The US city of Miami has laid out plans to lead the nation in the deployment of smart grid technologies that are designed to help reduce energy consumption and improve the reliability of the power grid.
The $200 million initiative is supported by GE, Florida Power and Light (FPL) and Cisco Systems, and could be complete by the end of 2011 if it receives funding from the US economic stimulus package known as ARRA.
Miami authorities say that the groundbreaking energy initiative, known as Energy Smart Miami, meets the new US Administration’s policy goals of promoting energy efficiency, creating jobs and reducing dependence on foreign oil imports. It will involve the deployment of a wide range of technologies across Miami-Dade County over a two-year period.
“The Energy Smart Miami Initiative is an investment in the future of our city, our residents and our neighbourhoods, and is an important step toward creating the green jobs of the future and building a clean energy economy,” said Miami mayor Manny Diaz. “This initiative will contribute to the Obama administration’s goals of investing in alternative and renewable energy, ending our addiction to foreign oil, addressing the global climate crisis and creating millions of new green jobs.”
The cornerstone of the project will be the deployment of more than one million advanced wireless smart electricity meters to every home and most businesses in the area, giving consumers more information and control over their electricity usage while also giving FPL information that will enhance system efficiency and reliability. FPL says it will then expand deployment to a total of four million homes in Florida.
The smart meters will be based on open network architecture to allow other providers to develop and deploy new applications in the future.
“Through Energy Smart Miami, FPL will significantly accelerate and expand our capital investment program to help Miami-Dade County customers more quickly realize the benefits of an intelligent electrical infrastructure,” said FPL Group’s Lew Hay. “However, Energy Smart Miami represents the beginning, not the end, as it is the cornerstone of a $700 million investment in smart meters to every residential FPL customer in Florida.”
GE will supply key components of the project, including smart meters and possibly also advanced applications and smarter control systems. Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking technologies, will help design and implement a secure and intelligent communications platform within the county’s transmission and distribution grid and provide customers with home energy management information and controls.
Upgrading the USA’s electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure is a key part of President Obama’s investment and economic recovery plans. In April US vice-president Joe Biden announced plans to provide around $4 billion of ARRA funding for the development and demonstration of smart grid technologies.
“With the Recovery Act, president Obama demonstrated his commitment to developing a bigger, smarter, stronger electric grid that will not only reduce our energy costs but also reduce our energy use,” said Carol Browner, Obama’s advisor on energy and climate change. “I commend mayor Diaz for creating a plan that will put these recovery dollars to work and make Miami a Smart Grid model for cities across our country.”
Smart Grid Miami will also involve deployment of solar power installations in schools and universities and the addition of 300 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to the FPL fleet. The initiative will also conduct studies of additional consumer communications and empowerment systems to determine which delivers the greatest energy savings and consumer satisfaction.
Linkedin
