Verizon joins N.C. smart grid project

Duke Energy has chosen Verizon Wireless to install a network connecting the digital meters, signs and media player for Envision: Charlotte, the $5.3 million project to establish a smart-grid pilot in uptown Charlotte.

Verizon's network will gather energy data from 70 of Charlotte's buildings as part of the program to reduce energy use by as much as 20 percent by 2016. Duke and partner Cisco Inc. estimate that uptown greenhouse-gas emissions will be averted by as much as 220,000 metric tons.

"Having near real-time energy usage information — that's not available today with analog technology — is the first step toward awareness and proactive human engagement to reduce the amount of energy that’s wasted in commercial buildings," says Vincent Davis, Duke Energy's director of smart-energy community projects.

The aggregated information will be shared with the owners and tenants, in many cases being displayed on interactive video displays that Cisco will install in the buildings. The displays will feature data and suggest actions that workers in the building can take to reduce their personal use of energy.

Read more in the Charlotte Business Journal.