The City of Yangzhou and GE will be working together to help bring the benefits of smart grid technologies to China. GE is building an extensive smart grid demonstration center in the Yangzhou New Economy and Development Zone that will show how GE technologies can help China improve the reliability, efficiency and carbon footprint of its energy delivery. Yangzhou is located on the Yangtze River in China’s Jiangsu province.
“China has experienced unbelievable growth over the past decade, creating a massive need for energy to power businesses and consumer lifestyles—so the time is right for Yangzhou to become a smart city,” said Mark Norbom, president and CEO of GE’s China business.
The technology engagement will include a huge array of GE products that affect energy in homes, on power lines and in a utility’s network control center.
Home energy technologies in the demonstration include advanced metering infrastructure smart meters—with dynamic pricing and WiMAX communications interfaces—that serve as the hub of home energy savings. Savings tools operated through the meter include home energy management systems, programmable thermostats, smart appliances that perform activities based on energy availability and cost and demand-response systems that reduce home energy usage during times of peak energy demand.
Grid infrastructure and control technologies in the demonstration include automated outage identification and restoration software, field-force automation and deployment systems and grid-wide network management software.
The initiative may also include installation and demonstration of home-based charging stations for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles PHEVs). Teamed with dynamic pricing that encourages charging overnight, PHEVs can enable electric cars to become more commonplace—reducing China’s need for oil while greatly lowering the carbon footprint of each mile driven.
