Trilliant Looks Toward a Year of the Smart Grid

(MoneyWatch)  Energy efficiency has long played second fiddle to renewable energy, mainly because it's not quite as flashy and exciting. However, this year appears to be primed for a rapid expansion of some efficiency techniques, chief among them the so-called smart grid.

The stimulus package creeping its way through the nation's legislative arms contains a hefty $4.5 billion for the smart grid, part of a larger $32 billion meant to improve the transmission grid. What the smart grid will mean in effect is adding communication chips to the standard electrical meters that every home and business already have. Letting the meters "talk" will allow utilities to streamline, and in-home displays could also allow consumers to see and control their usage.

One of the companies making the communication gear is Trilliant, a small outfit in Redwood City, California that claims to have already sold over a million devices. But in coming years, it and other, similar companies should be selling many times that number. Eric Miller, the company's chief solutions officer, told me the government's interest is "a signal to utility commissions nationwide that [the smart grid] is a national priority."

The only uncertainties around the funding, says Miller, deal with standards and communication protocols; the Congressional version of the stimulus bill requires that utilities use internet-based standards, which would help networks interoperate and consumers see their usage online. If the bill makes it to the President's signature, says Miller, the first major smart grid projects will be underway by the end of this year.

If all moves with the speed Trilliant expects, smart grid companies could become one of the few rapidly growing sectors of the economy. They would certainly appreciate the bump; some, like the larger meter maker Itron (which buys some Trilliant chips) have already seen the their share price hit recent highs and recede, based on the possibility of the stimulus. They'll need real action before their stock price goes any higher.

Besides government cash injections, the smart grid's other best friend may be the recession. Solar panels on your roof are obviously a cooler solution than a meter invisibly tucked away in your basement; they're also a hell of a lot more expensive. Smart metering may be able to cut down total energy usage, which is just as good as replacing a fossil-fuel plant with a carbon-free alternative for utilities worried about the day carbon gets a price.

For further proof of smart grid momentum, of course, there's always the $3 million General Electric spent on the Superbowl ad below.