February 3
Itron, Sense Partner on Distributed Intelligence
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Residential energy management firm Sense joined Itron as a partner for that company’s distributed intelligence offerings. According to Sense’s website, the company’s intelligent energy tracking solution is a “fitness tracker for the home” capable of detecting devices in the home based on their electrical signatures and connecting other smart home devices for control and automation.
For years now, rural electric co-ops have embraced electric vehicle trends through managed charging programs. Just last year, the NRECA recommended that cooperatives partner with their respective Departments of Transportation to coordinate on the vast EV charging networks that any infrastructure will need to support widespread EV adoption.
A new white paper published this week by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC) provides detailed information on how to engage each of SECC’s five consumer segments and highlights programs and services from electricity providers across the United States, including Xcel Energy, Con Edison, CPS Energy and Santee Cooper, that are likely to resonate with each segment.
The City of Chicago announces two major agreements with ComEd this week, committing them to an energy and equity agreement and a new franchise agreement that supports more equitable clean energy access, workforce development, clean transportation options and more. ComEd shareholder funds, not customers, will pay for the creation and support of a new nonprofit entity known as the Clean Energy & Equity Collaborative.
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Industry News
Texans can sign up to use solar-powered batteries and other energy devices to make money in the state’s power markets, under a pathbreaking new grid program. So-called virtual power plants (VPPs) perform grid roles previously reserved for large-scale power plants, but they do it by aggregating hundreds or thousands of buildings with controllable energy equipment.
Orange & Rockland Utilities (O&R) is working with solar energy provider Sunrun on a pilot program to deploy 300 rooftop solar and battery backup systems to customers in the town of Warwick, New York. Customers participating in the pilot program will host a Brightbox system, which consists of solar panels and battery backup.
ChargePoint Holdings and Stem announced this week that they’ll accelerate EV charging and battery storage for highway corridor fast-charging networks. By combining EV charging with battery storage and AI-driven energy management, operators of EV sites can benefit from lower operating costs and added energy resiliency, the companies said.
Years of analysis have made it clear that replacing most of the coal plants in the U.S. with a mix of solar panels, wind turbines and lithium-ion batteries can save billions of dollars and prevent air pollution while fighting climate change. Now, with Inflation Reduction Act tax credits and federal financing on the table, the coal-to-clean transition is not just more cost-effective than ever before — it can also be accomplished by building clean energy close to retiring coal plants.
