Victoria pushes for $100m Smart Grid cash  

ComputerWorld has a report on a smart grid initiative in Victoria - Victoria pushes for $100m Smart Grid cash.

The Victorian State government has thrown its support behind the Frankston Smart Grid, Smart City project in an effort to secure up to $100 million in Federal Government funding.

The funding, part of the National Energy Efficiency Initiative, aims to support a single Australian state in its testing of new energy saving technologies.

Victoria’s bid, the Smart Grid, Smart City in Frankston, is being led by power companies United Energy and Jemena, energy retailer AGL and consulting and technology services company Accenture.

According to the Victorian government, if successful, the Smart Grid, Smart City program will reshape the way power is used and delivered to 10,000 Frankston residents.

“Neighbourhood solar panels could supply a local street with power in times of high energy demand, such as a hot summer’s day, while software allowing homes to store electricity for air-conditioning in batteries would also be tested,” Victorian energy and resources minister Peter Batchelor said in a statement. “Some households would be able to control home appliances remotely, with trials of mobile phone and internet applications allowing people to turn appliances on and off no matter where they are.”

China’s overall federal stimulus investments in smart grid projects will surpass the United States’ in 2010, according to a forthcoming market research report — though not on a per capita basis.

The Chinese government will spend $7.3 billion dollars in the form of stimulus loans, grants and tax credits compared to $7.1 billion by the United States government, according to analysis done by Zpryme, a market research firm in Austin, Tex.

“They’ve got a strong economy to push forward,” Jason Rodriguez, director of research at Zpryme, said of China’s smart grid push.

Smaller countries like France and Great Britain, the analysis found, will spend less than $300 million each of stimulus funding on smart grid projects, though Mr. Rodriguez noted that both countries are “already more advanced in smart grid infrastructure than the U.S.”

“They have double the amount of smart meters,” he said.

Meanwhile, a number of American companies, including General Electric, IBM and Hewlett Packard have entered the Chinese smart grid market, hoping to cash-in on some of the investments.