7.20.09 DOE Hands Out $47M for Smart Grid Demos

The Department of Energy has picked eight projects on the cutting edge of electricity grid technology to get $47 million in grants – the first funding from a $3.9 billion pool of stimulus package grants for smart grid deployments.

But with all eight already promised the grants the DOE announced Monday, it’s not clear what light the news sheds on how the department will pick and choose technologies when it comes to spending the rest of that money.

Still, they’re interesting projects covering a broad range of technologies, from superconducting transmission lines and integrating renewable energy into the grid to new forms of demand response and so-called “microgrid” systems.

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