DOE selects PGE as utility partner in smart grid demonstration project

The US Department of Energy has selected a Pacific Northwest team including Portland General Electric to conduct a regional smart grid demonstration project designed to expand upon existing electric infrastructure and test new smart grid technology with up to 60,000 customers in five states. Total estimated cost for the project is $178 million.

The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project was one of 16 announced by the US Department of Energy (DOE). The team includes energy providers, utilities, vendors and research organizations.

The DOE will provide half the funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project's participants, primarily utilities and industry team members including Portland General Electric (PGE), will provide the remaining funds.

The Northwest study will involve more than 60,000 metered customers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. Using smart grid technologies, the study will test new combinations of devices, software and advanced analytical tools that enhance the power grid's reliability and performance.

As part of the study, PGE will develop a demonstration project in Salem serving residential and business customers to document how smart grid technologies can help maintain and improve the electrical system's reliability when integrating variable renewable power resources with battery storage, peaking distributed generation and customer-sited equipment that can kick in to manage peak demand periods during winter and summer.

PGE's partners on the Oregon project include Eaton Corporation, EnerDel and Utility Integration Solutions. At its peak, the regional project could create about 1,500 jobs in manufacturing, installation and operating smart grid equipment, telecommunications networks, software and controls in the five states.

The project team will install equipment and technology in 2010 and 2011. Then, for the next two to three years, project leaders will gather data on smart grid performance from 15 test sites that represent the region's diverse terrain, weather and demographics. The project will involve more than 112MW of power, enough to serve 86,000 households.

http://www.datamonitor.com
Republication or redistribution, including by framing or similar means,
is expressly prohibited without prior written consent. Datamonitor shall 
not be liable for errors or delays in the content, or for any actions 
taken in reliance thereon

Related terms: business, department of energy, energy, idaho, manufacturing, montana, oregon, research, residential, software, technology, telecommunications, utilities, washington, weather, wyoming