The Gridwise Alliance, a nonprofit coalition of stakeholders developing the Smart Grid, signed a memorandum of understanding today with the International Engineering Consortium to team up and make utilities more intelligent.
Presumably, the Alliance will help to integrate intelligent utilities curriculum into the IEC's programs. The IEC is an educational NPO that connects the private sector with the university system to ensure up to date curricula and provides continuing education courses for professionals. The IEC has also agreed to work with the Grid ComForum Smart Grid conference coming up Feb. 2 and 3, 2010 in Santa Clara, Calif.
The Gridwise Alliance is made up of IT companies, equipment vendors, utilities and technology startups. Aside from a handful of academics, almost every member stands to turn a profit if the Smart Grid is widely adopted. This is not to say that its goal is somehow less noble. It's worth noting, though, that some of the loudest voices in favor of revamping the grid could also profit big time.
The memorandum of understanding represents greater integration between intelligent utilities and education than we've seen before. Considering the recent launch of the NASDAQ's Smart Grid index and accompanying fund, its clear the Smart Grid is developing into an industry of its own.
The ComForum Smart Grid conference will include discussions of policy and regulation, presented by the GridWise Alliance. This was a hot topic at GreenBeat 2009 last week, too. Without carefully planned regulation and incentives packages, it could take decades longer to overhaul the power infrastructure in the U.S.
Look for the both the IEC and GridWise Alliance to become more vocal on these issues in coming months. Since the U.S. Department of Energy dumped $3.4 billion on utilities looking to roll out smart meters and implement other initiatives, more partnerships like this one are sure to surface.