Visioning 2026 Blog
Smart Grid Technology
Smart Grid Technology for NorthFork Riverwalk Development Project?
Among utilities pursuing smart grid technologies, Xcel Energy took the lead in March 2008, when it announced plans to convert Boulder, Colorado, into the nation's first fully integrated "Smart Grid City." Since then Xcel Energy has fitted the Chancellor's Residence at the University of Colorado with smart grid technologies, including an energy management system, a solar power system, a battery system for backup power, and a plug-in hybrid vehicle that will be automatically charged during off-peak times. The utility has also announced near-term plans to convert 60 hybrid vehicles to plug-in hybrids in order to test vehicle-to-grid technologies, with plans to eventually add another 500 plug-in hybrids. Meanwhile, the General Electric Company (GE) is preparing for smart grid technologies with plans to soon introduce a suite of "smart appliances" that can reduce their energy demand in response to signals from the electric utility. GE notes, for instance, that a smart refrigerator can delay its automatic defrost cycle until non-peak hours. The GE suite of smart appliances will also include ranges, dishwashers, microwave ovens, and clothes washers and dryers. See the Xcel Energy press releases on the Chancellor's Residence and vehicle-to-grid tests, as well as the GE press release.
Mark February 1st, 2009 6:41 am
I’ve been thinking on what we could use to help introduce transformational thinking as part of our NorthFork Riverwalk Development Project. This could very well be one of the seeding projects where we can help introduce the community to think about future trends and how they will impact us for the future. This particular smart grid technology could be one of the catalysts, getting people to the hmm…. stage and then to the ahh…… phase of learning, similar to the riverwalk concept during the Visioning 2026 Project.
Kathy, my spouse, my transformational student in the introduction phase, who attended the 5:30 public forum on Jan 27th, made the following comment relative to making our project a destination. She made the connection between her sister who is a science teacher in a grade school needing educational school field trips with transforming our project into a regional destination for school field trips. She asked a very appropriate question, “we need to ask teachers what type of field trips would be helpful for their classroom learning experience?” For example, Mrs. Stewart, sophomore science teacher at Norfolk Catholic HS, takes her students (with parents) out to the river (Elkhorn River west of Norfolk), to conduct a series of hands on experiments and data collection activities that are then used in the classroom over the next week or two. These were very powerful teaching moments for a number of reasons. I liked it as I was able to help with many of the activities and asked the students questions, practiced and started introducing some of the “futures generational dialogue” concepts learned from Rick Smyre. http://communitiesofthefuture.org/