U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the first set of standards they say are needed for the interoperability and security of a nationwide smart grid.
In addition, the Department of Energy (DOE) will provide $10 million in Recovery Act funds to the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support the development of interoperability standards.
Chu also announced that based on feedback from the public and Smart Grid stakeholders, the Department of Energy is increasing the maximum award available under the Recovery Act for Smart Grid programs from $20 million to $200 million and for the Smart Grid Demonstration Projects from $40 million to $100 million.
In making awards, DOE said it will ensure that funding is provided to a diversity of applications, including small projects as well as end-to-end larger projects.
The initial batch of 16 National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)-recognized interoperability standards will help ensure that software and hardware components from different vendors will work together seamlessly, while securing the grid against disruptions.
Spanning areas ranging from smart customer meters to distributed power generation components to cybersecurity, the list of standards is based on the consensus expressed by participants in the first public Smart Grid Interoperability Standards Interim Roadmap workshop, held April 28-29 in Reston, Va.
A full list of the announced standards is available online.
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Networking giant Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO) sees a $100 billion market opportunity in the smart grid, and has announced its intentions to make communications equipment to enable the new energy infrastructure.
Read the CNET report at the link below.
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