FSU joins coalition working to improve nation's power grid

KEMA Consulting, Lockheed Martin, MainNet Communications, the Microsoft Corporation, Midwest ISO, Milsoft Utility Solutions, National Grid, Open Systems International, Optimal Technologies International, Progress Energy, Public Service Electric and Gas Company, PJM Interconnection, RockPort Capital Partners, RuggedCom, SAIC, SAP, Sempra Energy, SensorTran Inc., the Serveron Corporation, Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, Site Controls, SmartSynch, Solar Integrated Technologies, Telvent, Tendril Networks, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Tollgrade Communications, the Utilities Telecom Council, VELCO, Washington State University and ZIV USA Inc.

"These companies and academic institutions strengthen the coalition and broaden our impact by bringing their knowledge and innovation to our efforts to transform the electricity grid," said Guido Bartels, chairman of the alliance and general manager of IBM's Global Energy and Utilities Industry. He added that "the diversity of the GridWise Alliance continues to grow, further demonstrating that the development of a smart grid is a truly collaborative effort."

GridWise Alliance members are gathering at GridWeek 2008, being held this week in Washington, D.C. This annual meeting examines smart grid successes, their role in carbon reduction, alternative distributed generation, and implementation of the Energy Act of 2007. For more information on GridWeek 2008, visit www.gridweek.com.

The Center for Advanced Power Systems (www.caps.fsu.edu) was founded in 2001 under a grant from the Office of Naval Research to undertake research for the Navy's All-Electric Ship Program. The center became the leader of a multi-university consortium in this research field with a budget of $52 million over five years. With support from the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Energy, the center has built up a unique test and simulation facility, which combines the largest real-time digital power-system simulator in North America with a 5-megawatt-capacity test bed. This facility allows real components and systems to be interfaced to a larger system being run on the simulator so that the component is tested in a realistic high-fidelity representation of its application environment rather than in isolation.