NEMA Currents Blog

Electric Car Roundup

It’s been an exciting couple of weeks for news about electric cars. Of course, as a news junkie, I might have a skewed sense of what counts as exciting. Below are some of my favorites. An interesting way to get the Christmas tree home : A man in the U.K. towed a 50-foot Christmas tree home using...

Published Wed, Dec 12 2009 9:07 PM by goodwina

Filed under: Smart Grid, PHEVs

Hope for Faster Permitting in Siting Transmission Corridors

The federal government took steps recently to speed up the approval process for electricity transmission lines. Or at least, to speed up the permitting on federal lands. An agreement between the White House and eight federal agencies puts one agency in charge of the cumbersome process of approving transmission...

Published Tue, Nov 11 2009 1:00 PM by Stephen Gold

Filed under: Smart Grid

Spreading Smart Grid Across North America

As evidence of NEMA's continued influence in international markets, the Commerce Department announced this week that our organization received one of five new Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP) awards for 2010-2013. This is NEMA's second MDCP award from Commerce -- the first, which...

Published Thu, Oct 10 2009 8:53 AM by Stephen Gold

Filed under: Smart Grid, Trade

Smart Grid Potpourri

This month’s Economist includes an article that goes over some of the developments in the smart grid arena internationally, including efforts to reduce peak demand and integrate renewables into the transmission network. The article describes a California utility’s (PG&E) program to install...

Published Fri, Oct 10 2009 4:30 PM by Brian Lego

Filed under: Smart Grid, Economics

Where in the World is Smart Metering?

Headlines involving smart metering seem to have been multiplying in the last few months, including projects that involve NEMA members (recent press releases here , here , and here ). To see an interesting visual representation of metering initiatives on a global scale, check out this Google map: http...

Published Fri, Sep 09 2009 11:08 AM by Andrea Goodwin

Filed under: Smart Grid, meters

Going BANANAs

The energy industry in this country has long struggled to find suitable locations for plants and resource development. That's because for decades they've faced NIMBY -- community activists who put up roadblocks to ensure such efforts were "Not In My Back Yard." But the politics of the...

Published Tue, Jul 07 2009 3:15 PM by Stephen Gold

Filed under: Smart Grid, transmission corridors

PEV's Are Coming But . . . Lots of Questions to Answer

Everyday I read something new and interesting about some form of electric vehicle. Hybrid electric, Plug in hybrid electric, Plug In electric, etc. While they're all using different technologies, the one thing they all seem to have in common is that they are still pretty much in the prototype stage...

Published Fri, Jul 07 2009 4:54 PM by Alvin Scolnik

Filed under: Energy Efficiency, Smart Grid, Electric Vehicle

Where Do You Plug-in Your Electric Vehicle?

Plug-in vehicles, either hybrid or all electrical, are just around the corner. The big question is how are they going to be recharged? The answer depends a lot on who you are asking. In the US the most significant effort is made by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE International). A number of...

Published Mon, Jul 07 2009 3:50 PM by Moldoveanu, Andrei

Filed under: Smart Grid, PHEVs, Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles, Standardization, Energy Storage

Time to Relax

Since I am in long-weekend mode already, and don't want to interrupt the reverie by pointing out that firm signs of economic recovery remain elusive, I thought I'd direct readers to some interesting takes on two important policy issues: cap-and-trade and health care. On the health care debate...

Published Thu, Jul 07 2009 1:07 PM by Brian Lego

Filed under: Smart Grid, Electrical Grid, Economics, Health Care

Low Hanging Sustainability Fruit: Energy Efficiency

Energy consumption is by far the low hanging fruit on the sustainability tree. Since, according to Energy Information Administration, a whopping 65% of the energy produced by mostly non-renewable sources is lost in conversion processes, it stands to reason to look closer at these conversions and develop...

Published Thu, Jun 06 2009 11:53 AM by Moldoveanu, Andrei

Filed under: Energy Efficiency, Smart Grid, Energy Storage, High Performance Buildings

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