Obama putting $3.4B toward a 'smart' power grid

[October 27, 2009]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is giving a jolt to the futuristic "smart" electric grid, hoping to more quickly bring America's power transmission system into the digital age.

President Barack Obama, during a visit to a solar energy facility in Arcadia, Fla., is announcing Tuesday that he is making available $3.4 billion in government support for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the power grid. The projects include installing "smart" electric meters in homes, automating utility substations, and installing thousands of new digital transformers and grid sensors.

White House officials provided details of the initiative prior to the president's scheduled visit to Florida Power & Light Co.'s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the largest photovoltaic electricity facility in the country.

Officials have argued that a more modern grid is needed to give consumers better control over their electricity usage and costs, and to spur development of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

The $3.4 billion in grants from the government's economic stimulus program will be matched by $4.7 billion in private investments, the officials said. The smallest grant will be $400,000 and the largest $200 million.

"We have a very antiquated (electric grid) system in our country," said Carol Browner, assistant to the president for energy and climate change. "The current system is outdated, it's dilapidated."

Browner said the federal funding will spur the needed modernization of the grid and set the stage for the smooth introduction of large amounts of electricity from wind or solar sources into the transmission system.

Matt Rogers, the Energy Department official involved in the program, said the 100 projects were selected from 400 proposed. The money would be distributed over the next two months and the work is expected to be done over the next one to three years, he said.

The push to essentially bring modern computer and communications technology to the electric grid has been under way for some time but has gained momentum with the prospect of billions of dollars in federal support.

Rogers said the government funds will allow installation of 18 million smart meters and 1 million other in-home devices as well as more modern thermostats to allow homeowners to better monitor their electricity usage. The government and industry want to deploy 40 million smart meters -- wall-based units that can monitor how much electricity various appliances use and turn them off when energy is costlier to consume -- within the next several years.

Other projects funded under the program will result in the installation of 850 sensors to allow utilities to better monitor the grid; the installation of 200,000 digital transformers to reduce the risk of power outages; and the automation of 700 grid substations.

"This will save or create tens of thousands of jobs," said Jared Bernstein, chief economist and economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden. He said the jobs will include equipment installers and electrical engineers as well as communications systems analysts and data entry clerks.

A $200 million grant will go to Energy Smart Florida, a program involving Florida Power & Light that plans to install 2.6 million smart meters in homes and advanced monitoring systems in the grid substations, said Browner.

"The impact of this will be felt throughout Florida," she said.

[Associated Press; By H. JOSEF HEBERT]

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