State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Who is Leading the Smart City Revolution?

Renewable Energy World: It seems like every time you turn around, another company, utility, municipality or institution announces some sort of “smart” initiative. In July, Xcel Energy and Panasonic announced a collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) and others to study a potential carbon-neutral energy district master plan for Peña Station NEXT smart city development in Denver, Colorado; a trio of companies announced the formation of the “Energy IoT and Smart City Technology Alliance,” which consists of Envision, Microsoft, Accenture and others; and Black and Veatch and CPS Energy hosted a webcast called “The Smart City Puzzle: The Role of Utilities in Next-Gen Communities.”

Indeed, the smart city revolution is unfolding as cities seek to embrace the marriage of technology, energy, infrastructure, and transportation and use it to create better living environments for people across the world.

“Holistically [a smart city] relates to the services that cities offer to the residents and businesses,” said Jennifer James, Smart City Solution Lead at Black and Veatch, adding “it relates to things like safety and ultimately quality of life for people.”

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