San Jose, California-based Echelon Corporation, a developer of embedded monitoring and control technology, has been selected to participate in Smart Grid Gotland—a large-scale, pioneering smart grid and distributed energy technology demonstration on the 11-square-mile island of Gotland. The island is located about 60 miles off the shore of Sweden, in the Baltic Sea, and has a resident population of about 57,000.
In addition to Echelon, Smart Grid Gotland represents a joint venture among Vattenfall, Gotland Energy, ABB, Swedish National Grid, Schneider Electric (News - Alert), and Royal Institute of Technology. It has been partly financed by the Swedish Energy Agency.
The project is intended to showcase how new smart grid technologies can improve the electrical quality of large rural grids by utilizing large quantities of distributed power generation and advanced load management strategies. Echelon was selected based upon its smart meter technology, which will increase overall grid quality, efficiency and reliability; as well as integration and management of renewable energy sources.
In a “subtest” to be conducted next fall, energy pricing will be based on current wind power production on Gotland and announced to customers by use of price signals. The customers will get an indication of whether the price is high or low via a smart energy box and—on the strength of the data—will be able to decide whether to use energy-intensive applications during times of peak pricing... Read More
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