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Monday, March 20, 2006

1GB BPL data and the signal is delivered by the light bulb.

My new favourite person is Dr. Mohsen Kavehrad from Penn State Univ. He’s W.L. Weiss professor of electrical engineering and director of the Center for Information and Communications Technology Research.

His research had already shown that unshielded power lines have a theoretical data transmit limit of about 1GB per sec, which should be enough. You can see an interview with him here;

http://cictr.ee.psu.edu/CICTRnews/paio20050309.wmv ... he looks like a proper prof.

But better still, he’s now shown how we can use “white light” LEDs to transmit data at over a GB per sec. So in future we might have LED lighting systems that use almost no energy and not only do they light your room but they also contain a GB+ data signal within the light beam.

Here's the news story
http://live.psu.edu/story/15411
Here's the academic paper
http://cictr.ee.psu.edu/research/wc/IEC-White-LED-Triple-Play.pdf

that’s very, very smart stuff.

I really like this fella.....

posted by Energy Broadband @ 8:21 AM 0 comments  

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

A European Strategy for Sustainable, Competitive and Secure Energy

Following on from a speech by Tony Blair last year, Jose Manual Barroso, the EC president, has today called for a coherent energy strategy for Europe. Included in the Green Paper are proposals for tighter links with Russia, the formation of a European energy regulator and a strategic energy technology plan.

The last item is what interests me most from a BPL perspective "a strategic energy technology plan".

I'm also encouraged by the first paragraph in the Green Paper which says, “There is an urgent need for investment. In Europe alone, to meet expected energy demand and to replace ageing infrastructure, investments of around one trillion euros will be needed over the next 20 years.”

I like to think they can find funding for BPL somewhere in that “one trillion euros”

A micro-site with all of the information can be found here:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/energy/green-paper-energy/index_en.htm

posted by Energy Broadband @ 8:16 AM 0 comments  

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

OPERA - European standard for Broadband over Power Line (BPL)

A European Union 20m Euro funded project called The Open PLC European research alliance - Opera, has recently delivered its specification for BPL standards. This is the first open BPL specification and clears the way for technology providers to be interoperable products. I have to be honest and admit that whilst I thought the project would be interesting, I didn't think we would be getting proper commercial quality outputs, how wrong I was.

The Key Features:
+200 Mbps OFDM Modulation
Configurable frequency bands
frequency band notching dynamically and remotely
Special robust mode for reliability in difficult channels
Technology independent coexistence layer
3DES encryption
Impulsive noise mitigation techniques
Time and frequency division repeaters, unlimited number of repeaters to guarantee full coverage
Quality of Service (QoS) with 8 priority levels
Bandwidth control
Spatial Reuse Algorithm
PHY spectral efficiency up to 8 bits/sec/Hz

If all that means something to you, you'll realise how good this stuff is. If it doesn't mean anything to you, please take my word for it, it's good stuff.

The standards have been field tested in four European countries, using equipment built in accordance with the standards. The customer satisfaction surveys are fantastic for internet access, less so for VoIP telephony.

All of the project outputs are available on the Opera website at
http://www.ist-opera.org/project_outputs_available.html.htm , you'll have to provide your details to gain access to some of the documents.

Interestingly, Ascom, an Opera partner company that built much of the equipment used in the field trials announced last week that they had sold their BPL/PLC communications business to Current Communications. Current Communications is one of the most interesting companies in the BPL arena having recently attracted huge investment from Goldman, Sachs & Co., Google, The Hearst Corporation and TXU. They have also announced a $150 million 10 year deal with TXU to roll out BPL, starting this year, to approximately 2 million premises in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

posted by Energy Broadband @ 1:13 AM 2 comments  

Monday, March 06, 2006

The changing regulatory framework for BPL

This is a groundwork posting.
My groundwork postings will tend to be a bit boring and dry but they’re here for people who want to try to look under the hood of the emerging Broadband over Power line industry.

Understanding the political and legislative environment will help explain a very important strand to the convergence of opportunity for BPL. If you’re interested in knowing more, try following the links or I'd be happy to try and answer any questions.


The following is taken from the soon to be enacted European energy Services directive.

“Energy services” is an expression used to denote those services or physical amenities that energy provides to the end user in an integral package, including the technology needed to produce these services. Examples are indoor thermal comfort, lighting comfort, domestic hot water etc, all of which can have quality standards attached to them. Energy end-use services thus require a combination of energy (either commercial energy or energy obtained from the environment via passive means) and energy-using equipment or technology. With energy services, payment for the service is integrated to include a single charge or payment for the energy used and for the technology involved. This payment is usually made directly by the consumer who benefits from the energy service. Such a single charge facilitates comparison of the actual costs of the energy service involved. For example, illumination in a building may consist of a package of services that includes lighting equipment, maintenance and electricity, a package that provides a predetermined level and quality of lux that is billed on the basis of €/m 2 per year. With similar illumination services being offered by different enterprises, end-use efficiency improvements included in and paid for in this way will thus compete with each other to minimise the total cost of the package without reducing the quality or amount of the service provided. Thermal comfort paid in €/m 3 per year is another example of this kind of integration which can lead to greater energy efficiency as well as economic efficiency.”


“The objective of the proposal is to promote energy efficiency and energy services and to develop the markets for these as a means of contributing to environmental protection as well as to the security of energy supply.
This proposal is designed to help remove informational, financial, institutional and other barriers that prevent the realisation of the significant energy savings potential that exists in all the Member States. It does this by laying down requirements in the following areas: improved information; better qualification and accreditation of providers of energy services and energy efficiency; the promotion of financial instruments for energy savings; improved tariff structures; better funding mechanisms; improved energy audits; and improved metering and billing. To ensure the fullest possible implementation of the Directive it also sets out an annual uniform energy savings target, as well as obligations for the public sector to save energy. Moreover, obligations are placed on energy retailers and distributors to provide their customers with energy services and energy efficiency improvements. To measure and report all of these improvements in energy efficiency the Directive also provides for a uniform measurement methodology and for reporting requirements for the Member States. “

The rules are being changed so that we purchase “energy services” rather than separate energy appliances and energy. The directive contains all of the articles needed to stimulate and promote the market in energy services. The funding and targets articles within the energy services directive will mean that it is cheaper to purchase combined energy services than it is to purchase the appliances/technology separately from the energy they use.

This change is being viewed in the political world as the best way to address the dichotomy between the need to save energy and the fact that energy suppliers make their money by selling more energy, not less. It has been reported that by 2030 the European Union will be relying on imports from some of the most unstable parts of the globe for at least 70% of its energy needs, some reports are as high as 90%, the do nothing option has passed.

The directive will be published in the official journal in April or May, from which time member states have two years to apply the directive into national legislation. The UK has led the world in establishing legal and regulatory frameworks to implement the earlier gas and electricity directives by opening up our markets to competition; I expect the same to happen with the energy services directive.

The full European legislative process can be followed here;
http://europa.eu.int/prelex/detail_dossier_real.cfm?CL=en&DosId=187530


The second important development is the UK regulator OFGEM’s consultation on “Domestic Metering Innovation”. The regulatory world is a shadowy place and I don’t really understand why they are rushing this consultation through before publication of the European directive, but they are. What I do know is that the DTI and DEFRA have already decided that smart metering is an important part of their energy efficiency strategy.

http://www.ofgem.gov.uk/temp/ofgem/cache/cmsattach/13745_2006.pdf

These initiatives call for high quality, high-bandwidth two-way communications between appliances, meters, consumers and the utilities industry participants. In my view, the best way to achieve the communications aspect of smart metering is via BPL.

As I mentioned, sorry if this posting is heavy going, I’ll try to look at some of the more interesting commercial opportunities in some of my future posts.

posted by Energy Broadband @ 4:21 AM 1 comments  

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Welcome

This blog has been created in an attempt to chart the progress towards the introduction of Broadband over Power Line (BPL) technology into the UK.

I work in a business that provides consultancy and support services for energy companies. So naturally, I hope to play a role in introducing this exciting new technology to our clients and their customers.

I have been interested in BPL and the related Power Line Communications (PLC) since I started working in the energy industry in the 90s and am convinced there is a convergence of technical, commercial, political and regulatory circumstances that will finally unlock the potential of this most exciting technology.

Over the coming weeks I shall be posting articles and links that will help explain why I think the time is right and perhaps describing what we are doing to play our part.

I'll be absolutely delighted to read any views and feedback.

posted by Energy Broadband @ 8:12 AM 0 comments