While the California legislature has been working over time to approve solar power plants in time to meet a statewide renewable energy goal, its utility companies are faced with a slightly different task: How do we incorporate all of that renewable energy it our electric grid?

The Arizona Public Service (APS), the largest utility company in the state, is testing a new piece of smart grid technology on two of its electricity distribution lines in Flagstaff, Arizona that could slash the time it takes to recognize and repair power outages.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) faced many doubts and complaints as they rolled out their smart meter program, but an independent study released last week confirmed that the meters are technologically sound. This announcement releases a lot of tension for the utility– the smart meter program had incurred customer protests, bureaucratic red tape, and [...]

Smart grid is one of many solutions to fight climate change. The Demand Response Smart Grid (DRSG) Coalition and the Smart Grid Green Initiative was the first smart grid non-governmental organization to participate in a meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) on climate change.

Tendril Networks has partnered with a yet-to-be announced company to launch a video game in which conserving energy is the key to winning. This video game is just one innovate way in which to engage the consumer and, hopefully, alter consumption patterns through a unique education and awareness campaign.

California enacts SB-17, becoming the nation’s first state to sign smart grid legislation into law.

The Obama administration today announced 100 utility projects that will collectively receive $3.4 billion in federal stimulus money to promote the development and deployment of advanced electricity grid technologies. The Department of Energy said that the grants, ranging from $400,00 to $200 million in size, will spawn the installation of nearly 20 million advanced digital [...]

The Platts Smart Grid Policy and Implementation Forum kicked off this morning with a keynote address from Dr. Alicia Jackson. With general bipartisan support for smart grid on the Federal level, Dr. Jackson advises that we must be conscious to make sure direct investments now to fully optimize the grid of the future.

Platts’s Smart Grid Policy & Implementation Forum conference is this coming Monday and Tuesday in Washington, DC. GetSolar will see you there!

Microsoft has announce a new program, the Smart Energy Reference Architecture, that hopes to create an integrated utility for the smart grid industry.