OpenADR Progresses Toward International Automated Demand Response Rollouts

Smart Grid News® recently announced that Alstom Grid has acquired the U.S-based Smart Grid vendor, Utility Integration Solutions, Inc (UISOL). Alstom Grid has operations across the World and strong in European and Middle East markets.

UISOL is supporting Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) on Open Automated Demand Response communication specifications (OpenADR), primarily in deployment of the OpenADR standards and development of Open Source toolkit for wide-scale adoption of OpenADR. This acquisition has positive implications for technology developed by Berkeley Lab and its research partners in mainstreaming the OpenADR technology to the national and international markets.

Under development by UISOL, the Open Source version will offer a Java-based OpenADR client/server implementation that provides a lightweight platform for developing and testing OpenADR clients, complete end-to-end demonstrations, proof of concept testing, and capability for small-scale deployments.  The Open Source version will provide code examples and guidance for developing commercial-strength server products.

UISOL also recently announced that they successfully integrated OpenADR into their DRBizNet™ product, providing capability that allows utilities to fully
automate all demand response business and operational process.    This
acquisition follows the Honeywell acquisition of Smart Grid start-up, Akuacom, last year that offers OpenADR technology solutions.

[an error occurred while processing this directive] Over 60 energy management and control systems vendors offer products (clients) based on OpenADR, a communication standard under development by Berkeley Lab and U.S. Smart Grid standards activity. Projects in Quincy and Tallahassee Florida, NV Energy, Bonneville Power Administration, and Sacramento Municipal Utility District identified OpenADR in Smart Grid plans.  A commercial building project by National Resources Canada and a California Independent System Operator project to integrate renewable resources further demonstrate the range of OpenADR applications.  The Berkeley Lab has also seen strong development interest from South Korea and India.  Recently, the OpenADR Alliance® was launched to “foster the development, adoption, and compliance of the OpenADR standards through collaboration, education, training, testing, and certification.”

For more information visit:

OpenADR @ Berkeley Lab: http://openadr.lbl.gov/

OpenADR Alliance: http://www.openadr.org/