Jeff St. John 03 27 09, 12:54 PM

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California Utilities Lay Out Stimulus Pitches

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric want a piece of that $4.5 billion in federal stimulus funds for smart grid projects — and they were before the California Public Utilities Commission on Friday to talk about them.

PG&E’s smart energy director Andrew Tang laid out four potential projects that the utility thought could pass muster. The Department of Energy is expected to come out next month with guidelines for the $4.5 billion in smart grid matching grants set out in the stimulus package (see Obama Signs Stimulus Package)

Tang included the idea of a smart grid “proof-of-concept” laboratory that wuld test a power plant-to-home smart grid system, as well as a larger-scale pilot project delivering the same interconnectivity in a small-scale, real-world project. 

Also, PG&E would like to test out so-called “home area networks” that include home energy management systems, demand-response services with faster energy pricing data and the integration of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles into the grid, he said (see The Smart Home, Part I) 

Tang also would like to coordinate with other California utilities and the California Independent System Operator, which manages the state’s power grid, to test a “synchro-phasor measurement system” aimed at preventing or isolating power outages.

Paul De Martini, Southern California Edison’s director of advanced metering infrastructure, laid out what he called a “three-prong” approach to seek money for utility projects, projects that its business partners are undertaking, and research being done by utility customers and universities. 

Those could include projects to bring electric transportation to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif., or projects to develop battery technologies, either for stationary grid storage projects or to improve vehicle batteries to serve as sources of power for the grid.

Then there’s a regional smart grid demonstration project the utility is planning, the “Secure Internet for the Smart Grid” project is has proposed with IBM, Cisco, the University of Southern California and other partners, or a $20 million compressed air storage project being done in partnership with the California Energy Commission and the Electric Power Research Institute.

As for San Diego Gas & Electric,  Caroline Winn, director of transmission and distribution asset management, said the utility will pitch projects including large-scale energy storage, expanded networks for plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles and a “self-healing” grid system that automatically recovers from disruptions. 

Commission members were mainly interested in getting specific projects ready for presentation to DOE by next week. There’s little doubt that competition for the grants will be fierce (see Stimulus: How the Smart Grid Could Make Out). 

ghayes 03 27 09, 11:34 AM

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No Sweat at 16 Cents Per Mile

The A2B electric bike from Ultramotor has been around since August last year, but it is still getting a lot of attention whenever tested. I had the opportunity to take it for a spin and the summarizing feeling from the experience was: smooth.

It looks cool, it’s easy to use and it seems sturdy. Even for me, a 6’5” foot, 260 pound Swedish reporter, the bike was surprisingly quick and easy to get moving. Once I straddled the bike I got the same feeling as when I tried out a scooter for the first time: Will it bark off out of control and how do I stop it?

But once I got moving, handling was no hassle. The twist grip throttle was easy to use and the acceleration was smooth, but not too slow. While pedaling, I felt like I could climb any steep hill without getting exhausted or even puffed. The top speed is said to be 20 mph, but I didn’t reach it during my short test run.

So, it’s basically a bike with an electric motor. You can ride it just by pedaling, or just by running the motor or you can do both at the same time.

But what about charging it? My first question to Douglas Schwartz, a sales representative from ELV Motors selling the bike, was if I could charge the battery by pedaling. That would be the ultimate eco-friendly solution, I thought. But, no, the bike can only be charged from an outlet.

The price of a brand new A2B is around $2,700 making it the most expensive electric bike from Ultramotor with models Europa and Portia costing about $1,900 and $1,000. The A2B actually looks more like a scooter than a bike. That’s a cool look, but it also makes the bike heavy with it’s battery, thick wheels and sturdy frame. It seems that only pedaling without the engine is not an option once you’ve experienced the convenience of the throttle. And because the A2B weighs in at 73 pounds, it is even less alluring.

Another interesting feature of the bike is that you don’t need a license to drive it. You don’t even have to have an insurance according to ELV Motors.

My overall feeling is that it was a nice ride, a nice-looking bike and good alternative to gas-driven scooters, but not to my regular bike since I really like the “free” exercise I get from taking my bike to different activitites. Would I by a A2B bike myself? Probably not for $2,700. It’s too pricey for me, but not far away from where it would get interesting.

Features (according to its dealer ELV Motors and manufacturer Ultramotors):

Range: Up to 20 Miles (extendable to 40 miles with extra battery)
Top Speed: Up to 20 mph
Wheel size: 20 X 3.0
Brake type: Hayes MX4 V7 Cable Disc
Electric Motor: Motor Power BLDC hub motor 500 watts
Voltage: 36 V
Charging Time: 3 to 5 hours
Charging Cost: 5 to 8 cents for full charge
Manufacturer’s Warranty: Lifetime (frame), 2 years (battery)
Battery Type: Lithium ion
Weight: 73 pounds
Front Suspension: Front shock
Rear Suspension: Rear swing arm
Age to Drive: 16 years or older
License: Not required
Registration: Not required
Helmet: Yes
Insurance: Not required

Another attendee at the event tests out the A2B Bike:

Jeff St. John 03 27 09, 8:37 AM

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Gridpoint Sued by Founder of Acquired V2Green

It looks like David Kaplan, the founder of electric car charging software startup V2Green, isn't so happy about his company being bought by smart grid software developer Gridpoint back in September. To be more specific, he's not too happy about not working for Gridpoint anymore, according to his lawsuit filed against the Arlington, Va.-based startup on March 16 in King County Superior Court. Kaplan's lawsuit claims Gridpoint fired him without cause in February and failed to honor his employment agreement pledging him a year's salary — about $200,000 — if that happened, his attorney, Michael Subit, said Friday. But GridPoint believes that "David Kaplan was not terminated and that his decision to leave GridPoint was entirely his own," according to a prepared statement from the company. "Moreover, GridPoint has honored Mr. Kaplan’s employment agreement."

"I totally disagree with that," Subit said Friday. "When you're removed from your position and given no other position in the company, that's termination. That's what happened to Mr. Kaplan."

Subit wouldn't comment on whether Kaplan's departure from Gridpoint represented a split between the two on how to integrate  V2Green's car charging technology into its broader offering of "smart grid" related software.

GridPoint had done pilot electric car charging tests on its own with Duke Energy before it bought V2Green (see Laying the Grid Groundwork for Plug-In Hybrids). But V2Green had done pilot projects with more utilities — Xcel Energy, Austin Energy and Seattle City Light, to be specific.

Subit also wouldn't say how much financial reward Kaplan reaped from the sale of V2Green in September, when Gridpoint bought the Seattle-based startup for an undisclosed sum.

Gridpoint also announced a $120 million funding round, on top of about $102 million it had previously raised, at that time and said it was looking for more acquisitions (see Gridpoint Gets $120M, Buys V2Green).

John Clark, former CEO of V2Green, is now leading the electric vehicle management group in Seattle, Gridpoint said in its prepared statement.

"We acquired V2Green because we saw potential not only in its technology but in its people," the company stated. "GridPoint is expanding and hiring at both its Seattle office and Arlington headquarters."

Michael Kanellos 03 27 09, 7:52 AM

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How Much Power Does Your TV Consume?

The battle over regulating power consumption in TVs is just getting cranked up in California. One of the interesting issues will be to see how the different stats and arguments match up.

The California Energy Commission says that TVs and the black and silver boxes that go with them (set-top boxes, DVRs) consume about 10 percent of household power. The total has grown in part because of the increasing size of TVs.

To curb it, the CEC wants standards that would lead to TVs that consume 33 percent less power than they do now by 2011 and 49 percent by 2013.

The Consumer Electronics Industry, however,  is against the regulations and says that TVs only consume 4 percent to 5 percent of household power. The CEA, though, does not include DVRs, DVDs and set-top boxes. Overall, the CEA says consumer electronics gobbles up 12 percent of power in the home. That 12 percent figure includes PCs.

In reality, the two sides might be closer than they think. PC makers have managed to cut power consumption considerably and a lot of consumers have shifted to notebooks. In an even comparison, the CEC and the CEA might be within a few percentage points of each other. Still, it should be an interesting argument.

Which brings us to the big argument: Should TV power consumption be regulated? CEC has technology and history on it side. TV makers are already working on ways to reduce power consumption; manufacturers should easily be able to make the first set of standards it has issued, the CEC has said.

History also works in its favor. Simply put, manufacturers don’t push energy efficiency until required. Appliance makers didn’t push efficiency until the state passed regulations. The Detroit auto regulators improved mileage in cars until the CAFE standards were slackened in the 80s. The regulations on appliances did not kill innovation. On the other hand, the car makers dug themselves into a deep hole without regulation.

The CEA, however, can argue that voluntary standards like EnergyStar work and will encourage innovation. If they can produce some sales stats that people are gravitating toward these kind of TVs, it can be argued that the market is doing its trick.

Another issue, though, will be utility rebates. If efficient TVs are selling because of utility rebates, regulation might be a better bet. What’s the point of using money from public-private institutions to get consumers to buy the “better” products from manufacturers that they would have to make if regulations were passed. But rebates work to get people to buy, and that’s the point, isn’t it?

Again, it will be worth watching. What happens in California provide a model.