PG&E lawsuit spreads down Smart Grid supply chain
Last week, we reported on the lawsuit being filed against Pacific Gas & Electric for price hikes seemingly caused by installation of smart meters in the Bakersfield area of California. Now the plaintiff’s attorneys say that PG&E’s suppliers should also be sued — a who’s who of Smart Grid companies including General Electric, meter maker Landis+Gyr and communications provider Silver Spring Networks.
The original plaintiff, Bakersfield resident Pete Flores, filed the suit after his electric bill… Continue Reading
Silver Spring finds home on the range with OG&E
Silver Spring Networks, increasingly the provider of IP-based smart metering systems to watch, has gotten another big break, expanding its partnership with both Oklahoma Gas & Electric (OG&E) and General Electric Energy to help deploy the utility’s ambitious Positive Energy Smart Grid Program, one of the first of its kind in the region.
OG&E, which plans to roll out the technology to 42,000 homes and businesses in Norman, Okla., says its program will improve the reliability of… Continue Reading
Siemens closer to wind dominance with $900M in turbine contracts
Engineering giant Siemens has made its presence felt in the wind business, winning six contracts to build 565-megawatts worth of wind turbines, valued at more than $900 million. About 250 of the turbines will be installed in Ontario Canada, with the other 750 (enough to power 170,000 homes) destined for wind farms in California, Oklahoma, Washington and Wyoming (for a project owned and operated by Duke Energy).
Having first entered the wind market five years ago,… Continue Reading
Green investing bounces back from recession
Venture Capital investment in green technology companies has jumped to tie pre-recessionary levels, according to a new report out of Greentech Media. With $1.9 billion spread over 112 deals, this year’s third quarter trounced figures from earlier this year, signaling a stronger than anticipated comeback for the sector, which took a beating during the economic downturn last fall.
To put the recent numbers in context: the second quarter this year saw $1.2 billion distributed across 85… Continue Reading
Siemens, Silver Spring announce Smart Grid interoperability
Interoperability is the elephant in the room that is the Smart Grid industry. As large companies, startups and utilities alike strive to create a cleaner, more efficient electrical grid — deploying new technologies wherever they can — it is becoming increasingly important for their devices and networks to be able to communicate and work together. Toward that end, leading smart meter and wireless networking provider Silver Spring Networks announced that its equipment can now integrate… Continue Reading
Silver Spring Networks gobbles up Greenbox to become Smart Grid powerhouse
Silver Spring Networks, a startup that provides IP-based networks and advanced wireless meters to utilities and their customers, just announced that it is acquiring Greenbox Technology, a maker of monitor displays that show homeowners how much energy they are using and how much it is costing them. This extends Silver Spring’s lead over the competition as it eyes an increasingly likely IPO.
In addition to generous funding, Silver Spring also enjoys high-profile utility partnerships with Pepco,… Continue Reading
German utility Yello Strom steals the smart grid spotlight — at least for today
The net is abuzz today with talk of Yello Strom, the German utility that reportedly takes smart grid technology and web integration to the max with its new Sparzahler meter — rivaling U.S. utilities that are just beginning to adopt green initiatives. But, on closer inspection, it’s simply the first to integrate a lot of features that debuted in the U.S.
For example, one of the Sparzahler’s celebrated features is that it’s the first European smart meter… Continue Reading
Cisco joins the race for a leaner, cheaper smart grid
Cisco Systems threw its hat into the increasingly crowded smart grid ring today, laying out a more defined strategy and projecting that this market could soon be worth up to $20 billion a year. The core of its plan is twofold: to partner with utilities to lower costs at every stage of the energy distribution process and to upgrade grid infrastructure to reduce outages and improve security.
To accomplish these goals, the networking giant will create… Continue Reading
Silver Spring takes smart grid networks down under
To meet their government’s mandated transition to the smart grid, Australian utilities Jemena Electricity Networks Limited and United Energy Distribution (UED) have chosen Redwood City, Calif.-based Silver Spring Networks to implement IP-based smart metering systems for more than 1 million buildings in the state of Victoria (see map below).
The ultimate goal is to bring the wireless meters installed in these homes and businesses online starting on Sept. 1 of this year — and to fully… Continue Reading
Silver Spring pumps another $15M into smart grid tech
Silver Spring Networks, a company that wirelessly connects residential smart meters with utilities, has added another $15 million to its now $90 million fourth round of funding, reports VentureWire. Open since October, the round will help the company expand and bring more utilities into its fold.
Silver Spring, which competes with other smart grid meter companies like GridPoint, Ambient and SmartSynch, says it has about 500,000 homes in its network. These homes are outfitted with meters… Continue Reading
GridPoint lands more funds for smarter utility use
GridPoint, one of the largest companies in the emerging smartgrid sector, announced that it has brought in an undisclosed sum from Craton Equity Partners. Already working with several investor-owned utilities like Duke Energy Corp. and Xcel Energy, GridPoint says its system automatically manages energy loads and storage, integrates renewable sources and can be used to power electric vehicles more efficiently.
That last function is of particular importance to GridPoint, which acquired V2Green, a company that makes… Continue Reading
Roundup: Feds offering short-term loans, presidential debates live online, Silver Spring gets a big raise, and more
Feds now providing short-term debt — The Federal Reserve will provide money for companies to finance their day-to-day activities, in the government’s latest effort to staunch bleeding in the credit markets.
Live presidential debates hit the web — Hulu will stream tonight’s presidential debate live, something of a breakthrough for Internet TV.
Smart grid co. Silver Spring Networks raises $75M — Rapidly growing energy efficiency startup Silver Spring Networks, which makes communications equipment that connects utilities to electricity consumers, has… Continue Reading
Smart grid adoption could turn out to be slower than expected
Following a spate of hefty financings this year, culminating last week with Trilliant’s $40 million funding, it looks a bit like smart grid startups — companies that give the meters on homes and businesses the ability to communicate with utilities and other devices — are poised to take off. But for many of these firms, growth may be less of a rocket ride than a long, slow trudge uphill.
The smart grid, also called advanced metering… Continue Reading
On the anniversary of our biggest blackout ever, are we on the road to another?
When I was a kid in rural Virginia, losing electricity was a yearly event around Christmas. Situated on the outskirts of a large utility’s territory, my family was among the last to have its power restored when, inevitably, a big winter storm knocked trees onto lines around the county. So for a day or two, or even a week, the daily entree was grilled cheese from the fireplace, and we all went to bed early.
Was… Continue Reading
DOE and X Prize pledge $150M in new clean technology grants
The U.S. DOE will invest up to $50 million in nine electric grid efficiency demonstration projects over the next 5 years, an an effort to reduce peak load demand in ways that could prevent the need for more power plants.
These so-called Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration (RDSI) technologies have become a key focus for the federal and local governments, which hope to reduce peak load electricity demand by at least 15% at distribution points.
Though it… Continue Reading
Silver Spring Networks, smart-grid power company, raises $39M
Silver Spring Networks, the San Mateo, Calif. company that offers wireless utility metering technology, has raised $39.9 million in a third round of funding, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing cited by VentureWire (sub required).
It is just the latest funding in a sector that has become hot lately, as utilities invest more in making their grids more intelligent and efficient, and as Silicon Valley investors such as Foundation seek to bring Internet technologies… Continue Reading
Silver Spring, wireless metering co. for utilities, raises $10.5M
Silver Spring Networks, a San Mateo, Calif. company that allows utilities to use wireless technologies to meter power and other usage, has raised $10.5 million in debt and warrants, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission cited by VentureWire.
By allowing for remote, off-site metering, the company’s software helps utilities save costs by reducing the need for field service. The company recently signed a customer deal with the Florida Power and Light Co.
According… Continue Reading