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Boulder. Colorado on track to become first smart-grid city

February 8, 2009 /

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President Barack Obama’s vision of a “smart” electrical grid that is key to America’s energy future is becoming reality in Boulder, which aims to become the world’s first smart grid city this year.

Xcel Energy, the nation’s No. 1 retail provider of wind power, leads the $100 million effort in this university city of 100,000 in the Rockies foothills. By 2010, homeowners will monitor how much power they’re consuming. Plug-in electric vehicles will feed power into the grid. Energy-saving appliances and thermostats will feed information to the network. And all of it will enable Xcel to distribute electricity when and where it’s needed, saving millions of dollars and the need to build more power plants.

By JUDITH KOHLER – Associated Press

Full Story: http://www.helenair.com/articles/2009/02/08/weekly_features/business/57bzl_090208_grid.txt