International smart grid orgs get their story together

I have been covering the technology long enough to be very cynical about the role of standards organizations for new technologies or specifications or business models or whatever. Yes, they absolutely draw visibility to a topic. But, depending on who is in charge, they can also skew a market or represent just one-side of the matter.

So, I read with interest the news this week that seven of the organizations attempting to provide a dialogue and "position" around the development of the smart grid have actually banded together to create an uber-group called the Global Smart Grid Federation. The organizations that are participating include the GridWise Alliance, India Smart Grid Forum, Japan Smart Community Alliance, Korean Smart Grid Association, Smart Grid Australia, SmartGridIreland and SmartGrid Canada. Actually, the big news here probably is the cross-country, global nature of this dialogue. The association cites as its goals the following, using smart grid technology as the catalyst:

• Improving efficiency
• Stimulating economic growth
• Integrating renewable energy sources
• Reducing carbon dioxide emissions

The way they will do this is through participating in government policy-making and other advisory activities. Mind you, there are still other smart grid alliance organizations, including the potentially powerful SmartGrid Consumer Collaborative, which purports to be collecting the consumer view of the whole smart grid phenomenon. GridWise Alliance is also a member of this association, too.

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