Smart Grid Stimulus Guidelines Coming Today?

By Jeff St. John

Could the Department of Energy's rules for spending its $4.5 billion in smart grid grants be coming out today?

That's what Suedeen Kelly, commissioner with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said Thursday morning.

"A lot of us are waiting to see what the DOE is doing — and some of the scuttlebutt is that we’ll find out today," Kelly told an audience at the Edison Electric Institute's annual convention in San Francisco.

It isn't the first time that the DOE has been predicted to come out with the rules, only to disappoint the utilities and smart grid companies waiting for a piece of the pie — a similar expectation that the DOE was just about to release its rules last week passed without a peep from the department (see Green Light post).

Still, several sources at the convention this week seem pretty positive that DOE may be ready to move this time around.

There are lots of questions about how the DOE will manage the 50-50 grants for smart grid projects established by the stimulus package signed into law in February.

Most recently, utilities and companies that want to use the grants to do more expensive projects were cheered when the DOE lifted the caps it had previously proposed for investment-scale projects from $20 million apiece to $200 million (see DOE Lifts Smart Grid Stimulus Cap to $200M).

But many questions — including much confusion about how the issue of standards for the smart grid will be dealt with in the department's rules for what it wants to see out of applying projects — remain to be worked out.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu is set to address the conference some time this afternoon. That may be a speech to pay attention to... stay tuned.

Comments

[Mad Hedge F...:]

It's imminent. If the 2009 Clean Energy Bill passes, it is going to pave the way for major structural changes to the US economy, which few of the non-engineering types voting for it in Congress understand. The bill encourages electric power utilities to switch to renewables, upgrade the electric power grid, and put in place a cap and trade system which places an enormous burden on the power industry to go green (see www.madhedgefundtrader...). The bill is expected to sail through the House, but faces a major fight in the Senate, where the administration is going to have to get all of their ducks in a row for it to pass. The bill provides the legal structure to spend that $100 billion for alternative energy already passed in the stimulus bill. In his cheerleading press conference for the bill, Obama correctly declared that dependence on hydrocarbons was jeopardizing our national security. He also cleverly described this as a massive creator of high tech jobs that can’t be exported. I’m not highlighting this because I live in California, wear sandals all year, drive a Prius, or have a refrigerator stuffed as if a giant gerbil does my shopping. Since this economic crisis started, the key has been to buy whatever the government is buying, and since they are going into alternatives in a big way, you want to be right ahead of them. See my solar piece at www.madhedgefundtrader.... Time to add more alternative energy names to your list to buy on dips. Look at American Superconductor (AMSC), which is involved in advanced wind turbine designs and electric power grid upgrades. Also take a peek at Covanta (CVA), an established business that profitably burns trash to create electricity.

Jun 25 04:52 PM

[Jake Kimble:]

Smart Grids are great under any Obama investor. Communication companies such as CSCO, AT&T, and Verizon are all indirectly benefiting from the smart grid push. Check out these strong companies with great dividends.

Check out my company's website at bullishbankers.com for informative articles on all sectors, the economy, personal investing, and much more!

Jun 26 01:11 PM

[Jim Regan:]

If you want smart grid plays, check out some infrastructure plays like Quantas (PWR) or Maztec (MTZ). I'll be writing about these soon on BullishBankers.com, thanks Jake.

Jun 26 03:02 PM

[TinyTim:]

a feeding frenzy

Jun 26 03:09 PM