In the last couple of months, smart grid has received heavy press coverage in the U.S. With the $3.4 billion stimulus funds for smart grid development, smart grid presentations at Copenhagen and smart meter litigation in California, it is easy to forget that European countries have made smart grid improvements since 2001, hence, this quick review that highlights past and present activities.
History
2001 – Italian utility, ENEL launched large scale smart meter project
2005 – SmartGrids European Technology Platform for Electricity Networks of the Future was launched as a result the 2004 International Conference on the Integration of Renewable Energy Sources and Distributed Energy Resources
Jan. 2005 to Dec. 2006 – EU provides funding for “Energy Savings from Intelligent Metering and Behavioral Change” (partners included Austria, Denmark, Germany, & U.K.)
2007 – European Smart Metering Alliance created
Pilot projects
Denmark - Large utilities initiated advanced metering infrastructure project that plans on deploying 390,000 smart meters to customers by 2011
France - A consortium pilot project looks to install 300,000 power line communications meters
Germany - Stadtwerke Dusseldorf announced in 2008 that it will implement an Advanced Metering Management system for its 520,000 electricity customers. Another company, RWE, provides smart meters to 100,000 households.
U.K. - 15,000 homes were installed with smart meters in a pilot project in 2008
Legislation
May, 2009 - The U.K. plans on installing smart meters in all homes by 2020
Feb., 2009 - Denmark plans a zero carbon electric car network based on its wind resources
Ireland, Netherlands, and Norway are expected to mandate smart meters as well
As the U.S. makes improvements on its own electric grid, we can learn from European experiences.
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