Post by jeffolie on Jan 22, 2012 10:11:59 GMT -6
Electricity Deflation ... 1 M sell electricity from buildings in Germany
Nat gas prices continued decline driving down the price of fuel to create electricity by utilities as 'super fracking' promises even greater domestic supply of nat gas and oil.
Software electrical use and purchasing have been common place in the electric utilities that generate and transmit over those huge, tower lines marching from one state to another and down large portions of 'the grid' (hint many regional grids exist).
Factories and big users have been sold scams that promise big returns on their investments from electrical use.
The below piece has a proven track record in 1 million buildings in Germany ... that got my attention. America's grids and quality of electricity (hint electricity does indeed have variations in how consistent it arrives resulting 'electricity conditioning' needs) differs from Germany.
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Viridity installs software that works with a building’s energy systems to monitor and control heating and cooling, appliances, generators, and more. The software constantly checks the variables that affect how much a facility pays for energy. This includes the price of electricity, which for wholesale buyers like factories can change every few minutes. The software also takes into account weather forecasts, which could cause price spikes, and how much it costs a building to produce its own energy. Viridity then tweaks electricity use to minimize costs. At Drexel University in Philadelphia, a Viridity client, the software knows that certain rooms are better insulated than others. When electricity prices rise, it automatically reduces heat in the law library, where the books trap a lot of warmth. Drexel could make money during those hours by selling electricity from its diesel generators to the grid.
The software builds on Zibelman’s more than 25 years in the utility industry, including as general counsel to the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. Viridity doesn’t charge for its software; it takes a cut of any revenue its customers make by selling to the grid. Jeremy Rifkin, an adviser on energy policy to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European heads of state, notes that similar technology has helped over 1 million buildings in Germany sell their power to the grid over the past four years. “We’re beginning to democratize energy,” he says. “Within 25 years, everybody is going to be their own power plant.”
Zibelman expects Viridity’s software to be in hundreds of facilities and projects over $10 million in revenue by yearend, possibly bringing the startup into the black by next year. She hopes that the same software used by Drexel could one day help rural areas wring as much value as possible from small wind or solar farms. “Energy consumption, energy costs—it’s a big part of economic development,” she says.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-20/energy-saving-software-turns-factories-into-power-plants.html
Nat gas prices continued decline driving down the price of fuel to create electricity by utilities as 'super fracking' promises even greater domestic supply of nat gas and oil.
Software electrical use and purchasing have been common place in the electric utilities that generate and transmit over those huge, tower lines marching from one state to another and down large portions of 'the grid' (hint many regional grids exist).
Factories and big users have been sold scams that promise big returns on their investments from electrical use.
The below piece has a proven track record in 1 million buildings in Germany ... that got my attention. America's grids and quality of electricity (hint electricity does indeed have variations in how consistent it arrives resulting 'electricity conditioning' needs) differs from Germany.
=========================
Viridity installs software that works with a building’s energy systems to monitor and control heating and cooling, appliances, generators, and more. The software constantly checks the variables that affect how much a facility pays for energy. This includes the price of electricity, which for wholesale buyers like factories can change every few minutes. The software also takes into account weather forecasts, which could cause price spikes, and how much it costs a building to produce its own energy. Viridity then tweaks electricity use to minimize costs. At Drexel University in Philadelphia, a Viridity client, the software knows that certain rooms are better insulated than others. When electricity prices rise, it automatically reduces heat in the law library, where the books trap a lot of warmth. Drexel could make money during those hours by selling electricity from its diesel generators to the grid.
The software builds on Zibelman’s more than 25 years in the utility industry, including as general counsel to the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission. Viridity doesn’t charge for its software; it takes a cut of any revenue its customers make by selling to the grid. Jeremy Rifkin, an adviser on energy policy to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European heads of state, notes that similar technology has helped over 1 million buildings in Germany sell their power to the grid over the past four years. “We’re beginning to democratize energy,” he says. “Within 25 years, everybody is going to be their own power plant.”
Zibelman expects Viridity’s software to be in hundreds of facilities and projects over $10 million in revenue by yearend, possibly bringing the startup into the black by next year. She hopes that the same software used by Drexel could one day help rural areas wring as much value as possible from small wind or solar farms. “Energy consumption, energy costs—it’s a big part of economic development,” she says.
www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-20/energy-saving-software-turns-factories-into-power-plants.html