Developer Wants 'Smart' Energy Use

December 4, 2008
McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - John Fleck Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

The system that provides the electricity to your house is, by the
standards of modern high technology, dumb. A wire brings the power
to the house, and a meter measures how much you use. You pay a flat fee,
regardless of the time of day or night.
Mike Daly, head of the development team building the Mesa del Sol
project south of Albuquerque's airport, wants to change that. He
wants power grids in the homes and businesses at Mesa del Sol to be smart enough 
to help use energy more efficiently.

To that end, Daly's company, Forest City Covington, is signing a
cooperative research agreement Friday with Sandia National
Laboratories to work on "smart grid" technology.

Sandia and Forest City have worked together on energy issues for
several years, Daly said in an interview. The deal being signed Friday
formalizes that arrangement.

Smart grid technology allows a home's power system to keep
track of times when electricity supplies are plentiful and when they are
scarce, adjusting optional power uses accordingly. Daly's company wants to
make Mesa del Sol a pioneer in energy efficiency, and developing smart grid
technology is a key element in the plan. Under the agreement, Sandia also will 
help Forest City develop solar power. It is not clear when the
technologies will actually be deployed.