News - April 2012

New GSGF report - 29 Apr 12

Smart Grid Cyber Security Survey - 26 Apr 12 

• 75% of energy security professionals believe smart grid security has not been adequately addressed in smart grid deployment
• 72% of energy security professionals believe smart grid security standards aren't moving fast enough to keep up with deployment

Investment in the smart grid market - 26 Apr 12 

• the merging of interoperability standards and
• more consistent integration of renewable energy into the grid.

Public cellular service revenue for smart grid - 26 Apr 12

The Energy Savings Initiative Working Group and Advisory Group -  24 Apr 12

In line with the commitment made in the Clean Energy Future Plan, the Government has established an ESI Working Group to lead the further work, comprising senior officials from the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.

The ESI Working Group is:

• drawing together the experiences and lessons learned from Australian and international energy savings schemes
• commissioned economic and energy market modelling, and
• is undertaking comprehensive consultation with state and territory governments, industry and the community.

The scope of this work includes consideration of

• any employment opportunities and skills needs associated with an ESI
• changes to the distribution of regulatory burden
• the treatment of early movers and the clear and smooth transition of arrangements from existing schemes
• whole-of-economy effects of shielding specific sectors from price impacts, and
• Australia's international competitiveness.

The ESI Working Group's investigations are being assisted by an Advisory Group comprising state and territory government officials and representatives from peak industry groups, energy market organisations, and environmental, union, community and welfare organisations.

National Energy Savings Initiative

Under the plan the Government committed to do further work to investigate the merits of a national Energy Savings Initiative (ESI). An ESI is a market-based tool for driving economy-wide improvements in energy efficiency. It would place obligations on energy retailers to find and implement energy savings in households and businesses. An ESI would help consumers to save money by encouraging the identification and take-up of energy efficient technologies.

Schemes currently operate in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia and one is planned to commence in the Australian Capital Territory in 2012. The further work under the Clean Energy Future Plan will explore the costs and benefits of replacing existing and planned schemes with a national scheme, including whether this would reduce complexity and duplication, and allow energy consumers in states without existing schemes to benefit. ESI schemes also operate in many European countries and the United States, often alongside and complementary to a carbon price. India has introduced a white certificate trading scheme and a number of Chinese provinces are finalising the design of such schemes.

The Clean Energy Future Plan states that the further work on a national ESI will be 'the subject of detailed policy analysis, economic modelling and consultation with the community, industry and state and territory governments'. The commitment outlines a number of key policy issues that the design work will consider:

• the annual targets that would apply
• sectoral and fuel coverage issues
• energy savings activities to be considered eligible activities, and
• how a smooth transition from state-based schemes could be managed.

Further, any national scheme would need to:

• have broad coverage (that is, residential, commercial and industrial sectors), and
• create an incentive or a requirement to create certificates in both low-income households and in ways which reduce peak demand.

Subject to the findings of economic modelling and regulatory impact analysis, the Australian Government will make a final decision to adopt a national ESI. A national scheme would be conditional on the agreement of the Council of Australian Governments and the abolition of existing and planned state schemes.

The UN Broadband Commission and RIO+20 - 24 Apr 12 

1. RENEWING OUR COMMITMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
2. We, the Members of the Broadband Commission for Digital Development, address this Call to Action to world leaders, policy-makers, industry leaders, participants and citizens in advance of the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20).
3. Improving the livelihoods of citizens around the world through sustainable development represents one of the greatest challenges facing humanity today. The necessity to manage the resources of the planet in a way that allows the long-term needs of a sustainable society to be met, while respecting the finite resources of the planet’s ecosystem and achieving poverty eradication, is a challenging, but achievable, task. Broadband is unique in that it has the potential to address many sustainability challenges, while simultaneously increasing socio-economic development and quality of living. The impact of broadband on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is now widely acknowledged, and we believe broadband is a fundamental technology that should also be recognized in future Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
4. In this context we would like to spread knowledge about what Broadband can bring to the sustainable development agenda, particularly among policy makers. We hereby present our personal and joint commitment to work together towards reinforcing sustainable development globally.
5. BROADBAND FOR THE INTEGRATION OF THE THREE PILLARS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
6. We believe that Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can help to achieve a sustainable development model, as modern broadband networks and broadband-enabled applications and services promote the integration of‘smarter’ and more energy-efficient economic growth, social development and environmental protection, the three pillars of sustainable development. For this reason, we believe that the potential to leverage broadband infrastructure and broadband-enabled applications and services should be addressed in the outcomes of the Rio+20 conference.
7. Investments in broadband infrastructure, networks and broadband-enabled applications and services deliver long-term sustainable economic development, productivity and growth and generate returns many times greater than the investments needed. These investments are necessary, if developing countries are to achieve poverty eradication and take part in the in the digital economy of the 21stcentury.
8. Failure to invest in broadband will expose developing countries to the risk of exclusion from online trade, the digital high-growth economy, and global digital innovation. Broadband also promotes social equity and progress and the free flow of information. The ability to communicate, as well as access online information and knowledge exchange in real-time, promises to do more than just give the developing world a voice – it empowers people to have a better understanding on the challenges faced at the local, regional and global levels, enabling themto make better choices and decisions. Expanding access to broadband infrastructure and broadband-enabled applications and services to all must therefore be a top policy priority for countries around the globe, developed and developing alike, as well as for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
9. Investments in broadband infrastructure and broadband-enabled applications and services can protect the environment and encourage more efficient use of natural resources. Creating a greener and more sustainable economy means transitioning from the resource-intensive physical infrastructure of the 20th century to the more efficient information infrastructure of the 21st century.
10. Finally, the growth of mobile broadband in particular offers exciting potential for raising awareness of sustainable development issues, by connecting, informing and educating many more people around the world. For it is only by encouraging and empowering all citizens to take direct action to protect and preserve the world’s precious resources, and creating incentives for governments and companies to be transparent and accountable for their actions,that we can hope to avert the future environmental crisis.
11. TURNING VISION INTO ACTION
12. During the Broadband Leadership Summit, which took place in Geneva on 25 October 2011, we challenged the global community to work together to promote “broadband inclusion for all” as a means of accelerating progress towards achieving the MDGs by 2015.
13. Through our Broadband Challenge, we called on global leaders to make broadband policy universal, develop policies to expand access to health and education through broadband and ensure that at least half the developing world’s population and 40% of households in developing countries are using broadband Internet by 2015. We also invited the private sector to contribute to this goal by developing innovative business models to realize this vision. This Broadband Challenge is today more relevant than ever.
14. To turn this vision into action, we urge the global community to acknowledge the potential of broadband for progress and sustainable development in the outcomes of the Rio+20 conference, and to include access to broadband for all as one of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that need to be achieved to move the sustainable development agenda forward.
15. We underline the crucial role of the media and broadband for public information on sustainable development as well as the considerable potential of social media and social networks in this domain. We call on global leaders to commit to freedom of expression, press freedom and access to information and knowledge.
16. The time is right to make the best use of all the opportunities at hand to eradicate poverty and move the sustainable development agenda forward together. The time is right to leverage the transformational power of broadband to support the outcomes of the Rio+20 Conference.
17. With this statement, we submit our pledge to support a sustainable future for all. We shall continue our advocacy work as the Broadband Commission for Digital Development to accelerate the achievement of the MDGs by 2015 through the opportunities afforded by digital inclusion for all and to support the definition of the post-2015 sustainable development framework.

Global Smart Grid IT Market - 23 Apr 12 

According to a new report from Pike Research, the global smart grid software market is estimated to be worth $1.3 billion by the end of 2012 and will reach $2.9 billion by 2017, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.2%. The total software and related IT services market is forecast to reach $4.3 billion by the end of 2012 and increase to over $8.6 billion by 2017, with a CAGR of 15.5%.

Billions of dollars are being invested in smart grid infrastructure, including smart meters and distribution automation systems. Although parallel investment in a new generation of utility information technology (IT) systems that can help to manage and analyze the vast amounts of data generated by smart grid technologies is needed.

The Internet of energy - 17 Apr12

Climate change, the rapid surge in energy demand and dwindling natural resources present Germany with major challenges in the field of energy supply. Industry and politics must work hand in hand in future to secure an economical and environmentally compatible supply of power for all public and private sectors.

Up to now, there has been little common ground between energy efficiency and information technology - a state of affairs which is now set to change. The current objective is to create an "Internet of Energy". The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) has coined the phrase "E-Energy" for this new field of innovation. As in the case of E-Commerce or E-Government, the term stands for the comprehensive digital networking and optimization of the energy supply system, encompassing everything from generation and distribution right up to consumption. The project will ensure more effective utilization of the existing supply infrastructure, expand the use of renewable energy resources and reduce CO2 emissions.

The government has earmarked six so called ‘lighthouses for the Internet of Energy’ projects. With its research priority, “E­Energy – ICT­based energy system of the future”,  the aim is to investigate and test new ways to reduce electricity consumption and use energy more efficiently. The focus is on integrating renewable energies in the future grids with the help of newly developed information and communication technology systems. As a flagship programme of the Federal Government, E­Energy also forms part of the action plan, Germany: Green IT Pioneer.  From 2008 to 2013, industrial and scientific syndicates are investigating and testing the application of ICT in the energy sector in six Smart­Energy Regions. With support from specially commissioned ancillary research team, they also address multiproject, cross­sectoral themes, such as effective global architectures, business models, legal frameworks, data protection and security or standardisation. Overall finance for these projects amounts to approximately EUR 140 million, with the Federal Economics Ministry contributing EUR 40 million and the Federal Environment Ministry EUR 20 million. The remainder is borne by the model syndicates themselves.

The projects are: 

• The E-DeMa project, which is investigating intelligent consumption management and the near time capture and provision of consumption data in the Rhine Ruhr region
• The eTelligence project, which is testing a complex control system to balance out fluctuating wind power that intelligently integrates electricity into the grids and a regional market in the Cuxhaven region
• The RegModHarz project, which is mainly concerned with the joint marketing of regionally available renewable producers and flexibilities grouped into a virtual power station on different markets in the Harz region
• The Smart Watts project, which is aimed to provide an information and control model for the energy system, providing market players with near time, actual production and consumption data, and is being tested in Aachen.
• The MeRegio project, in which 1,000 electricity customers from Freiamt in the Black Forest and Goppingen are testing the smart home
• The Moma project, in which households in the city of Mannheim are trialing new control devices – so called “energy butlers” – to control smart home appliances, based principally on the current price of electricity

Full report 

Business case for smart grid appears strong - 10 Apr 12 

According to an article in the EEnergy Informer Guido Bartels, chairman of the Global Smart Grid Federation (GSGF) and general manager of IBM’s Global Energy & Utilities Industry believes the decision on how much to invest in the smart grid may come down to making massive investments to upgrade the grid now, or end up paying more for it later. 

Mr Bartels also said that if the current grid is not upgraded, electricity tariffs will be 400% higher by 2050 and investing in a smart grid would cut this price rise in half. The reason is that, without a smart grid, the reliability of the existing system will decline. Moreover, the current infrastructure is getting old, and integrating massive amounts of renewable energies will require equally massive investment in the grid.

A 2011 study by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) concluded that introducing smart grid technology in the US could lead to a cumulative saving of $1.3-2 trillion over the next 20 years. However, to achieve such a saving requires an investment of $338-476 billion.

Chris King, President of eMeter Strategic Consulting and Chief Regulatory Officer of eMeter, recently acquired by Siemens, has produced a template for preparing the business case for investing in smart grid and metering infrastructure. See:  http://www.emeter.com/smart-grid-watch/2012/building-a-business-case-for-smart-meters/ King points out that, “Utility regulators tend to put investments in newer technologies such as smart meters or advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) under intense scrutiny even though they pay relatively little attention to ongoing investments such as substations and transformers. Fortunately, policymakers in over 30 states and countries have already found that the benefits of smart meters have exceeded the costs.”

Smart metering costs are relatively straightforward and fall into two basic categories:

• Up-front capital costs include meters, communications, software, installation of field equipment, and implementation and integration of software as well as the project management needed to make it all come together.
• Ongoing costs include operating the communications network and software, managing the data, and maintaining equipment in the field as well as other elements in the system.

The benefits include:

• Reduced utility customer service costs such as meter reading, connect/disconnect, field visits, fewer estimated bills, shorter customer phone calls, better cash flow, and more savings.
• Additional utility efficiencies such as better outage management, lower system losses, reduced energy theft, more targeted transmission and distribution system investment, avoided equipment overloads, etc.
• Customer benefits such as enhanced energy efficiency, lower peak demand, more convenience through automation and online interaction with utilities, and intangible benefits such as improved customer satisfaction.

Based on a survey of over 30 studies King has examined, he puts the estimated benefits around $450 per meter. This is estimated by multiplying the average cost of $250 by 1.8. In some cases utility benefits completely offset the costs though in most cases some customer benefits are needed to make the overall business case positive. Utility regulators and other government officials and policymakers rely on utilities to provide this type of analysis before deciding whether to approve smart meter rollouts:

First, present the smart meter costs and benefits in “present value” terms. This is the sum of the costs and benefits over project life, typically 15 years. “Calculate the present value by looking at the cost or benefit for each year, then “discounting” back to today using an interest rate for the estimated cost of capital. This allows the costs and benefits to be compared apples-to-apples. When you subtract the present value of the costs from that of the benefits, you obtain an impressive-sounding “net present value”, one of the most common summary values on which policymakers rely.

Second, calculate the benefit to cost ratio which is the benefits divided by the costs. Obviously, this value should exceed 1.0 for a project to be viable. Both utilities and regulators have an incentive to be conservative on both costs and benefits. Utilities want to achieve their spending targets, and regulators want to achieve the expectations they set for customers.

For more information see: EEnergy Informer

Worldwide smart grid spending will reach $46.4B in 2015 - 10 Apr 12 

According to a new report from IDC Energy Insights, smart grid spending will increase 17.4% globally from 2010 to 2015 while overall spending will reach nearly $46.4 Billion worldwide in 2015. The Asia/Pacific region is forecast to experience the most growth in spending with a five-year CAGR of 33.7%.

Utilities across the globe share the same or similar pressures and business drivers to make ICT (information and communications technology) investments in smart grid infrastructure. However, differences in regional investment profiles are harsh in some cases, driven by differences in government mandates, environmental regulations and private sector support.

The report surveys utilities in four global regions (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America) to understand the magnitude and timing of ICT investment. In North America it was found that widely deployed advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) and smart meter investment lead to high expectations for demand response for 2014.

In Europe and Asia Pacific regions, smart meters and AMI investments carry the sector's growth forward as major project deployments begin later in the forecast period as Europe is looking at it’s 20-20-20 goals (20% increase in energy efficiency, 20% reduction of CO2 emissions, and 20% renewable generation sources by 2020). In Asia Pacific, China has a goal of deploying 300 million smart meters by 2020. 

Smart-Grids and Carbon Trading - 05 Apr 12 

By Steve Jenkins

Can the Smart-Grid and Carbon Trading create a new, economically viable marketplace in saving power?

It is still much cheaper to "save a watt" than for a Power Generator to "build a watt", and the marginal cost of production and distribution is zero to the Generator. The consumer still has to maintain and replace their infrastructure investment.

So why hasn't the negawatt market happened? What's different now that it could work?

For the full blog click here

The Broadband Bridge: Linking ICTs with climate action for a low-carbon economy - 03 Apr 12

The report by the ITU/UNESCO Broadband Commission for Digital development has been produced using interviews and supporting material from more than 20 leaders and experts in the field, spanning a broad stakeholder group of industry, government, academia and international organizations. This also includes several members of the Broadband Commission. The report identifies how investments in broadband can be leveraged from an environmental perspective to address climate change, and illustrates the potential of broadband as a solution to the problem. It concludes with 10 recommendations for global leaders and policy makers to turn vision into action for a low carbon, sustainable future.

The report marks the first step in sending a message from the Broadband Commission to the participants at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), taking place in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.

The next steps will require a concerted effort by all stakeholders to take measures, at times bold, at times challenging, that will lead to real and lasting change. The right policies will have to be in place, those which promote innovation, eliminate barriers to low-carbon technologies and encourage private sector investment in broadband over the long term. Standardized ways of measuring energy efficiency and broadband’s enabling effect as well as harmonized standards of smart grids and other new technologies are important parts of the puzzle. By closing the gap between policy and technology, broadband gains even greater momentum as an engine for change.

Strategies within governments, across regions, and in global forums that prioritize connectivity, collaboration and cross-sector partnership in all its myriad forms is essential for integrated policy and decision-making. With dialogue and engagement among diverse groups of stakeholders, silos are broken down and a common language around solutions begins to emerge. A lack of awareness about ICT and broadband’s enabling role is a key challenge going forward. Policies and strategies will need to consider how to influence individual behaviour and raise awareness to enhance the uptake of broadband-enabled low-carbon solutions among consumers worldwide.

By taking action now, broadband’s potential as a transformational technology will more rapidly move from ideal to reality. The following recommendations from the Broadband Commission’s Working Group on Climate Change are intended to spur the kind of change that will result in a strong, integrated and bold approach to unleashing broadband’s role in the networked, low carbon society of the future.

1. Lead with vision: adopt a long-term National Broadband Plan/Strategy based on universal affordability and accessibility, open markets and innovation, and consciously connect this to your climate goals.
2. Bring convergence: Bring convergence to ICT policy formulation so that it aligns with other policy areas such a as energy, health, education and climate in order to maximize impact.
3. Ensure regulatory certainty: Ensure regulatory certainty with regards to policy and regulations on climate and broadband to create a framework of investment certainty.
4. Be an example: drive cross-ministry collaboration and integrated decision-making to align climate and digital goals and use government procurement to send the right market signals.
5. Foster flexibility: identify and remove the regulatory and policy barriers currently hindering research and investment in 21st century ICT-based broadband-enabled infrastructure and low carbon solutions
6. Provide incentives: encourage uptake of low-carbon solutions and support market change by rewarding or incentivizing desired consumer behaviours. Spur innovation among individuals, companies and sectors.
7. Build the market: fund and facilitate scalable pilots to demonstrate feasibility and effectiveness of broadband as an enabler of low-carbon solutions and build a strong business case to attract private investment
8. Form partnerships: cultivate ‘connectivity’ and ‘co-creativity’ across public, private and non-governmental sectors and industries to help develop a collaborative mindset, shared goals, common language and break down silos.
9. Measure & standardize: develop harmonized metrics and measurements and common standards for calculating both ICT’s environmental impacts and the positive contribution it can make to other sectors - from individual products to systems, and from individual households to city or national levels.
10. Share knowledge & raise awareness: actively disseminate project findings, share best practice and learn from mistakes to identify success factors and facilitate leapfrogging, especially among lesser developed markets. Communicate the opportunities and synergies that can be achieved through an integrated, trans-sector approach to digital development infrastructure and low carbon solutions.

BuddeComm is proud that they were invited to contribute to this publication

Download a copy of the full report: http://www.broadbandcommission.org/net/broadband/Documents//bbcomm-climate-full-report-embargo.pdf

Download the 1-page highlights: http://www.broadbandcommission.org/net/broadband/Documents/Broadband-bridgefinal-lowres-watermark.pdf 

Watch the video interview: http://bit.ly/HjMe3i