The Stimulus and the Smart Grid

February 17, 2009

Val Peterson on top of the Chancellor's Residence at University of Colorado-Boulder, where the house has been retrofitted with solar panels as part of the Smart Grid project. (Photo courtesy Val Peterson)

The $787 billion stimulus package that President Obama will sign in Denver today sets aside $4.5 billion to upgrade the nation’s electrical grid to a so-called “smart grid.” The energy saving technology is being tested on a large scale in Boulder, Colorado where 45,000 homes will be hooked into the “smart grid” by summer. The Chancellor’s Residence at the University of Colorado-Boulder has become the model home. We talk with the chancellor’s wife, Val Peterson, about life on the “smart grid.”

Also--- The Stimulus bill includes billions of dollars in grants for solar and wind energy industries, which are thriving in Colorado. We speak to Gargi Chakrabarty, business reporter for the Rocky Mountain News about the bill’s pluses and minuses for the state.

This program aired on February 17, 2009. The audio for this program is not available.