Consulting engineers and construction contractors alike are looking forward to participating in the single-largest investment ever for modernizing the U.S. electric grid. The $3.4 billion of grant awards announced late last month by President Obama will be matched by utilities in 49 states for a total of $8.2 billion to install “Smart Grid” technologies. The Energy Dept. hopes that investment will put the country on a path to obtain 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 and shave more than 1,400 MW off peak power demand.
On the long-heralded Smart Grid, customers and electricity providers will be linked by communication infrastructure that will allow the electrical system’s operators to closely manage demand and supply. Sensors, called phasor measurement units (PMUs), are “a technology that DOE is very interested in testing,” says Steve Stolze, managing director for Black & Veatch Enterprise Management Solutions, Hauppauge, N.Y.