Innovation Summit at Stanford

2006 TechNet Innovation Summit at Stanford University

I love any discussion Charlie Rose instigates, and this is no exception. The podcasts on this website are very insightful for entrepreneurs and investors, as well a politicians and business people who who need motivation and a bridge to a greener way of living.

Key issues in the "Going Green" panel include the overwhelming issue of URBANIZATION that will see our urban population increase from 2 billion to 6 billion over the next 50 years.

The BRIDGE to the future is one of incremental and disruptive innovation matched with government policy.

Companies can make green living accessible to the general population by making it affordable. People vote (and spend) with their wallets first.

... fascinating insights into the work we have ahead of us.

Smart meters

The smart metering programs are not new, but their continued rarity speaks in part to the success of power-generating companies in protecting their profit models. Some utilities did install meters in a small number of homes as early as three decades ago, pushed by the environmental movement and a spike in energy prices.

When consumers know the price of their electricity in advance and can tailor their use, even minor changes in behavior can lead to lower home utility bills and less reliance on marginal power plants, said Kathleen Spees, a graduate student in engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon.

Consumers who cut back on power use at peak times can do more than just avoid high prices. They can make money, as people in the building on Central Park West learned last summer.

Peter Funk Jr., an energy partner at the law firm Duane Morris who lives in the 48-unit co-op, persuaded his neighbors three years ago to install a single meter to the Consolidated Edison system and then to operate their own internal metering system. That made the building big enough to qualify for hour-by-hour pricing.

When the next day’s prices are scheduled to soar, the building superintendent and a few residents get e-mail messages or phone calls. “We have an orderly plan all worked out to notify people” so they can reduce their power use during the designated times, Mr. Funk said.

The residents save more than just the money on power not used during peak periods, when pricing has been as high as almost 50 cents a kilowatt-hour. During the blackout in July, when parts of Queens were without electricity for up to nine days, the building cut demand as much as 42 percent and sold the unused capacity for about $3,000.

That money helps the building offer a valuable benefit: On most weekend mornings, electricity for residents is free.

“Small reductions in demand can produce very large savings,” said Ms. Spees, who analyzed prices charged within the PJM Interconnection grid, which coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity for 51 million people from New Jersey to Illinois.

SOURCE: NY TIMES