June 1, 2013 - Georgian College students and faculty will initiate research on power use, quality, consumption and costing for electric vehicles (EVs) thanks to a “first-of-its-kind” charging station supported by PowerStream and Ford Motor Company of Canada.

May 14, 2013 - According to a recent survey by Navigant Research, consumer support for solar and wind energy, though still high, has fallen steadily over the last three years. Favorable impressions of solar energy fell from 77% in 2011 to 69% in 2012, the survey found, while wind energy suffered a smaller drop, from 71% to 69%.

May 5, 2013 - The federal government announced 55 new clean energy projects yesterday, representing an investment of more than $82 million through the EcoEnergy Innovation Initiative which, according to the feds, will create jobs, generate economic opportunities and help protect the environment.

May 2, 2013 - The IEEE International Conference on Smart Grid Communications (SmartGridComm) has extended the Call for Papers deadline to May 19, 2013, for its 4th annual event be held October 21-24 in Vancouver, B.C.

April 29, 2013 - Tollgrade Communications Inc., a provider of service assurance solutions to utilities and telecommunications providers, has promoted Thomas J. Kolb to chief operating officer (COO).

April 19, 2013 - PowerStream and Georgian College say they are collaborating to better understand electric vehicles (EVs) and their charging demands. A new applied research initiative will be conducted by means of a charging station, complemented by solar power, at the college’s Barrie Campus.

April 9, 2013 - ABB says its new Emax 2 is the first low-voltage circuit breaker with integrated energy management functions. Replacing existing traditional breakers with the Emax 2 breaker has the potential to achieve annual savings of 5.8 million MWh, boasts the company. Breakers like the Emax 2 are used where the protection and control of large amounts of energy are used in a low-voltage environment, such as industrial and commercial buildings, data centres and ships. To manage energy, the electricity supply to non-essential equipment is switched Off and back On again as soon as “acceptable” power levels are reached. Intelligent decision-making is achieved by a built-in controller and software that uses algorithms to decide when it is appropriate to switch the power while maintaining the overall functionality or productivity of the connected equipment. “Breakers provide one of the largest untapped opportunities in the electric system to achieve energy savings,” said Tarak Mehta, head of ABB’s low-voltage products division. “Breakers have been used to increase safety and protect electric circuits, but now—for the first time—we use them to save energy too.”

March 12, 2013 - Three global partners with an interest in smart grids—International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC) and VDE (a European technical and scientific association)—have joined forces to deliver the first World Smart Grid Forum, being held in September in Berlin.

January 31, 2013 - New Brunswick Premier David Alward, NB Power CEO Gaetan Thomas and Siemens Canada president and CEO Robert Hardt were among those in attendance today at the official opening of Siemens’ newest home in Fredericton. The location will house both a smart grid centre of competence (COC) and R&D centre, and is a milestone in Siemens’ multi-year partnership with NB Power announced in the summer of 2012.

December 22, 2012 - Alstom Grid says it has completed its acquisition of ASAT Solutions Inc., a Calgary, Alta.-based based substation automation solutions provider.