Guest columnist Anto Budiardjo says GridWeek is broadly recognized as the most important annual Smart Grid gathering.

By Anto Budiardjo, founder of GridWeek.

GridWeek attracts the complete diversity of global stakeholders to explore Smart Grid’s impact on our economy, utility infrastructure, consumers, and the environment. The event was structured in 2007 by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and key Smart Grid players as the venue for defining the Smart Grid agenda.

GridWeek is October 18-21 in Washington DC.

Collaboration has been a key attribute of GridWeek. With an agenda planned and organized by a representative committee of industry stakeholders, GridWeek’s content is focused on the most timely, relevant, and pressing industry topics. It is only by this level of unprecedented collaboration that Clasma Events can deliver a critically acclaimed event, year after year. In 2010, collaboration has reached new heights.

The GridWeek 2010 Organizing Committee is made up of some forty individuals from major organizational partners – including the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Edison Electric Institute (EEI), American Public Power Association (APPA), National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), Utilities Telecom Council (UTC), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), U.S. Department of Commerce International Trade Administration (ITA), GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC), and Galvin Electricity Initiative – as well as sponsors, media, and industry leaders.

The committee began its work last December, mapping out the topics that would be imperative for advancing Smart Grid during this critical time, resulting in the robust agenda contained in this supplement. GridWeek’s promise of “Empowering Our Energy Future through Collaboration, Education, and Conversation” is delivered via four days of rich content, each centered around one key theme.

On Monday the GridWeek International Summit marks the third year of thought leadership around the globalization of Smart Grid, including worldwide implementation strategies, international innovation, and advancement of global standards. Through collaboration with ITA, Monday’s agenda will offer strategic insight on global Smart Grid deployments, business, and policy – in a practicable, implementable context.

Tuesday’s sessions will help answer the industry’s “how-to” questions on consumer engagement during panels dedicated to fostering consumer dialogue, communicating Smart Grid benefits, encouraging consumer buy-in, and understanding the consumer side of the meter. Sessions will also explore new demands on utility Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructures and the challenges of securely managing significant amounts of new consumer data.

Wednesday’s agenda is focused on actionable deployment strategies from the perspective of utilities around the world. Sessions will provide a complete picture of Smart Grid progress by municipal, co-op, and investor-owned utilities; the impact of standards on utility operations; and strategies for integration of Smart Grid technologies both on the grid (i.e. substations) and beyond the meter into the homes and buildings of residential, commercial, and industrial customers.

The last day at GridWeek offers collaborative opportunities to explore ways to rapidly advance Smart Grid success. Topics will include evaluating Smart Grid investment benefits using hands-on tools; practical discussions on integrating disparate technology systems; and successfully managing the transformational forces of regulation, policy, data, and standards. A key new component of GridWeek is the EV Grid Summit, bringing together leaders working in the integration of Electric Vehicle and Smart Grid. Sessions will also address how to apply standards to enable – not disable – Smart Grid progress.

Some of the most profound strategic insights from the industry’s top thought leaders are offered during GridWeek’s plenary sessions and keynotes, held Monday through Wednesday in the morning and Thursday during the afternoon’s call-to-action closing session. Plenaries typically include keynotes from leading thought leaders like the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, leading congressional members, and senior industry executives. Last year’s industry roundtable was hailed as the most valuable and memorable session of the entire conference.

GridWeek is recognized globally as the venue for utilities, policymakers, regulators, technology companies, consumer advocates, and non-profit organizations to collaborate and understand their role in accelerating Smart Grid implementation, adoption, and success. If you have a stake in the smart grid, we invite you to take part in the only event of its kind created by a comprehensive representation of visionaries and technologists responsible for motivating and shaping the transformation of Smart Grid.

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By Guest Columnist at Energy Priorities

Contributor Katy Campbell says there are plenty of fantastic examples of schools that are ploughing ahead with major energy efficiency initiatives. And more good news… increasing energy efficiency in schools, as in most other buildings, is actually pretty easy!

By Katy Campbell , who blogs at the Smartcool Blog. She works for Smartcool in Vancouver, BC, Canada.

As most parents are giddily aware of, this week marks the annual migration back to school for children and teens across the US and Canada. For the next ten months, kids will be ensconced in their daily routines, busy learning how to grow up to become mostly coherent, socially acceptable adults. Parents left with a delightfully quiet house during the day are not the only ones who will experience a major change in energy levels.

Schools themselves, now filled to the brim with hyperactive bodies and inquiring young minds, will see their energy drain away. Just how much energy is used to keep our schools running? Even if you flunked out of math class, I’m sure you can still tell that $16 billion is a pretty hefty price tag for energy use in schools across the US and Canada.

Where does all this money go? Typically, the heating, cooling and lighting of a school take up about 70% of all its energy. So about $11.2 billion is spent each year to make schools the right temperature and brightness for kids to be comfortable and able to learn.

Used courtesy of BC Hydro Power Smart.

Although energy consumption only makes up between 2 and 4% of most school districts’ expenses, it seems like there are better things that hunk of cash could be spent on… like more teachers, more field trips, more sports, more computers. Basically, reducing energy costs by becoming more efficient could allow the education system to provide students with more… education.

Fortunately, I’m not the only person who has thought of this, and there are plenty of fantastic examples of schools that are ploughing ahead with major energy efficiency initiatives.

Evergreen Public Schools is the fifth largest school district in Washington, with over 26,000 students in 35 schools. They were so effective with their energy efficiency program, that they received recognition from Energy Star. They also saved $723,000 in just nine months, which is equal to the cost of supporting 14 teachers or 20 support staff members.

In Iowa, the Davenport Community School District was faced with a 50% increase in natural gas prices, a drop in government aid and falling enrolment numbers. Energy efficiency presented itself as the most logical way to cut costs in order to maintain key educational programs. Since the 2003/2004 school year, Davenport has saved $1.2 million from their energy efficiency efforts. According to their director of operations, “…if we had not done this, we would be facing major staff and program reductions… the $1.2 million in energy savings will fund 20 teaching positions.”

So the good news is that the ball is rolling for greater energy efficiency in schools. And more good news… increasing energy efficiency in schools, as in most other buildings, is actually pretty easy!

BC Hydro provides a list of quick fixes and longer-term solutions, specifically targeting the energy hogs of lighting, heating and cooling. The quick fixes include low-cost, easily implemented solutions such as HVAC retrofits, occupancy sensors for lighting, and active behavioural changes like turning off or unplugging things. These simple improvements can bring energy savings up to 25%.

There are also a myriad of different programs across the continent to help schools bring their energy consumption under control. Most of these programs work hard to include students and teachers in their initiatives, bringing everyone on board in the effort to reduce energy waste.

In the world these kids will have to live in, this could be the most valuable lesson they learn in school.

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By Guest Columnist at Energy Priorities