The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has won $60 million in stimulus money for their Smart Grid Program, which will help them know where and how energy is being used and anticipate demand and outages. USC and UCLA will act as testing grounds in the program, "replicating a full range of user infrastructure environments including commercial, medical, retail, semi-industrial, and residential," according to LADWP's release on the grant. The utility and its partners (including both schools--nice to see you working together, guys--and Caltech/Jet Propulsion Laboratory) will collect information on how energy is used in different contexts, test cyber-security technology, and look into ways to integrate plug-in hybrid cars into the grid. The program will cost a total of $1 billion and take ten years, and the hope is that it will serve as a model for other US cities.
The LA Times reports on other SoCal projects that received grants. Southern California Edison Company got $40 million for their smart grid demonstration project in Irvine and $24.9 million to test batteries that will store energy from Tahachapi windmills. Pacific Gas and Electric Company got $25 million for compressed air energy storage testing near Bakersfield.
· LADWP RECEIVES $60 MILLION FOR SMART GRID PROJECT [LADWP]
· L.A. gets $60-million stimulus grant for 'smart grid' electric power system [LAT]
Loading comments...