May 19, 2011
Smart Grid Trends That "Most" Agree On: A Perspective Courtesy of Erich Gunther
By Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC
The “smart grid” is so widely defined that most will not venture into a definition publicly. It can mean different things to different individuals or companies. I recently had the good fortune to attend the Smart Grid RoadShow, an event focused exclusively on Grid Transformation and Smart Grid initiatives in Chattanooga, TN. On the first evening of the event an invitation-only dinner occurs with utility and energy luminaries called EnVision 2030. Speaking to the dinner guests was Erich Gunther, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of EnerNex. Mr. Gunther also is the founder of Smart Grid Labs, chairman of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) GridWise Architecture Council, among many other roles working with EPRI, IEEE, to mention a few. Recognizing the many different paths that the smart grid is taking, Mr. Gunther revealed to the audience that in his multiple roles with various organizations there is some commonality. The need to define a vision of where the smart grid is going in the next 10, 20, 30 years is something that all the various organizations are striving for.
November 16, 2010
FERC and the Electric Car: An Interview with Jon Wellinghoff
By Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC
Recently I attended the Smart Grid RoadShow in Portland, Oregon and got a few minutes of Jon Wellinghoff’s time for a brief interview. Named as Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) by President Barack Obama in March 2009, Wellinghoff was in Portland to give the keynote address at the Smart Grid RoadShow, an event focused exclusively on Grid Transformation and Smart Grid initiatives. The event’s focus and FERC’s priorities seemed to align very well as FERC has stated its top initiatives to be the Smart Grid, Demand Response, and Integration of Renewables.
May 4, 2010
Would You, or Could You, Use 3,200 Different Internets? An Interview with Mike Davis, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
By Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC
Many have compared the smart grid to the Internet, claiming that what we are doing is building an “energy Internet” of sorts. With that in mind, some also claim that we are building this “energy Internet” differently by service territory, which makes it difficult if not impossible to optimize asset performance on a holistic scale. If that is the case, then why don’t we take a step back and look at this on a country or even continent basis as opposed to city, state, regional basis?
April 28, 2010
Can China Leapfrog the US When Implementing a Smart Grid? An Interview with Don McConnell, Battelle Energy Technology
By Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC
The smart grid has gone global. It may mean different things to different stakeholders and may also vary based on geography. Cultural differences across the globe will impact how consumers adopt what we as practitioners are calling the “smart grid.”
April 22, 2010
Is A European Smart Grid More Innovative Than The U.S.? An Interview With Ray Gogel, CURRENT Group, LLC
By Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC
The smart grid has gone global. It may mean different things to different stakeholders and may also vary based on geography. While North America appears fixated on getting into the consumer’s home, Europe appears to have started focusing on the distribution technologies, while Asia is learning from other geographies on where to put its priorities. Alexander Graham Bell would not recognize what we have done to the telecommunications industry he helped father while Thomas Edison would totally recognize the electric industry of today. Interestingly enough, the new smart grid world may involve the convergence of these two industries leveraging an information technology industry that did not exist when they were born.
April 16, 2010
Advertise or Educate? A Smart Grid Interview With Charles Dickerson, PEPCO Holdings, Inc.
By Jon T. Brock, President, Desert Sky Group, LLC
The smart grid is becoming an implementation reality. Last week the U.S. Department of Energy announced $100 million towards workforce education for the implementation and operating of what electric utilities call the “smart grid.” That money is for the workforce per se and not the end consumer. Recent issues involving consumers highlight the need for educating the end consumer on what this “smart grid” is and what it will do for them.
