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Federal Smart Grid Initiatives highlights key government-sponsored programs and activities related to the development and modernization of the electric grid in the United States.

Federal Smart Grid Initiatives

Featured Initiatives

  • Apr 18. 2012
    Apps for Energy
    The Energy Department’s first ever Apps for Energy competition is officially open for submissions. This competition challenges the American developer community to build apps that help consumers get the most out of their utility data. To register for competition updates or to accept the... (more)
  • Feb 24. 2012
    Green Button Gives Millions of Consumers Access to Electricity Usage Information
    In the 2012 State of the Union Address, President Obama called for an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy. As part of this strategy and his broader agenda to repair and modernize America’s infrastructure and create jobs, the... (more)
  • Dec 02. 2011
    SmartGrid.gov and the Open Energy Information Website: Two Examples of an Open, Transparent Federal Government
    One of the first acts of the Obama presidency was to sign the "Presidential Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government," which instructed all members of the administration to operate under the principles of openness, transparency, and of engaging citizens with their government... (more)
  • Oct 10. 2011
    Across the U.S. Utilities Share Experiences from Smart Grid Deployments
    Regional Peer-to-Peer Smart Grid Meeting Smart grid technologies have the potential to transform the electric system by improving utility operations and giving customers information that can help them better manage their electricity use. However, before the American Recovery and... (more)
  • Jul 26. 2011
    DOE Helps Jump Start a "Zero Energy District" in Fort Collins, Colorado
    Fort Collins, Colorado, has long been a leader in clean energy. The city was the first in Colorado, and among the first cities in the nation, to offer its customer the option of buying "green power"—electricity from renewable energy sources—through a contract with the... (more)
  • Jul 14. 2011
    USDA Aims to Invest $250 Million in Rural Smart Grid Deployment
    The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on June 13, 2011, that it plans to invest $250 million in smart grid equipment deployments in rural parts of the United States over the course of the following 12 months. To kick off that effort, the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), part of USDA... (more)
  • Feb 21. 2011
    GridLAB-D: Testing the Smart Grid Before We Build It
    Building the Smart Grid in the United States is a huge and expensive endeavor. The U.S. power grid is already considered one of the most complex machines ever built, and converting it to a Smart Grid won’t be easy. It entails overlaying the current infrastructure with hundreds of millions... (more)
  • Feb 20. 2011
    Biennial Report Tracks Smart Grid Development, Deployment, and Barriers
    Smart Grid technologies are steadily gaining ground in the United States. As of 2008, about 31% of electrical substations had some form of automation, and that number was expected to grow to 40% in 2010. On the customer end of the power line, however, the penetration of smart meters—... (more)
  • Feb 19. 2011
    NIST Tackles Smart Grid Interoperability to Avoid a "Betamax vs. VHS" Dilemma
    The constant problem with new technology is that you can never know when it will become outmoded. One particularly fast way for technology to become outmoded is a shift to a new format or standard that is incompatible with your device. A classic example of this problem happened at the dawn of... (more)
  • Feb 18. 2011
    White House Leads Effort to Set Smart Grid Policies
    A 21st century electric grid is essential to America’s ability to lead the world in clean energy and win the future. Modernizing the electric system will: Facilitate the clean energy economy by integrating renewable power, enabling distributed generation, and facilitating the use of... (more)