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DOE Selects Pacific Northwest Regional Smart Grid Demonstration Project The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected a Pacific Northwest team including NorthWestern Energy 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.
The Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project was one of 16 announced by DOE today. The team combines energy providers, utilities, vendors and research organizations. Total estimated cost for the project is $178 million. DOE will provide half the funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The project’s participants, primarily utilities and industry partners including NorthWestern Energy, will provide the remaining funds.
NorthWestern Energy is one of two Montana utilities participating in the project. NorthWestern plans to test the operational efficiencies and customer service enhancements that may be gained by the installation of technology to enhance communication between the utility and the meter.
The company plans to test this equipment on two circuits--an urban one in Helena and a rural one in the Georgetown Lake area. NorthWestern’s total project cost is expected to reach up to approximately $4.2 million, of which half will be funded by the grant.
“We’re excited that our project will be moving forward in coordination with the other members of the team,” said Bob Rowe, NorthWestern Energy’s President and CEO. “Participating in this regional effort will allow us to share information and lessons learned to determine how best to move forward with cost-effective deployment of a broad range of smart grid technologies. This is particularly critical from our perspective as one of the most rural investor-owned utilities in the country. The project also complements our focus on enhancing distribution system infrastructure.” Smart grid technology includes everything from interactive appliances in homes to substation automation and sensors on transmission lines. It is a system that uses various technologies to improve power delivery and use through intelligent, two-way communication. Generators of electricity, suppliers and users are all part of the equation. With increased communication and information, smart grid technology enables real-time monitoring of electric energy consumption, exchange of data about supply and demand, and adjustments of power consumption when the grid is under stress to ensure consistent delivery of electricity. DOE will provide half the funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project’s participants, primarily utilities and technology companies, will provide the remaining funds. Several technology companies and vendors also will support the project including: 3TIER Inc., AREVA USA, IBM, Netezza Corp., and a team of QualityLogic, Inc. and the Drummond Group, Inc. 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 test sites range from Fox Island in Washington State’s Puget Sound, to the Teton Mountains in western Wyoming, and includes the campuses at the University of Washington and Washington State University. The project will involve more than 112 megawatts of power, enough to serve 86,000 households. |
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