By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Wind energy officials, manufacturers and providers have gathered in the Windy City this week for WINDPOWER 2009, a conference expected to draw some 18,000 people.
Kicking it off on Tuesday, four governors from the Midwest along with the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission appeared at a news conference.
The presence of so much executive clout demonstrated just how important wind has become, rising from a small player on the energy scene merely a few years ago to becoming a leader in the movement for low-carbon, job-creating clean energy solutions.
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National Grid plans a smart grid pilot in Worcester, Mass.
From Green Right Now Reports
National Grid has announced it will file a plan today with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to build and operate a smart grid pilot in Worcester, Mass. The company said the pilot will involve about 15,000 customers and is believed to be the largest and most comprehensive in New England.
National Grid said the two-year pilot is the first step toward creating a more efficient, environmentally responsible modern grid. The project would provide customers with “improved energy use information, automation, and savings as well as an unprecedented amount of choice and control over how they use energy.” Another expected benefit of smart grid technology is better reliability of electric system.
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Tags: · Massachusetts, Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray, National Grid, smart grid, Worcester
Energy conference: no time to wait on smart grid
By John DeFore
Green Right Now
A high-powered conference on the future of energy in America was held Monday in Washington; while it produced some consensus about the foundation necessary to meet future needs, it suggested there might be conflicts ahead in getting there.
Attendees, who ranged from former president Bill Clinton to officials at state utilities, heard plenty about the necessity of a new “smart grid” capable of shuttling electricity cross-country from renewable sources like wind and solar farms to the high-density cities that need the juice.
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Tags: · Al Gore, Bill Clinton, Electricity, Harry Reid, National Clean Energy Project, smart grid, Steven Chu, T.Boone Pickens
She checks her energy usage to see exactly what her bill is, what specific appliances are consuming, whether her usage is occurring during peak times, and also gauge her costs compared with other similar-sized homes.