GLOBAL CLIMATE DEBATE

DOE Awards $620M for Smart Grid Projects

The Energy Department is pushing a national interactive smart grid closer to reality, awarding $620 million for demonstration projects for 32 projects across 21 states.

Speaking in Columbus, Ohio, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the projects would help build a more efficient, more resilient electric grid and would help incorporate more renewables into the power supply.

Interactive grids have been in the works for years, but this is the largest total funding yet awarded by DOE. Of the $620 million, $435 million will go to 16 projects to improve real-time communication. They will develop sensing and control devices to monitor electricity flows and help avoid outages.

Some projects will develop smart meters and other in-home systems that let consumers see real-time power prices and reduce their energy bills. About $185 million will go to projects to develop large-scale energy storage, including battery systems, flywheels, and compressed air energy systems.

The awards come from DOE's $36.7 billion share of the  stimulus program. The projects include private sector investment of some $1 billion in addition to the federal funds.

The Electric Power Research Institute says a smart grid could reduce electricity use by more than 4 percent by 2030. That would save Americans $20.4 billion in electricity costs annually.