US to spend US$3.9bn on smart grids
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has pegged the figure US$3.9 billion as the government’s budget for funding smart grid developments in the country, including US$90 million for the state of California for energy efficiency measures.
According to this report in Reuters, Chu told reporters on the sidelines of an Edison Electric Institute conference in San Francisco that the government aims to stimulate measures that would bring increased energy efficiency in the country, including smart grids, hybrid vehicles and improved energy distribution.
According to a Department of Energy’s call for proposals, US$3.3 billion of the funds will go to immediate deployments of smart grids. Another US$615 million will go to projects demonstrating new and emerging technologies in the area.
The EE Times story says that the grants of up to US$200 million will be awarded to product deployments and up to US$100 million will be allocated for next generation demonstration projects.
“These investments will be used to develop a smart, strong and secure electrical grid that will help integrate renewable resources onto the grid, deliver power more reliably and effectively with less environmental impact, and create new jobs across the country,” Chu said. “By investing in updating the grid now, we will lower utility bills for American families and businesses, lessen our dependence on oil, and help advance a clean energy future for the nation.”
Related posts:
- Challenges for 'smart grids', or just plain grids?
- Get smart and spend with IBM financing
- Upcoming IEEE conferences on smart grids
- Comment: odds stacked against WiMAX bet for smart grids
- The smart grid challenge: industry standards
Category: Applications, Green ICT, Smart grids
Follow us...
If you enjoyed this article, connect with us to receive more just like it.
