Smart Grid Technology Has Long-term Importance But Too Much Useless Chatter

I just pulled back into my driveway from a few hours at the Smart Grid Conference at the Los Angeles Convention Center. I’m a huge believer in the long-term importance of smart grid technology, but I have to say that there is altogether too much chatter about it at this point. The result of a 40-minute talk on network standards for smart grid communication? There are no standards; they’ve yet to emerge. Oh really? Couldn’t that have been summed up in a 15-word email? Or skipped entirely?

Then of course, you have the half-hour long commercials for a certain stock exchange or university, ostensibly bolding leading the way to something-or-other.

The only real reason to go to conferences like these is to meet people and hope that maybe one of them will represent a mutually beneficial relationship of some kind. Take Mary Allen of IT In Canada, an integrated social media news network. I gave her an interview in which I provided a high-level overview of renewables technology and business issues. In return, she told me a great number of things about social media, branded microsites, chat forums linked to her news portal — and all manner of other things that 2GreenEnergy may want to do someday. 

Good stuff.  But let’s just skip the useless chatter.