The Department of Energy gave the smart grid sector a boost on Tuesday when it announced 100 winners of $3.4 billion in federal stimulus matching funds for updates to the country’s aging energy grid.
President Obama said the infrastructure investment was “long overdue” and said it will usher in a new era of sustainable, green energy.
Smart meters, two-way interactive energy meters that allow utilities to dynamically allocate their energy production, were the big winners, with projects containing them totaling $2.8 billion. A total of 1.8 million smart meters and accompanying connectivity will be installed via the projects over the coming three years, resulting in a 13 percent of the nation's homes.
Utilities were the main recipients of the funds, though some other businesses and municipalities are also included. Regardless of stripe, the recipients are committed to pony up $4.7 billion in their own money to contribute to the projects.
The administration is looking to renewable energy to power job creation in the form of tens of thousands of new positions in factory work, system design, installation and more. It’s also a boon to utilities and telecom companies, whose municipal projects have been on hold while the industry waited to see where the funds were allocated.
Funded projects also include the installation of transmission grid sensors, advanced transformers and automated substation systems, all geared to make the grid more efficient with the ability to analyze real-time information on production and consumption. The idea is to smooth energy delivery and encourage the use of an increased percentage of green technologies like wind and solar.
There are more smart grid funds coming in the form of a separate $615 million pot of cash that has yet to be allocated.
A full list of Tuesday’s reward recipients can be found at the DoE’s Web site.
