今年8月,由于用電需求激增,導致用電緊張、電力供應不足,加州居民輪番遭受限電之苦。加州電價冠絕全美,如此情形之下依然飽受停電折磨,對加州居民而言,不僅是一種不便,更是一種羞辱。
為解決這一問題,SIP決定投資1億美元打造所謂“虛擬電廠”,此舉或將很快讓輪流限電的狀況成為歷史。谷歌母公司Alphabet也是SIP的支持者之一。
通常而言,為滿足激增的用電需求,公共事業公司會努力增加電網的供電量。SIP 卻反其道而行之,“虛擬電廠”項目旨在通過付費方式讓消費者減少用電量,以此來降低用電高峰期的用電水平。
為實現這一目標,SIP與一家名為OhmConnect的公司展開合作,攜手向用戶提供智能插頭、聯網恒溫調節器等電費補貼設備。OhmConnect已在加州開展業務,在最近電力緊缺期間,該公司已向15萬戶減少用電的家庭支付了100萬美元獎金。
在實際操作中,參與節能項目的家庭首先會在OhmConnect應用上收到通知信息,詢問其是否愿意減少家中各種電器的用電量,如其愿意,則會收到一定的電費補貼,具體金額取決于其減少了哪種電器的用電量,比如降低恒溫調節器或電動汽車充電樁功率顯然會比關閉烤面包的補貼要多。該應用的操作界面如下:
SIP將從其投資中拿出8000萬美元,以擴大符合補貼的設備品類,提高補貼力度,并開發用于擴大補貼規模的軟件應用。該公司將這部分計劃稱為“Resi-Station”,并表示它將覆蓋加州大部分地區(對此感興趣的客戶可以通過輸入郵政編碼確認自己是否符合參與條件)。剩余2000萬美元SIP則將直接以C輪融資的形式投入OhmConnect。
SIP全稱為Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners,由Alphabet的子公司Sidewalk Labs拆分而來,后者曾試圖通過一系列宏大項目改變城市樣態,但因隱私爭議而功敗垂成。在從Alphabet和安大略教師養老金項目中籌集到4億美元資金之后,SIP試圖用另一種方式改變我們生活的世界。該公司并不自行創建項目,而是通過投入資金和專業指導的形式為既有企業提供支持,目前,與之合作的包括技術先進的資源回收企業,也有一家位于密西根的無人駕駛技術開發公司。
據該公司聯合首席執行官喬納森?溫納稱,SIP之所以選擇投資OhmConnect,部分原因是OhmConnect擅長以“游戲”的方式處理家庭電費這樣的瑣碎事務。溫納表示,OhmConnect讓節能變成了一件輕松、愜意的事情。電游公司Zynga的前任首席技術官也在OhmConnect高管團隊之中。
溫納承認,僅憑SIP“虛擬電廠”或許無法解決加州的電力短缺問題。但他預計該項目將產生重大影響,并最終一勞永逸地解決限電問題。
溫納表示,雖然在能源消費智能化方面,加州及其數百萬擁有環保意識的消費者仍處于領先地位,但其他各州也在迎頭趕上,其中就包括紐約州與得克薩斯州,二者正嘗試使用聯網恒溫調節器等設備來提升電力供應管理水平。
如果將目光放得更遠,那么隨著太陽能電池板走入更多家庭,以及特斯拉電池工廠等技術的上線,溫納認為,美國的能源市場還將發生更大變化。新型能源與“虛擬電廠”等管理機制的結合將使美國的電力結構變得更為清潔和高效。
“SIP認為,要想更好地協調分布式能源,電網必須進行現代化改造,”溫納在一份聲明中表示。(財富中文網)
早前文章誤稱Sidewalk Labs已停業關閉,特此更正。
譯者:梁宇
審校:夏林
今年8月,由于用電需求激增,導致用電緊張、電力供應不足,加州居民輪番遭受限電之苦。加州電價冠絕全美,如此情形之下依然飽受停電折磨,對加州居民而言,不僅是一種不便,更是一種羞辱。
為解決這一問題,SIP決定投資1億美元打造所謂“虛擬電廠”,此舉或將很快讓輪流限電的狀況成為歷史。谷歌母公司Alphabet也是SIP的支持者之一。
通常而言,為滿足激增的用電需求,公共事業公司會努力增加電網的供電量。SIP 卻反其道而行之,“虛擬電廠”項目旨在通過付費方式讓消費者減少用電量,以此來降低用電高峰期的用電水平。
為實現這一目標,SIP與一家名為OhmConnect的公司展開合作,攜手向用戶提供智能插頭、聯網恒溫調節器等電費補貼設備。OhmConnect已在加州開展業務,在最近電力緊缺期間,該公司已向15萬戶減少用電的家庭支付了100萬美元獎金。
在實際操作中,參與節能項目的家庭首先會在OhmConnect應用上收到通知信息,詢問其是否愿意減少家中各種電器的用電量,如其愿意,則會收到一定的電費補貼,具體金額取決于其減少了哪種電器的用電量,比如降低恒溫調節器或電動汽車充電樁功率顯然會比關閉烤面包的補貼要多。該應用的操作界面如下:
SIP將從其投資中拿出8000萬美元,以擴大符合補貼的設備品類,提高補貼力度,并開發用于擴大補貼規模的軟件應用。該公司將這部分計劃稱為“Resi-Station”,并表示它將覆蓋加州大部分地區(對此感興趣的客戶可以通過輸入郵政編碼確認自己是否符合參與條件)。剩余2000萬美元SIP則將直接以C輪融資的形式投入OhmConnect。
SIP全稱為Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners,由Alphabet的子公司Sidewalk Labs拆分而來,后者曾試圖通過一系列宏大項目改變城市樣態,但因隱私爭議而功敗垂成。在從Alphabet和安大略教師養老金項目中籌集到4億美元資金之后,SIP試圖用另一種方式改變我們生活的世界。該公司并不自行創建項目,而是通過投入資金和專業指導的形式為既有企業提供支持,目前,與之合作的包括技術先進的資源回收企業,也有一家位于密西根的無人駕駛技術開發公司。
據該公司聯合首席執行官喬納森?溫納稱,SIP之所以選擇投資OhmConnect,部分原因是OhmConnect擅長以“游戲”的方式處理家庭電費這樣的瑣碎事務。溫納表示,OhmConnect讓節能變成了一件輕松、愜意的事情。電游公司Zynga的前任首席技術官也在OhmConnect高管團隊之中。
溫納承認,僅憑SIP“虛擬電廠”或許無法解決加州的電力短缺問題。但他預計該項目將產生重大影響,并最終一勞永逸地解決限電問題。
溫納表示,雖然在能源消費智能化方面,加州及其數百萬擁有環保意識的消費者仍處于領先地位,但其他各州也在迎頭趕上,其中就包括紐約州與得克薩斯州,二者正嘗試使用聯網恒溫調節器等設備來提升電力供應管理水平。
如果將目光放得更遠,那么隨著太陽能電池板走入更多家庭,以及特斯拉電池工廠等技術的上線,溫納認為,美國的能源市場還將發生更大變化。新型能源與“虛擬電廠”等管理機制的結合將使美國的電力結構變得更為清潔和高效。
“SIP認為,要想更好地協調分布式能源,電網必須進行現代化改造,”溫納在一份聲明中表示。(財富中文網)
早前文章誤稱Sidewalk Labs已停業關閉,特此更正。
譯者:梁宇
審校:夏林
In August, residents of California were tormented by rolling brownouts as the state’s power supply could not meet a surge in demand. The power outages were an inconvenience but also an indignity as Californians pay some of the highest rates for power in the country.
This situation has led SIP, a company whose backers include Google parent Alphabet, to invest $100 million in what SIP calls a “virtual power plant” that could soon make rolling brownouts a thing of the past.
Normally, utility companies meet surging demand by trying to add more power to the grid. The SIP “virtual” plant takes the opposite approach: It removes energy use during peak times by paying consumers to reduce their electricity consumption.
To carry this out, SIP is partnering with a company called OhmConnect to offer subsidized energy devices like smart plugs and connected thermostats. OhmConnect is already operating in California and, during the recent energy crunch, paid out $1 million to 150,000 households as a reward for turning down their power.
In practice, this means participating households receive a notification on an OhmConnect app asking if they are willing to turn down power at various sources in their home. Those who agree receive a credit on their electric bill, which will vary in part on what energy they choose to cut: Turning down power on a thermostat or an electric vehicle charging station will, obviously, earn the consumer more money than turning off a toaster. The app looks like this:
SIP is dedicating $80 million of its investment to expand the number of devices eligible for subsidies, to increase the extent of those subsidies, and also to build out the software that will help the project achieve greater scale. The company is calling this part of the project Resi-Station and says it will cover most regions of California (would-be customers enter their zip code to confirm that they are eligible). SIP is investing the remaining $20 million directly into OhmConnect in the form of a Series C funding round.
SIP stands for Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners, which is a spinoff of Alphabet’s subsidiary, Sidewalk Labs, which sought to transform cities with a series of ambitious projects but has foundered amid privacy controversies. SIP, which raised $400 million from Alphabet and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, is trying a different approach. Instead of building its own projects, it is backing existing ventures—including state-of-the-art recycling plants and a driverless “road of the future” in Michigan—with money and expertise.
According to co-CEO Jonathan Winer, SIP chose to invest in OhmConnect in part because the company has excelled at “gamifying” the mundane field of minding household electrical bills. He says OhmConnect, whose executives include the former CTO of video-game maker Zynga, has made the business of conserving power easy and satisfying.
Winer acknowledges that SIP’s virtual power plant may not single-handedly end California’s energy woes. But he predicts it will have a major impact and could eventually end brownouts once and for all.
While California and its millions of green-conscious consumers lead the country in smart energy use, Winer says other states are quickly following suit. These include New York and Texas, which are exploring how to leverage devices like connected thermostats to better manage their power supply.
More broadly, Winer sees greater shifts in U.S. energy markets as more people install solar panels and as technology like Tesla’s battery plants come online. These new forms of energy, combined with management schemes like the virtual power plant, will ultimately see the country rely on cleaner and more efficient forms of power, he says.
“SIP believes that energy grids must be modernized in order to orchestrate distributed energy resources,” said Winer in a statement.
An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Sidewalk Labs had closed.