Obama Announces $3.4B In Smart Grid Technology
October 27, 2009 by iCeL Team · 4 Comments
President Obama toured the DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center this past week in Arcadia, Florida. With the nation’s largest photovoltaic array as his backdrop, Obama announced the US government’s massive investment into Smart Grid infrastructure under the Recovery Act. “We are making the largest-ever investment in a smarter, stronger, and more secure electric grid. This investment will come in the form of 100 grants totaling $3.4 billion- grants that will go to private companies, utilities, cities, and other partners who have applied with plans to install smart grid technologies in their area.”
The President emphasized the importance of smart meter technology and explained the concept in detail for families across America, “Smart meters will allow you to actually monitor how much energy your family is using by the month, by the week, by the day, or even by the hour. So coupled with other technologies, this is going to help you manage your electricity use and your budget at the same time, allowing you to conserve electricity during times when prices are highest, like hot summer days. Through these investments in a variety of smart grid technologies, utilities like Florida Power & Light will also be able to monitor the performance of its electricity grid in real time, which means they’ll be able to identify and correct service interruptions more quickly and effectively. And all this information will help increase renewable energy generation, provide support for plug-in electric vehicles, and reduce the carbon pollution that causes climate change.”
Obama summed up his momentous address with a balance of optimism and realism. “At this moment, there’s something big happening in America when it comes to creating a clean energy economy, but getting there will take a few more days like this one, and more projects like this one.”
What Is The Smart Grid Anyway?
October 1, 2009 by iCeL Team · 6 Comments
This video by IEEE gives a brief, yet clear vision of the Smart Grid and what is required to make it a viable reality in the coming years.
IBEW Training Electrical Workers In Green Technology
September 15, 2009 by iCeL Team · 2 Comments
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) has gone green, training unions across the US to install renewable energy systems and retrofit buildings for energy efficiency. The IBEW is determined to remain on the cutting edge of the Cleantech industry and will be training its local unions, starting with Local 11, to install iCeL’s intelligent energy storage systems. iCeL is very excited to work with the best electricians in the country, expanding the Smart Grid while creating green jobs for the skilled union members of America.
Empower The People: Energy Production For Everyone
July 4, 2009 by Jenn Breckenridge · 12 Comments
Fast Company magazine covers the latest best and “next” practices in the business world. In their July 2009 article “Beyond The Grid,” Pulitzer Prize-nominee Anya Kamanetz writes, “The evidence is growing that privately owned, consumer-driven, small-scale, geographically distributed renewables could deliver a 100% green-energy future faster and cheaper than big power projects alone.” Looks like small, locally made energy can be quite a mouthful.
Kamanetz goes on to report, ”Companies like GE and IBM are talking in terms of up to half of American homes generating their own electricity, renewably, within a decade.” Are the predictions of these corporate giants just a bit far-fetched?
The New Energy Paradigm
The fossil fuel business may indeed be headed ironically towards extinction. Though thousands of huge coal and nuclear plants around the world still produce and transmit the majority of power on the planet, these toxin-spewing dinosaurs may just be facing a massive unforeseen shift in technology.
Renewable energy infrastructure is increasing in functionality while decreasing in cost. Efficient micro-turbines, mass produced solar panels, and advanced energy storage like iCEL Systems, are being paired with extensive renewable energy rebates from the government to finally make accessible to the masses all the necessary hardware for energy production.
Vanguard IT companies like Google and Cisco are jumping on board the energy train, jockeying to be the lead innovators in metering and communications for the rapidly approaching Smart Grid.
Public and private utilities may begin to lease their infrastructure and focus on managing the exchange of energy between individuals, rather than the distribution of energy from centralized power plants. A massive network of individual energy producers could generate and exchange power instantly with friends, neighbors, and business associates.
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Anaheim Energy Field Ribbon Cutting
June 15, 2009 by Jenn Breckenridge · 4 Comments
In June of 2009, iCeL Systems, Inc. joined together with the Mayor of Anaheim, Public Utilities General Manager Marcie Edwards, and the Anaheim Center for New Energy Technologies (AC-NET) to cut the ribbon on the visionary Anaheim Energy Field.
Located in central Anaheim, at 1625 S. Ninth Street, the Energy Field transformed a three-acre segment of overgrown weeds into a colorful playground and park for the neighborhood. Hundreds of solar panels line the far end of Energy Field and are even incorporated into the roofs of picnic shelters and lunch tables.
The large solar array paired with a 50 kilowatt-hour iCeL System is an initiative of the Anaheim Public Utilities Department (APUD). The APUD believes small, distributed power generation is a potential key asset for future “smart grid” configurations and is investigating iCeL’s intelligent energy storage system as a means to efficiently distribute affordable green energy.
During this pilot program, the City will be able to monitor and manage the iCeL System with a secure web-based platform from any computer or smart phone. “It is exactly this kind of technological advancement and partnership that will continue to put Anaheim at the forefront of innovation,” said the Mayor.
After the Mayor, Marcie Edwards, and City Council Members completed their opening speeches, iCeL Systems CEO Chaz Haba and CTO Dr. Ryan Wartena gave an educational tour of the their interactive energy storage and management system.
Dr. Wartena was excited to share the unique intelligence and functionality of the iCeL System with city leaders who are inundated with energy and environmental concerns. “I feel the opening of Anaheim Energy Field is a landmark occasion for energy storage. This pilot project is enabling renewable energy to be a part of the local community’s shared energy management capabilities.”
Members of the Anaheim community now have a special opportunity to learn about renewable energy at Energy Field, while reaping the benefits of its renewable energy supply at home.