Washington, 28 October 2009 

President Obama today announced the release of $3.4 billion in government grants for a variety of “smart grid” technologies aimed at improving the efficiency of the nation’s electrical transmission network and aiding the incorporation of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power into the system.

The grants, which range from $400,000 to $200 million, will fuel 100 grid modernizing projects that include installing smart electric meters in homes, automating 700 utility substations, and installing 200,000 new digital transformers and 850 grid sensors.

The anticipated installation of 18 million wall-based smart meters and a million other in-home devices and more modern thermostats will allow homeowners to better monitor their electricity usage. Meanwhile, the new grid sensors will allow utilities to better monitor the grid, and the thousands of new digital transformers will reduce the risk of power outages.

The $3.4 billion is part the $787 billion economic stimulus legislation (ARRA) approved by Congress in February, and will be matched by $4.7 billion in private investments, according to officials. Venture capitalists (VC) touted Smart Grid technology as their 2009 frontline investment early in the year.

The market value for smart grid enabling technologies in the United States is currently about $6.4 Billion, according to Smart Grid Technologies Worldwide, a market study from SBI Energy. It is expected to grow at 20.8% CAGR through 2014, to about $16.5 billion. The bulk of this market will go towards smart sensors and devices which need to be placed throughout the grid and in consumer homes and office buildings.

Smart grid technology uses computer networking design and architecture to manage a country’s power grid, making battery storage the next greentech investment area VCs are watching. A market forecasted to grow 23% between 2008 and 2013 to reach $9.9 billion, emerging battery technologies are also getting some serious attention. It is large-scale energy storage systems that can as efficiently power up home-sized application as power plant-sized application that are catching the eye of investors in particular.

“This is great stuff! Norman rocks!” SBI Energy expert analyst Darren Allen says of Advanced Storage Battery Market, also from SBI Energy. Allen, Norman Deschamps, Bernie Galing, Akash Shah and Shannon Shuflat are core analysts for SBI Energy.

The president made his announce in Arcadia, Florida, at one of the nation’s largest solar power generating facilities. Florida Power & Light (FPL) Company’s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center will generate enough power for 3,000 homes when it is completed.

As reported in SBI Energy’s The U.S. Solar Energy Market in a World Perspective market study, FPL is a leader in solar panel implementation and has struck a deal with Ausra, a Silicon Valley startup, to provide 300 MW worth of CSP (concentrating solar power) in Florida by 2014.

CSP technology utilizes optical mirrors (or heliostats) and electronic receivers to provide solar power is expected to contribute to overall market growth projected to nearly triple 2008 to 2012, growing 155% from $4.6 billion to nearly $12 billion.

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