Fall 2009 Conference

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Smart Grid

Vision, Opportunity, and Effectiveness

This is the fourth in a continuing series of focused conferences highlighting clean technology solutions to address the planet's multifaceted energy challenges. This fourth installment is made possible through the Stanford University Energy Crossroads. This conference will provide:

• VISION: What is the Smart Grid today? Where is it going?
  
  Capturing the full scope of technological development related to grid-level and user-level energy management will give conference participants a wide view of the range of applications that fall under Smart Grid technology. Presenting applications that are still at early stages of basic research alongside those that are already being deployed commercially will provide a forward-looking view of the direction of Smart Grid development, and the role it can play in the near future and long-term.
  
  Commercially mature Smart Grid technologies include advanced meters that communicate usage and service data directly to utilities, as well as demand response applications targeting large-scale consumers. Basic research has shown that advanced technologies and economic approaches might significantly alter how users manage their energy consumption. Insights from panelists representing Smart Grid success stories and basic research will illustrate for participants what to expect from the Smart Grid.
  
  
• OPPORTUNITY: How can innovators make the most of Smart Grid opportunities?
  
  The changing economics of energy have created an environment in which energy innovation is expanding in all directions. Entrepreneurs are pursuing opportunities ranging from automated energy management to grid integration of renewables and electric vehicles. To find commercial success, these new companies must not only develop breakthrough technology, but also navigate a complex market that relies on critical policy decisions and developments in other industries in order to see growth in demand.
  
  Technology developers with next-generation technologies will join energy industry investors who play a key role in commercial success to discuss the range of opportunities that the Smart Grid is creating and how to build an innovation into a business.
  
  
• EFFECTIVENESS: What policies will enable the Smart Grid? What are the constraints in the system?
  
  Smart Grid technologies must function seamlessly within the existing electricity grid, and they must be viable under the policies and regulations that govern the electricity market. Private sector companies pursuing Smart Grid opportunities need a thorough understanding of the existing system, and how changes to that system might affect consumers and other stakeholders in the public sector.
  
  Panelists from organizations with key responsibility over various aspects of the electricity market will describe the system into which Smart Grid technology must fit and how that system is changing.