SmartGrids ERA-Net 1st Call for proposals launched

Energy research funding institutions in Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the Basque Country, Estonia, Austria, France, Latvia and Flandern (Belgium) jointly invite researchers and industry to participate in a call for applied research projects in the SmartGrids ERA-net. This call encompasses project ideas within the thematic area of smart grids, and is open for projects from both technical (grids, AMR, distributed generation etc), social sciences (market structures, energy consumption etc) or combinations of both. The total budget for the call is approximately M€ 5.6.

See the call text for more information about the call and relevant thematic focus areas.

The call is open until 15 march at 17:00 hours CET.

To apply, use the electronic pre-proposal form available here.

You may find more information about the SmartGrids ERA-Net poject here.

2 public consultations on
"ERGEG Position Paper on Smart Grids" and "ERGEG Draft Advice on the Community-wide Ten-year Electricity Network Development Plan".

The ERGEG position paper on smart grids aims to initiate a dialogue with all stakeholders of the European electricity power systems and markets, in order to assist regulators in understanding how smart grids can benefit network users and, assuming that cost-effective benefits can be identified, to explore ways in which the development of smart grids can be encouraged. This paper explores the drivers and opportunities for ‘smarter’ networks from the users’ perspective. Most importantly, it discusses the regulatory challenges and priorities and proposes a number of questions and issues for stakeholders to respond to.

Interested parties are invited to submit comments to the smart grids paper by 1 March 2010 and these should be sent by e-mail to: smartgrids@ergeg.org.

MICROGRIDS WORKSHOP

Novel Architectures for Future Power Systems. Paris, 29th of January 2010

In this workshop results from international RD&D activities will be presented by invited speakers from the EU More-Microgrids, the US CERTS Microgrids projects,
and other projects in the SMARTGRIDS context. The registration deadline is the 15th of January 2010.
More information.

Next event

EUROPEAN TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION STRATEGIES.

Amsterdam | February 4-5, 2010.

Building on the success of our long-running series of energy events in Europe, the conference will explore in depth all the core sector areas as well as significant related topics, including asset management, substations and protective systems, predictive and preventive maintenance, economics and viability of T&D grids and telecommunication and information systems. As well as examining a number of case studies showing how new projects have been implemented across Europe and elsewhere.
More information.

Video: SmartGrids, from Vision to Reality. You can also download the video (21.6 MB) Click To Play

Vision and Strategy of SmartGrids

The need to renew Europe's electricity networks presents major challenges. Download Vision and Strategy for Europe's Electricity Networks of the Future for more information (.PDF, 1.47 MB).

Interested in joining this initiative?

You can request for inclusion in one of the four Working Groups. More information