Three-day Smart Grid Live kicks off Tuesday, will showcase innovators, live demonstrations

By: Steve Monday September 24, 2012 Tags: Bill Ritter, Bob Shapard, Boeing Company, City of Fort Collins, Connecting Point, Fort Collins, Gridwise Alliance, NREL, Smart Grid Live, Spirae, Steve Hauser

FORT COLLINS - Smart Grid Live 2012 will kick off Tuesday in a three-day event that will feature leading smart grid innovators, panel discussions, networking with experts from around the world and live demonstrations of smart grid solutions.

Industry leaders and smart grid users will gather at the Fort Collins Lincoln Center to view advanced solutions in operation, learn from each other and accelerate the transformation of the industry from a carbon-heavy, electricity-delivery network to a more efficient, service-centered, low-carbon network.

Smart Grid Live will focus on live demonstrations of innovative solutions by participants from Colorado, California, Washington, Idaho and Denmark.

With several Colorado companies and organizations playing key roles in the event, Smart Grid Live is expected to bring further attention to the state as a hub for smart grid innovation.

Keynote speakers include U.S. Ambassador to Finland Bruce Oreck; Bill Ritter, former Colorado governor and founding director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at CSU; Bob Shapard, chair and CEO of Oncor and chair of the Gridwise Alliance; Ake Almgren, president of Orkas and PJM Interconnection Board member; Mayor Martin Damm of Kalundborg, Denmark; and Fort Collins Mayor Karen Weitkunat.

Steve Hauser, CTO of New West Technologies and former executive director of Gridwise Alliance, will serve as conference chair.

Day 1, Sept. 25, will focus on advanced distribution operations. Day 2, Sept. 26, will focus on secure microgrid operations, and Day 3, Sept. 27, will focus on smart grids for smart cities.

Smart Grid Live is hosted by Spirae and the Center for Smart Grid Advancement in partnership with the Boeing Company and the City of Fort Collins.

Sponsors include NREL, CSU, New Belgium Brewing, Elster, Front Range Community College, Viridity, Connecting Point, Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster, Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, and New West Technologies.

Additional support comes from IEEE High Plains Section, the Colorado Energy Office, Rocky Mountain Institute and the CSU Center for the New Energy Economy.

For more information, visit www.smartgrid-live.com.