The Internet Innovation Alliance is a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations that aim to ensure every American, regardless of race, income or geography, has access to the critical tool that is broadband Internet. The IIA seeks to promote public policies that support equal opportunity for universal broadband availability and adoption so that everyone, everywhere can seize the benefits of the Internet - from education to health care, employment to community building, civic engagement and beyond.
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Blog posts tagged with 'Smart Grids'
Thursday, March 04
Jay Ganson, Business Development Manager of Ambient Corporation, discusses his company’s communication platform for interfacing smartgrid technology.
Friday, December 18
Tom Bowles and Phillip Mezey discuss smart grid technology in New Mexico and California at Gridweek.
Wednesday, December 02
Katherine Hamilton, President of the GridWise Alliance, discusses stimulus funding for smart grid technology and regional energy management at Gridweek.
Thursday, November 12
At last month’s Grid Week event, U.S. Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra spoke about broadband and making America’s grid “smart,” the need to encourage private investment to make the change happen, and the Obama administration’s “innovation strategy.”
Wednesday, September 23
Day two of Grid Week brought more heavy hitters, including Undersecretary of Energy Dr. Kristina Johnson, Matthew C. Rogers of the U.S. Department of Energy, and Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra.
Noting that attendance to Grid Week has skyrocketed in recent years, Undersecretary Johnson told attendees that America’s goal of an 83% reduction in emissions will only be attainable through the investment in smart grids, which can serve as an integrator for a mix of carbon and renewable power, and that a single watt of energy saved translates to two less watts that needs to be generated.
Regarding stimulus funding, Rogers of the U.S. Department of Energy talked about how the $4.5 billion earmarked for smart grids is only a down-payment, and that over-subscription for stimulus grants shows that there is a huge interest and need for funding. He also said many projects receiving funding will help demonstrate the real benefits of smart grid technology.
On the business side, Tom Casey, CEO of Current Group — which is focusing on grid infrastructure development — talked about how 85% of the benefits from applying smart grids comes from actually applying the grids themselves. And Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck spoke to the challenge of getting customers involved in energy management. Part of surmounting that challenge, he said, is to find ways to make the implementation and adoption of smart grid technologies non-disruptive. He also noted that in the future people will buy appliances that naturally communicate with the grid, and that using smart grid technology to give users more information about their usage can help spur adoption of smarter, and more environmentally friendly, technology.
That last idea was echoed by Andrew Roeher of Capgemini, who stated that “green” doesn’t just happen. Green is a choice, and that the benefits of smart grids can help users make that choice.
Stay tuned for more from Grid Week throughout the week.
Dr. Christina Johnson of the U.S. Department of Energy Industry
Tuesday, September 22
This week, various experts and organizations are meeting in Washington D.C. for Grid Week in order to discuss the present and future of smart electric grids.
Among yesterday’s speakers was Secretary of Energy Stephen Chu, who spoke to the effects of the Recovery Act on clean energy. Calling the Act a “downpayment” on a clean energy economy, Chu nonetheless warned that although the Recovery Act will double America’s non-hydroelectric renewable energy, we are still falling behind in the green energy race. Chu also emphasized that America can’t wait for price signals to change consumer behavior when it comes to consuming electricty, and that the government needs to make it easier for consumers to use less.
Also speaking was Bjorn Stigson of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, who noted that within 40 years at least 70% of the world’s population will live in cities. Because of this, world governments must build energy and communications infrastructure that can meet the demands of an increasingly dense and urban population.
Included in yesterday’s proceedings was a “Smart Grid Bootcamp,” which laid out just what makes smart grids smart. And that begins with using broadband. Between energy sources and distribution points, there must be a communication core that controls, protects, and monitors the systems. This communication also reaches to devices such as smart meters, which will better connect homes to energy providers and allow households to monitor peak consumption times and adjust consumption based on the current rates of utility companies.
We’ll have more from Grid Week as it continues.
Wednesday, July 29
First up, a scare from the Guardian, which reports that the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) is worried that terrorists may use the Internet to launch nuclear attacks from armed countries:
While the possibility of a radical group gaining access to actual launch systems is remote, the study suggests that hackers could focus on feeding in false information further down the chain – or spreading fake information to officials in a carefully orchestrated strike.
“Despite claims that nuclear launch orders can only come from the highest authorities, numerous examples point towards an ability to sidestep the chain of command and insert orders at lower levels,” said Jason Fritz, the author of the paper. “Cyber-terrorists could also provoke a nuclear launch by spoofing early warning and identification systems or by degrading communications networks.”
Next, an article from the Washington Post on how electric utilities looking for a piece of the $3.9 billion “smart grid” stimulus will need to prove that they’re working to prevent cyberattacks:
The requirements from the Energy Department come amid mounting concern from security experts that many existing smart-grid efforts do not have sufficient built-in protections against computer hacking, such as new “smart meters” that put information about consumers’ power use onto the Internet, grid-management software and other equipment.
And finally, Ars Technica warns that the current use of security certificate warnings—those boxes that pop up occasionally on sites that claim to be secure for shopping and other transactions—are falling on deaf ears:
Internet users have grown immune to security certificate warnings and are more than happy to click past them, according to a new report out of Carnegie Mellon University. Researchers found that users won’t hesitate to engage in this risky browsing behavior, especially since most warnings are for benign things like expired certificates. This behavior leaves them vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks, and the report calls for a reform in how warnings are handled in both safe and dangerous situations.
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