National Broadband Plan Workshop: Smart Grid, Broadband and Climate Change (see summary)

National Broadband Plan Workshop: Smart Grid, Broadband and Climate Change

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Federal Communications Commission
August 25, 2009
1:30pm-5:00pm

Contact:
Andrew Nesi
Andrew.Nesi@fcc.gov
(202) 418-3601
http://broadband.gov/ws_eng_env_trans.html

The goal of this workshop is to identify potential impacts of a National Broadband Plan on Energy, the Environment, and Transportation and to explore how the broadband and communications infrastructure can play a transformative role in meeting our national energy, environmental, and transportation goals. In particular, the FCC will be interested in learning about how broadband can accelerate efforts to build a smarter electricity infrastructure, also known as the Smart Grid. The Smart Grid, an important element of our national effort to build a clean energy and low-carbon future, is critical to enabling renewable power and plug-in electric vehicles at scale. The workshop will look at the network requirements and cost of bringing our nation's networks compatible with reducing energy use.

FCC Participants:

• Mignon Clyburn, Commissioner
• Colin Crowell, Senior Counselor to the Chairman
• Carlos Kirjner, Senior Advisor to the Chairman on Broadband, National Broadband Taskforce
• Julius Knapp, Chief, Office of Engineering
• John Leibovitz, Deputy Chief, WTB
• Dr. Jon Peha, Chief Technologist
• Nick Sinai, Energy & Environment Director, National Broadband Taskforce

Panel 1: The Smart Grid

• Eric Lightner, Director, Federal Smart Grid Task Force, U.S. Department of Energy (see prepared presentation)
• Dean Prochaska, National Coordinator for Smart Grid Conformance, NIST (see prepared presentation)
• Mark Dudzinski, CMO, GE Energy (see prepared presentation)
• Eric Miller, SVP of Solutions, Trilliant
• Henry Jones, Chief Scientist, SmartSynch (see prepared presentation)
• Joby Lafky, Program Manager, Electric Vehicle Management Platform, Gridpoint (see prepared presentation)
• Jason Griffith, Director, IT Telecom Engineering, AEP (see prepared presentation)

Panel 2: Broadband and Climate Change

• Matt Bauer, President, BetterWorld Telecom (see prepared presentation)
• Colin Buechler, SVP of Marketing, LifeSize Communications
• Skip Laitner, Economic Analysis Director, American Council for an Energy-Efficiency Economy (ACEEE)
• Maura O'Neill, Senior Advisor for Energy & Climate & Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary for Research, Education & Economics, USDA
• Chris Walker, former Director for North America, The Climate Group
• Sheryl Wilkerson, President, Willow, LLC (see prepared presentation)

The following are some of the preliminary topics that will be covered at this workshop. The FCC is inviting suggestions.

• Smart grid communications technology
• Smart meters
• Spectrum access and utilities
• Energy services in the home
• Electric vehicles
• Other green / clean technology

What some are already telling the FCC about broadband, energy, environment, and transportation ...

Southern Company Services
In order to advance the policy goals of the Recovery Act, Southern also urges the Commission to consider making additional spectrum available for utilities and other critical infrastructure industries, particularly in light of the new demands being placed on them by many of the same policies and mandates that are driving the efforts to expand broadband deployment.

Utilities already face significant spectrum constraints even as their need for spectrum is rapidly increasing. These constraints stand as an obstacle to the deployment of new energy efficiency
technologies (such as smart grid), as well as inhibit and frustrate utilities. ability to install the physical diversity and redundancy that is vital to CII networks.

The Telework Coalition
In order to take advantage of the 'New Ways of Working', broadband access to the home must be elevated to parity in thinking, policy, and resources with the physical transportation infrastructure of our nation. Simply expanding the availability of broadband will not fulfill the prime directive of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, i.e. JOB CREATION.

Where are these non-manufacturing jobs going to come from? In addition to the creation of new jobs as our economic recovery progresses, many can be repatriated from those that have been sent offshore, as the primary reason for this is based upon cost.

In studies we have performed as well as feedback we have received from organizations employing domestic Work@Home™ employees, most notably call centers, there is very little difference in the financial cost of U.S. home workers compared to offshore workers, while the levels of customer satisfaction and retention are much higher.

... and may we suggest
Energy and the Environment from Benton's Action Plan for America