What is the Smart Grid and what are the opportunities? Is it new power meters? New power generation? Computer controlled appliances? Is it IT? Is it new power lines? Who will build it and when will it be built?

The answers to these questions are not just technological but are social, political, cultural and range from government policy to plain old ditch digging. On one hand we hear that solar power will not only solve our energy problems, but liberate us from consumerism. On the other hand, sources like the DOE tell us that only 10% of our power will be from alternative energy in 2030. To some degree what becomes the future will be because of those who take action now, but which way should we turn?

Innovation happens through collaboration, moving ideas from one social world into another. The diversity of interests in the Smart Grid is an opportunity as well as a challenge. The entrepreneurs that are most likely to succeed are those who can connect the dots, seeing a solution here and a need there and bridging between the worlds.

The Electric Salon will bring together people with different view of the Smart Grid and the future of electric power. People from utilities companies, alternative energy evangelists, technologists, environmentalists, academics, social scientists, businesspeople and more will present their view and discuss issues and direction with each other and with anyone who attends. No one knows how the Smart Grid will come into existence or even what it will be. This is an opportunity for us to take action, to sponsor and engage in new approaches, to grow and ferment ideas with practical applications, to bring together disciplines, and to create something that will make a huge difference in our generation and those in the future.

The Electric Salon was developed as a project innovation and design by
Donald Steiny
steiny@steiny.com
http://www.steiny.com
650-646-5368