U.S. to spend $3.9 billion on smart grid

DOE Secretary Steven Chu has announced $3.9 billion in smart grid funding.

By Source: Reuters June 26, 2009

According to a Reuters story .

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced on June 25 $3.9 billion in “smart

grid” funding aimed at making power transmission around the country more

flexible.

Addressing utility executives at an

industry meeting, Chu said the funds would

help create a system to allocate electricity more efficiently, whether through

improved power lines or by allowing batteries in hybrid cars to feed back into

the grid when needed.

“Right now, the way we

distribute energy, it’s like plumbing, it’s down the hill,” he told

reporters at a news conference after his speech to the Edison Electric

Institute conference in San Francisco.

Asked about people objecting to

high-voltage power lines being built near their homes as part of a smart grid,

Chu said he would appeal to U.S.

national interests.

Want to tap

into these funds?

It’s one thing for the federal

government to commit billions of dollars for smart grid technology and

transmission infrastructure. But it’s quite another for the spigot to actually

open with a clear set of criteria for applicants – and that’s where we are

today. The Obama administration recently announced the final details for how to get in line for $3.9 billion in grants for smart

grid technologies and demo projects funded as part of the stimulus package.

The smart grid buildout may be one

of the biggest creators of wealth in the next decade-spawning, as smart grid

analyst Jesse Berst has put it, “new Googles and Microsofts.” These grants

could go a long way to determine which companies come away with the biggest

share.