September 24
SnoPUD Upgrades Meter Data Management System
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
In the state of Washington, Snohomish County Public Utility District (Snohomish PUD) has selected consulting firm TRC Companies to implement a meter data management system as part of the utility’s AMI program. TRC Companies will implement, integrate and deliver the meter data management (MDM) on the Siemens EnergyIP platform for automation of smart meter data management business processes. The project is part of SnoPUD’s Connect UP program, which is designed to prepare the utility for an AMI deployment between 2023 and 2024.
Earlier this month, Bidgely announced the closing of a $26M round of financing to bolster its utility electrification and decarbonization work that it is conducting around the world. The funders include lead Moore Strategic Ventures, along with Accurant International, an investment venture of Bahman Hoveida, co-founder and ex-CEO of Open Systems International. The oversubscribed round also included existing investors Future Energy Ventures, Georgian and Constellation Technology Ventures.
LED bulbs have been an important demand-side management (DSM) savings measure that have played a big role in helping customers save energy. Over the course of the past 15 years, their popularity has steadily increased, and a greater proportion of today’s utility customers are now independently choosing to purchase LED bulbs over traditional bulbs.
As part of its second annual clean energy filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC), Dominion Energy Virginia proposed more than 1,000 MW of new solar and energy storage projects for the state — the largest clean energy expansion from Dominion to date. “Every day, the clean energy economy is becoming more of a reality in Virginia,” said Ed Baine, President of Dominion Energy Virginia.
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Industry News
Energy utilities are shifting more attention to reducing carbon emissions by embracing clean-energy technologies as societal pressures mount to move away from fossil fuels. Unfortunately, the utility industry has maintained a longstanding behind-the-scenes communications mindset to implement their clean energy strategies. This is turning into a missed opportunity to garner customer support, which will be critical in securing the resources needed to meet sustainability objectives over the long run.
New York will increase the goal for its NY-Sun distributed solar program to aim for 10 GW of installed solar capacity by 2030, according to an announcement by Governor Kathy Hochul. The program was already on track to exceed its original goal of 6 GW by 2025. The NY-Sun program has so far supported more than 114,000 projects, which complement 73 utility-scale projects currently underway throughout the state, according to the announcement.
Ford Motor Co. is investing $50 million in an upstart EV battery recycling company as the automaker moves to shore up its U.S. battery supply chain. The Michigan automaker will invest in Redwood Materials, a Nevada-based company founded by a former Tesla executive. Ford says in a statement that Redwood can recover 95 percent of precious metals in EV batteries such as nickel, cobalt, lithium and copper, all of which could run short as the world shifts from internal combustion to EVs.
Clean transportation advocates are declaring measured support for Massachusetts electric utilities’ proposals to spend $470 million on programs to help the state reach its ambitious goals for electrifying transportation over the next decade. “These proposals will go a long way toward building out the necessary charging infrastructure to meet our targets,” said Sarah Krame, an Associate Attorney with the Sierra Club. “We are largely very supportive.”
