U.S. to spend $3.9 billion on smart grid
DOE Secretary Steven Chu has announced $3.9 billion in smart grid funding.
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.
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