About Social Media Today
(Editor's note: Wes Sylvester is employed by Siemens Energy, and Siemens is a sponsor of The Energy Collective)
New Orleans was a place of celebration last week. I know, I know, New Orleans has a reputation of being a place of celebration every week. But, last week was particularly special for the following reasons:
- Earth Day was last Thursday, and with memories of the destruction that nature can cause still very fresh in this city, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day has particular significance
- Last week New Orleans was also the site of the 2010 IEEE PES T&D Conference and Exposition, the premiere event for the power transmission and distribution industry
- And, finally, the Siemens Answers. The Smart Grid Tour kicked off on Thursday.
The energy (no pun intended) around the city last week was incredible. Perhaps it is the amazing people who keep give this city its unique glow. Perhaps it was the thousands of people that descended on this spot to discuss the future of the way we will transmit and distribute power quickly, safely and more reliably in the future that pumped up the volume. Or, perhaps it was Paul Sr. from Orange County Choppers riding down the street in an electric-powered chopper with a New Orleans jazz band right behind him that gave it a new level of WOW factor. Whatever it was, being in New Orleans last week was both exciting and valuable.
One of the primary topics in power transmission and distribution these days is Smart Grid. The city was buzzing with this term, nowhere more so than in the Siemens Smart Grid dome – a structure 70ft. wide and over 30ft. high, where visitors could learn about:
- Smart generation
- Smart transmission and distribution
- Smart consumption
In addition to state-of-the-art demonstrations and dozens of Siemens experts on hand to discuss various details of a smart grid, the company also brought in experts from around the industry to share their insight.
One such expert was Chris Olson of Buildings Magazine. Mr. Olson’s presentation was packed with eye-opening statisitics. For example, did you know that 57% of their surveyed readers have seen their energy costs increase significantly in the last 5 years, and 76% expect further increases in the next 5 years? Or what about the fact that 56% of them have on-site power generation assets. That is a significant statistic when you are talking about our power grid and the possibilities of feeding power into it from non-traditional sources (i.e., sources other than power plants).
As both a Siemens Smart Grid professional and an industry participant, I hope more of these types of discussions occur around the globe. For our part, at least, we will ensure that at least 5 more of them occur over the next 6 months in the United States, in the following cities:
1. May 26 – Atlanta
2. June 23 – Chicago
3. July 14 – Portland
4. September 28 – New York City
5. October 18-21 – Washington, D.C.
The only way to keep the energy flowing (again, no pun intended) in the conversation about Smart Grid, is to join in.
To learn more and register to attend in a city near you, go to:
