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Inslee Praises Bi-Partisan Effort That Results in $88 Million Investment for Northwest Region

November 24, 2009

(Washington, D.C.)  This morning, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced a significant new investment in smart electric grid technology by providing $88 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding to the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project.  The project, to test new smart grid technology, involves twelve utilities from five states, some 60,000 customers and will be led by the Bonneville Power Administration.  The funding will be matched by $90 million dollars in private investment. 

“This award is a game-changer in electric power technology,” said Congressman Inslee.  “By leveraging public and private funds thousands of new jobs in manufacturing, installation and operation of new technology equipment will be created. 

On September 10^th, Congressman Jay Inslee (D-WA) led a bi-partisan coalition of members of the House in an appeal to Secretary Chu to award funding for the demonstration project.  Every member of the Congressional delegations and the Governors of the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming joined in support of the project.

“No one person can take credit for today’s announcement,” said Inslee.  “The fact of the matter is both Republicans and Democrats from across the region recognized the enormous potential this project has to create jobs and rebuild our infrastructure.  This won’t be the last investment we make in the new energy economy.”      

In the announcement today Energy Secretary Chu said, “This funding will be used to show how Smart Grid technologies can be applied to whole systems to promote energy savings for consumers, increase energy efficiency, and foster the growth of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.” 

“The Northwest team will put new smart grid technology to work in a five-state region while also testing the value and benefits of these systems for the entire nation,” said Mike Davis, vice president at Battelle and associate laboratory director for Energy and Environment at PNNL.

The project will:

·         Feature the use of many different smart grid technologies:  smart appliances, smart meters, distributed generation, electric vehicles and automated distribution, all located at the partner utilities. It will also involve solar, wind, and battery storage technologies.  This grant will also build upon other grants that the region has received, particularly for electric vehicles. 

·         Include the cooperation of multiple technology partners such as IBM, Areva, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Itron, 3Tier, and many others.  In addition, the project will coordinate with both the University of Washington and Washington State University.   These partners, along with Battelle and the utilities offer nationally known experts in Smart Grid technology and will make a significant contribution to national cyber security and interoperability standards.

“The project will apply smart grid capabilities to support the integration of a rapidly expanding portfolio of renewable resources in the region,” Inslee concluded.  “What is important to consumers and taxpayers is that the project will measure and validate smart grid costs and benefits for customers, utilities, regulators, and the nation thereby informing business cases for future smart grid investment.”