joining the U-SNAP Alliance,” said Jon Rappaport, chairman of the U-SNAP Alliance. “Our rapidly growing membership represents an impressive mix of utilities and appliance manufacturers, and enabling technologies who understand the dynamics of the Home to Grid market and the need to enable connectivity between smart meters and consumer products.”

“There is increasing activity around smart meters and several companies are actively developing U-SNAP compliant products based on the first U-SNAP specification, with the first products appearing on retail shelves later this year,” said Tim Simon, U-SNAP Alliance vice chairman.

More information on U-SNAP Alliance membership, technical specifications, and activities can be found at http://www.usnap.org.

About the U-SNAP Alliance
The U-SNAP Alliance is an open industry association developing an industry standard for connecting energy aware consumer products with smart meters. The Alliance will create and publish a standard, establish testing and certification procedures for product conformance and educate consumers, utilities and vendors on the benefits of the standard. Alliance membership is comprised of utilities, manufacturers, consultants and other parties interested in developing or deploying the standard. For more information, or to find out how to join the Alliance, please visit www.usnap.org.

Member Quotes

4Home
“4Home is a staunch supporter of standardization. We believe that U-SNAP will play an important role in the driving the device interoperability necessary to bring compelling, cost-effective energy solutions to consumers. U-SNAP adoption will allow the 4Home Software Platform to expand its ecosystem of supported devices, thereby increasing the value of the various consumer applications that we create. 4Home is looking forward to our participation and will work diligently to move this initiative forward,” said 4Home President & CEO, Leon Hounshell

Alliant Energy
“Alliant Energy is extremely pleased to be a member and supporter of the U-SNAP Alliance.”, said Gregg Lawry, Director of Energy Delivery Technology.  “The U-SNAP standard represents a major leap forward in establishing a cost effective means of supporting interoperability of utility smart grid systems, customer smart appliances, and Home Area Networks, allowing the use of wireless communications technologies best suited for each application and environment.  We strongly encourage others to consider support of U-SNAP through their membership in the Alliance, and through specification of products that incorporate the U-SNAP standard.”

Celestica
“Supporting the U-SNAP Alliance is part of our ongoing commitment to help our customers embrace and advance environmental technologies,” said, Greg Allen, Vice President, Green Technologies, Celestica. “We believe that the standardized interoperability of products within the HAN is critical to a successful multi-vendor Smart Grid ecosystem and Celestica is focused on supporting technologies and standards that enable our customers to rapidly commercialize products to make the Smart Grid a reality in every home and business.”

Comverge
“Comverge is committed to a more intelligent and integrated electric grid. The U-SNAP Alliance represents a step toward establishing Smart Grid standards that will ensure interoperability and drive the energy industry forward,” said Comverge Interim President & CEO, Michael Picchi.

eRadio
“We applaud the work of the U-SNAP Alliance and are pleased to be an early member of the group.”, said Rick Boland, CEO of e-Radio USA.  “We believe the low cost, easy-to-use common connector approach will accelerate the growth and interoperability of various devices residing on the smart grid.”  “e-Radio looks forward to working with alliance members to integrate its FM-RDS based technology into products that are consistent with U-SNAP standards.”

GainSpan
“While Wi-Fi is widely available, some home area networks use other technologies and the beauty of the U-SNAP Alliance is its goal of achieving a technology-agnostic, universal solution for connecting devices to smart meters,” said Bernard Aboussouan, VP Marketing, GainSpan Corporation.  “Device makers will not have to worry about choosing the right wireless technology and can instead focus on bringing the right products to market.”

GE Consumer & Industrial
“USNAP provides a great interoperability solution for a variety of consumer and utility products during these interim years while Smart Grid communication standards are developed and deployed.  It also provides a format to allow products to be upgraded to new protocols and helps ensure against stranded assets,” said Kevin Nolan, Vice President of Technology.

Intwine Connect
“Our goal is to provide customers with an easy-to-use, low-risk, cost effective solution to enable monitoring and control of their internet connected devices. Intwine’s primary focus is the relevance of our solution in delivering customer value versus being enamored with the enabling technology. To us, technology is simply the plumbing. The benefits our solution delivers to OEM customers are 1) improved brand loyalty due to a positive end user experience  2) providing actionable information to product engineering and marketing research teams by gaining visibility into usage patterns and 3) strengthened relationships with market channel partners by providing a fleet management platform to increase sales of consumables. To consumers, the value of the Intwine user experience is peace of mind knowing their Intwine Connected Home results in enhanced safety, health, energy efficiency, money savings, and fun!”

LS Research
“LS Research has always been a supporter of standards that add efficiency and flexibility to product development. Our strengths in ZigBee, WiFi, Bluetooth and other radio standards is further enhanced with the introduction of U-SNAP as a physical layer interconnection. We have our ModFLEX set of certified radio modules which will fit nicely into the evolution of this up and coming standard. With our enhanced focus on the Smart Energy business which includes our RateSaver Smart Energy approved IHD, U-SNAP gives us yet another tool to help our growing list of utility focused customers” Says Bill Steinike, President of LS Research.

Our Home Spaces
“Our Home Spaces is excited to be a part of the U-SNAP alliance and Radio Thermostat’s product release later this year.” said Jan Peterson, Co-Founder of Our Home Spaces.  “Our involvement with the U-SNAP WiFi module has demonstrated the flexibility and potential associated with this platform and we anticipate the application of the WiFi module to several Home Area Network solutions for both the Smart Grid efforts and communicating appliances.  Integration with user devices, like the iPhone or Widgets, allows the user maximum control and access to their U-SNAP enabled appliances. The U-SNAP Alliance’s mission of creating an open standard for consumer products is critically needed for mass market acceptance of the Smart Grid and Our Home Spaces applauds this undertaking and looks forward to being actively involved with this alliance.”

Niagara-on-the-Lake Hydro
“Our company believes that HAN in every home will become an integral component of the North American Smart Grid.  The U-SNAP product development is expected to overcome a number of technical barriers that stand in the way of this reality,” said Jim Huntingdon, president, Niagara-on-the-Lake Hydro Inc.

Portland General Electric
“U-SNAP makes an important contribution to interoperability by standardizing a physical form factor.  The biggest barrier to demand respond is the cost to install communications at a specific appliance. The low-cost U-SNAP connector makes it relatively inexpensive for an appliance OEM to add the socket without incurring the cost of a communication device.  The standard physical form factor means communication device makers can reach a lower price point because many appliances will use the same communication module. Both of these effects mean lower costs for customers to participate in demand response,” said Conrad Eustis, Director Retail Technology Development.

Sensus
“This plug-in U-SNAP card provides a powerful, low cost solution. It solves a key utility issue-having to choose a HAN communication technology and pay for  it, in all meters, up front and often well before the utility knows  the scope and timing of a demand response deployment. It does this  by using the communications hardware that is already imbedded in  every smart meter, to communicate with a HAN controller embedded in  a U-SNAP device such as a thermostat. Sensus is strongly supportive of this innovative solution,” said H. Britton Sanderford, Jr., Chief Technology Officer.

Trilliant Incorporated
“U-SNAP benefits utilities and consumers by lowering the risk of technology obsolescence,” said Eric Miller, Senior Vice President Solutions for Trilliant. “Prior to U-SNAP, Smart Grid networks relied on an ‘under-the-glass’ implementation of home-networking technologies to enable consumer energy efficiency capabilities. U-SNAP effectively decouples HAN technology from the meter, which allows utilities the flexibility to deploy HAN-based demand-side programs on a per-consumer basis without requiring the adoption of still-evolving HAN standards in every meter. This not only lowers the cost for smart metering but also provides a more future-proof solution for demand response and home energy efficiency.”

ZeroG Wireless
“The U-Snap interface seeks to standardize connection of devices to the smart grid, and we believe this will result in more rapid adoption of Wi-Fi for a variety of customers focused on the home area network (HAN).  We are happy to support the Alliance with our low-power embedded Wi-Fi products to provide our customers with seamless and secure connectivity to the ubiquitous Wi-Fi installed base,” said, David Friedman, senior director strategic marketing.

(Contact Info: U-SNAP Alliance | 408-833-6241| barry@u-snap.org)