Fed money backs project on power distribution
Starting next spring, up to 60,000 utility customers in five Pacific Northwest states will have the chance to help regional utilities test smart grid technology — also called the Internet for the electric power grid.
The U.S. Department of Energy on Tuesday announced that the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project will receive $88.8 million to test new ways of measuring and managing electrical power distribution in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
The project, led by Battelle Northwest, also includes the Bonneville Power Administration and 12 electric utilities, as well as industry partners such as IBM and 3TIER Inc. It was one of 32 demonstration projects nationwide to be selected for a total of $620 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants. Ohio-based Battelle runs the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland for the DOE.
The project’s partners will match the DOE grant to create a $178 million project that Battelle expects will bring 1,500 more jobs to the region in manufacturing, installation and operation of smart grid equipment, telecommunications networks, software and controls.
“Regional demonstrations like ours will help spur a vibrant new smart-grid industry and a more cost-effective, reliable and diverse electricity supply,” said Mike Davis, vice president at Battelle and associate laboratory director for energy and environment at PNNL, in a statement.
BPA, which supplies 60 percent of Clark Public Utilities’ electricity, will contribute $10 million to the demonstration and will help manage the data that participating utilities collect for the two to three years after the project is up and running in 2010, said Katie Pruder-Scruggs, a BPA spokeswoman.
Each utility will test new devices, software and advanced analytical tools designed to lower energy costs, reduce emissions and increase reliability and customer flexibility. The demonstration will help determine energy and cost savings that could come with widespread adoption of smart-grid technologies. In all, the project will test new systems at 15 different sites including Washington State University in Pullman.
“It will help set a national model for smart-grid technologies and that will benefit the entire region,” Pruder-Scruggs said.
Though Clark Public Utilities isn’t involved in the project, Southwest Washington has a vested interest in growing the smart-grid industry, said Bart Phillips, president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council in Vancouver. Many local manufacturing and service companies, including Sharp Laboratories of America and Underwriters Laboratories in Camas, are developing smart-grid products and services.
“It’s good news for Clark County,” said Phillips.
The region and the state have recently focused on the clean-technology sector as part of their economic development strategy, Phillips said.
“This funding validates our region’s leadership in this promising growth area of clean energy,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in a statement. “And Washington state will be at the forefront of empowering homeowners and businesses to reduce electricity costs and create high-paying, long-term jobs.”
