Smart Grid Observer


Current News

AVANGRID Announces Search for EV Fleet Management Solutions
September 2, 2021
AVANGRID, a leading sustainable energy company, this week (Sept 1) launched the EV Fleet Management Challenge in collaboration with Iberdrola and PERSEO, Iberdrola's venture capital fund. AVANGRID and its partners are seeking proposals for an online interactive tool that fleet owners can use to understand the feasibility, costs and benefits of converting to an electric fleet. more

NYPA and AT&T to Assess Climate Change Impact on Utility and Telecommunications Industries
September 2, 2021
"The utility and telecommunications industries are interdependent, especially in an emergency, and this collaboration will help us both be able to mitigate potential costly events related to our climate," said Gil C. Quiniones, NYPA's president and CEO. "As part of this climate study, researchers will use hyper-localized climate data to help inform and plan smart infrastructure investments for optimal resiliency and reliability. This will help us be better positioned to be more prepared for climate-based events." more

GridPoint Launches Grid-Interactive Electric Vehicle Charging Solution for Small and Mid-Sized Commercial Buildings
September 1, 2021
GridPoint takes a whole building approach to managing customers' peak demand charges by analyzing and managing load across several controllable, grid-interactive assets from a single platform, including HVAC, lighting and now EV chargers. Customers can also enroll EV chargers and other eligible building loads into automated demand response (Auto-DR) programs, which deliver additional savings. more

Duquesne Light Company Investing in New Technology to Enhance Grid Capacity and Reliance
September 1, 2021
Duquesne Light Company recently partnered with LineVision to install no-contact sensors on several transmission towers across DLC's service territory, which serves 600,000-plus customers. The pilot project, which began in July, uses real-time and forecasted dynamic line ratings to monitor transmission conductors and uncover additional grid capacity with the purpose of making service more resilient, efficient and affordable. more

AutoGrid and Intertrust Partner to Improve Trust and Fluidity of Business-Critical Electric Grid Data
August 31, 2021
AutoGrid, a leader in AI-powered energy flexibility management software, and Intertrust, a leading data rights management software company announced a partnership recently to add AutoGrid's Flex product to the Intertrust CleanGrid toolkit. more

California ISO Launches New Tools for More Refined Grid Outlook
August 30, 2021
Resource adequacy (RA) is capacity owned or contracted by utilities and other load-serving entities and obligated for the reliable operation of the grid. Any energy needed beyond that must be procured in the market. With the new data, users can monitor the amount of RA capacity that is available compared to the forecasted needs of the system. more

EU Commission Approves 5.7 Billion French Scheme to Support Production of Electricity From Small Solar Installations on Buildings
August 30, 2021
The scheme, which has a provisional budget of around 5.7 billion and will run until 2026, will be open to operators of small photovoltaic installations located on buildings with a capacity of up to 500 kilowatt. With this measure, France expects to develop 3,700 additional megawatt in solar renewable energy. more


U.S. Department of Energy Announces $54 Million to Increase Energy Efficiency in Microelectronics Technologies
August 26, 2021
Moore's Law is now facing technological and economic obstacles. As devices have shrunk in size, the energy required for their production has not been reduced at the same pace. Significant investments in R&D are now required to increase energy efficiency and create more sustainable technology systems that can carry the field into the future. more

Chevron Technology Ventures and Piva Capital Back Malta to Meet the Growing Demand for Long-Duration Energy Storage
August 26, 2021
Malta Inc., a pioneer in long-duration energy storage, this week announced that Chevron Technology Ventures and Piva Capital have joined Proman, Alfa Laval, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, and Dustin Moskovitz in its oversubscribed Series B financing, increasing the round to over $60 million. The new capital will be used to advance the company's commercialization strategy. more

Energy Vault Announces $100 Million Series C Funding
August 25, 2021
The capital raised will be used to support execution of the company's growth plans as it ramps up multi-continent deployments of its innovative EVx platform, including fulfilling a strong pipeline of customer agreements across markets in the U.S., Middle East, Europe, and Australia. Deployments will begin in the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2021, with a broader global ramp up expected throughout 2022. more

Nuvation Energy Becomes Reseller of EVLO Energy Storage Systems
August 25, 2021
EVLO Energy Storage, Hydro-Québec's energy storage subsidiary, and Nuvation Energy, are teaming up through a reseller agreement for EVLO's energy storage systems. EVLO specializes in grid-scale energy storage systems based on Hydro-Québec's patented lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery chemistry while Nuvation Energy provides battery management systems and energy storage engineering services to battery manufacturers and energy storage system developers. more

Gridmetrics Launches Power Event Notification System (PENS)
August 24, 2021
PENS utilizes a unique dataset to provide near real-time, hyperlocal insights into the availability and quality of power from the electrical grid. By providing an observational view of the state of power in the last mile of the distribution grid, PENS aids in the identification of power vulnerable populations or facilities. more


Also Recently

Reports & Analysis

DOE Releases New Reports Highlighting Record Growth, Declining Costs of Wind Power
August 31, 2021 | U.S. Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy this week (Aug 30) released three reports showing record growth in land-based wind energy, significant expansion of the pipeline for offshore wind projects, and continued decline in the cost of wind energy generation - laying the groundwork for significant future gains as the Biden Administration pursues rapid acceleration of renewable energy deployment to reach its goal of 100% clean electricity by 2035.    more

Sustainability and Environmental Goals Top Customer Priorities in Fleet Electrification Study
August 30, 2021 | NRG Energy and Smart Energy Decisions (SED)
The study interviewed more than 200 organizations regarding their vehicle fleet electrification plans and how decarbonizing transportation supports their sustainable goals. Despite overwhelming interest in adopting all-electric vehicles, more than 50 percent of survey respondents reported some indecision and may plan to switch a small percentage of their fleet within the next five years.    more

SANS Survey Finds Cyber Threats to OT Environments Continue to Rise, Severity Reaches All-Time High
August 27, 2021 | Nozomi Networks
A growing majority of organizations have significantly matured their security postures since the last SANS OT/ICS survey in 2019. In spite of the progress, almost half (48%) don't know whether their organizations had been compromised. The survey echoes Nozomi Networks' own experiences with customers worldwide.    more


Level Up: Electric Vehicle Owners with Permanently Installed Level 2 Chargers Reap Benefits from Their Investment
August 24, 2021 | J.D. Powers
Home charging is a significant part of the electric vehicle ownership experience, with 88% of owners who say they charge their vehicle at home "often" or "always." Overall home charging satisfaction is highest among EV owners who install a Level 2 permanently mounted charging station, with a score of 749 (on a 1,000-point scale), according to the inaugural J.D. Power U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging Study, released this week.    more

U.S. Large-Scale Battery Storage Power Capacity Increased 35% in 2020
August 17, 2021 | U.S. Energy Information Administration
The United States continued a trend of significant growth in large-scale battery capacity, with U.S. battery power capacity reaching 1,650 megawatts by the end of 2020. Capacity grew by 35% in 2020 and has tripled in the last five years, and the EIA expects the trend to continue: utilities have reported plans to install over 10,000 MW of additional large-scale battery power capacity from 2021 through 2023.    more

Climate Change Widespread, Rapid, and Intensifying - IPCC Report
August 9, 2021 | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
The report provides new estimates of the chances of crossing the global warming level of 1.5°C in the next decades, and finds that unless there are immediate, rapid and large-scale reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, limiting warming to close to 1.5°C or even 2°C will be beyond reach. "This report reflects extraordinary efforts under exceptional circumstances," said Hoesung Lee, Chair of the IPCC. "The innovations in this report, and advances in climate science that it reflects, provide an invaluable input into climate negotiations and decision-making."    more

Empowering Smart Cities Toward Net Zero Emissions
August 5, 2021 | International Energy Agency (IEA)
The report builds on extensive consultations with over 125 leading experts and organisations, and presents case studies from 100 cities in 40 countries. The examples illustrate the wide range of opportunities and solutions that can help city-level authorities make full use of efficient and smart energy systems.    more

The 50 States of Grid Modernization Q2 2021: States Explore Market Reforms and Mechanisms to Accelerate Storage and Microgrid Development
July 29, 2021 | North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC)
The report finds that 47 states, as well as the District of Columbia, took actions related to grid modernization during Q2 2021, with the greatest number of actions relating to energy storage deployment (66), utility business model reforms (40), smart grid deployment (39), distribution system planning (33), and energy storage interconnection rules (31).    more

Mercom: Funding into Battery Storage and Smart Grid Up in the First Half of 2021
July 20, 2021 | Mercom Research
Total corporate funding (including venture capital funding, public market, and debt financing) for battery storage, smart grid, and efficiency companies in 1H 2021 was up exponentially year-over-year (YoY) with $10.4 billion compared to $1.5 billion raised in 1H 2020 when the market was affected by COVID-19.    download report