Obama's Smart Grid Pledge Boosts Power Companies
Comverge, Inc. (COMV), EnerNOC, Inc. (ENOC), Titan Worldwide Energy, Inc. (TEWI) and other players in the back-up power industry are seeing increased interest as government dollars continue to flow into the sector on the back of Obama’s $3.4 billion smart power grid pledge. These companies provide peaking and base load capacity solutions to electric utilities.
“There’s something big happening in America in terms of creating a clean-energy economy,” said the President as he was touring DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center’s solar farm in west-central Florida. The solar facility is the largest in the U.S. and is designed to generate enough electricity to power 3,000 residential customers.
Most of the $3.4 billion in initial federal aid will go towards utilities installing meters, transformers and other equipment that can control the flow of electricity and reduce power usage. However, funds are also being made available to companies that develop and install technology to make electricity transmission more reliable.
The funds available could grow even larger as well. Energy Secretary Steven Chu told Bloomberg Television that the investment is merely a down payment on what would be hundreds of billions of dollars in investments to upgrade the power grid, with the goal being to encourage spending in technologies that would lead to more efficient energy use.
Whether or not these contracts materialize remains to be seen, but some utilities are already reporting having received government grants, which are said to range from $400,000 to $200 million in size. In the end, 100 projects were selected from the 400 proposed, and the money will be distributed over the next two months with work done over the next 1-3 years.
CONTACT: Daniel Minton, Managing Director, 406-862-5400, daniel@accelerize.com