Making Our Grid Smarter : Blog : GE Global Research

Making our Grid smarter

Hi all, my name is Owen Schelenz and I work in the Smart Grid lab at GE Global Research. As we kick off 2009, I wanted to give you a quick update about an exciting collaboration we have with Google to explore research partnership opportunities in renewable energy and Smart Grid initiatives.

Last month, Google’s RE<C (Renewable Energy cheaper than Coal) group met with various engineers and scientists at Global Research to present their initiatives and discuss collaboration opportunities. Google recently put together a team of engineers and energy experts to focus on renewable energy sources such as solar thermal power, wind power technologies, and enhanced geothermal systems among other promising renewable technologies. All have the potential to be a cheaper source of energy than coal.

Google toured our Smart Grid lab, receiving a detailed presentation of the suite of electric grid enhancement technologies we are working on in the lab. These technologies range from large-scale transmission control to intelligent household appliances. And being a Smart lab, of course they all come equipped with full communications capabilities for efficient resource utilization.

Our tour ended in a healthy discussion and exchange of ideas relating to the future of renewable energy and how our energy grid will have to develop to meet growing energy demands. It is exciting to think what a collaboration between GE and Google in this important area could achieve.

I also wanted to mention that this month, the MIT magazine, Technology Review, is featuring a video on their Web site spotlighting Juan de Bedout, the Global Technology Leader of the Power Conversion Systems technologies organization at GE Global Research and the work we have been doing in the Smart Grid lab. I make a guest appearance in the video, so check it out here. As well,the January 2009 issue of Technology Review also features an in-depth story on the Smart Grid initiative.

I hope everybody had a happy holiday season and is looking forward to exciting things to come in 2009!

January 7th, 2009 | Energy, Power Conversion Systems, Sustainable Energy

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Comments

GE and Google… A meeting of titans!

Happy New Year GRC blog and all its readers!

Gheorghe Curelet-Balan | 1/12/09, 9:16 AM

Owen,
great stuff…you learned a lot in Munich !

Greetings, Florian

Dr. Florian Krug | 1/17/09, 2:43 PM

Owen,
smart grid seems to be very exiting,but customers need to educated enough on the benefits of smart grid so that they beleive in good return of investments.

AJAY RAMACHANDRAN | 2/03/09, 12:01 AM

GE has an added advantage over its competitors as it is having GIS also in its wide product portfolio , which is a salient feature of SMART GRID

ajay ramachandran | 2/03/09, 2:17 AM

2/12/09 Wall Street Journal “Smart Roads. Smart Bridges. Smart Grids” My interest was in grid application. I found the article informative but limited in scope. However, GE’s Rechargable Batteries for solar and wind energy on the grid was very endorsing. No doubt on my part. What I want to obtain as being a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business is obtaining marketing opportunities to provide this technology to the utilities. Whom do I contact at GE??

william campbell | 2/19/09, 6:42 AM

I may not be the sharpest knife in the draw but I’m very sure that a device like from the SiFi stargate series ZPM is on the horizon. Realizing that creation of such forms of low cost non polluting energy sources might put a stop to the necessity for currently available technologies is this the reason that it is impossible to find funding to construct a working prototype? It appears funding is much more available to fund reactors and wind generating systems and microhydro and the like instead of a new and potentially more productive method nonpolluting less expensive and greener that could produce the oppertunity for the creation of new jobs. That’s my take , I have a plan using existing tech. that I believe I can produce electricty at 1 ten thousands of a cent per KW pro rated over 25 years given that the manufactures adhear to their warantes. My problem is Finance. You may talk the talk ,what a bout walk the walk when it comes to inovation.

C.S.Wheeler | 3/04/09, 9:02 AM

Fascinating stuff for the type of work we do in developing countries as well, where technology leaps may be a more feasible proposition.

Salvador Rivera | 3/29/09, 9:56 AM

Nice article – Hope to come back=)

gelarliablins | 5/20/09, 1:39 AM

Fantastic site:) I will visit again:)

advoveate | 5/20/09, 9:42 PM

Based on that last post I’m going to agree completely.

Got to go for now.

Cheers

Scizzbo

scizzbo | 7/28/09, 2:09 PM