(Portland, Ore.) June 16, 2009 — Business and community leaders will join Portland State University (PSU) faculty and students for an all-day, interactive conference, “Planning the Smart Grid for Sustainable Communities,” June 18, 2009, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
The event will be held at PSU’s University Place academic conference center, 310 S.W. Lincoln St., Portland, Ore. A capacity crowd of 200 is expected.
“Planning the Smart Grid for Sustainable Communities” will address:
• What is the Smart Grid, both in terms of technologies and capabilities?
• In what respects can the Smart Grid aid sustainability and why?
• What metrics show progress towards sustainability?
• How might we think about the costs and benefits of the Smart Grid, particularly costs and benefits that do not relate directly to electricity production and delivery?
• How can the Smart Grid support renewable energy resources, both large central-station wind and solar and smaller resources located on an individual site or community level?
• How do we engage the community in the design, planning, and implementation of Smart Grid to ensure that we fully use its capabilities and achieve the outcomes we hoped for?
Conference Agenda Highlights:
Morning Keynote Speakers
“What does a Sustainable Community Look Like?” Lynne Barker, Director, STAR Community Index
“Smart Grid 101: Can the Smart Grid Help Our Communities Become More Sustainable?” Patrick Mazza, Research Director, Climate Solutions
Morning Small Group Learning Community Presentations and Table Discussions
“Operations and Infrastructure: Issues and Opportunities and the Smart Grid”
“Center Station Renewable Generations, the Smart Grid, and Sustainability”
Lunch Keynote Speaker
“How Can University-Community Partnerships Support Sustainability and Sustainable Development?” Wim Wiewel, President, Portland State University
Afternoon Small Group Learning Community Presentations and Table Discussions
“Energy Efficiency, Demand Response, and the Smart Grid”
“Distributed Generation, Electric Vehicles, Storage, and the Smart Grid”
Sponsors for the conference include Portland General Electric, Climate Solutions, PSU’s School of Extended Studies, and the Executive Leadership Institute in PSU’s Hatfield School of Government. The program received additional funding from PSU’s Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices, courtesy of a grant from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation in support of sustainability.
Conference and Seminar Background
The conference presents findings and issues from a two-term seminar in winter and spring 2009: “Designing the Smart Grid for Sustainable Communities.” The seminar, launched with support from Portland General Electric and the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation’s challenge grant to PSU for sustainability research and education, explored the concept of the Smart Grid and investigated whether and how it could help Northwest utilities and communities become more sustainable.
Seminar participants included graduate students from many academic disciplines, senior professionals who work at the Bonneville Power Administration, investor- and consumer-owned utilities, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Oregon Public Utility Commission, several state agencies, Metro, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, consumer and environmental advocacy organizations, several high tech, information technology, and Smart Grid firms, energy efficiency and renewable resource consulting companies and others.
About the Smart Grid
The concept of a “smart” electrical grid has caught the attention of political, business, and community leaders from the White House to Northwest communities and electric utilities.
Proponents say that the Smart Grid can use many of the same technologies, concepts and models behind the Internet to transform our electric grid from a centralized network that is largely controlled by utilities, to one that is less centralized and more customer-driven. They argue the Smart Grid will encourage the growth and enhance the value of renewable and distributed energy options; support energy efficiency; help owners of homes, businesses, and factories save money and better manage electricity usage; improve transmission efficiency; reduce power outages, blackouts, and brownouts; accelerate the adoption of new technologies; create more family wage jobs, and more.
Additional resources:
Planning the Smart Grid for Sustainable Communities conference: http://www.extended.pdx.edu/nwsmartgrid/
Designing the Smart Grid for Sustainable Communities seminar: http://www.eli.pdx.edu/smartgrid/
# # #
For Immediate Release (#09-026)
By: David Santen, Office of University Communications,
Portland State University
santend@pdx.edu | 503-725-8765
Source: Jeff Hammarlund, Executive Leadership Institute,
Portland State University
hammarj@pdx.edu | 503-249-0240
