After a major IEEE conference earlier this year in Washington, Innovative Smart Grid Technologies, a follow up now takes place in Europe. The conference is hosted by Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.
“Smart Grid involves breaking new ground and bringing together people with different areas of expertise. My vision is that through this meeting we can create a bridge between Europe and North America and between different bodes and individuals: politicians, public authorities, industry, universities and students”, states Professor Lina Bertling, ISGT Europe 2010 Conference chair.
The host for the conference in Washington was NIST – the National Institute of Standards and Technology – which has been commissioned by President Obama to produce the USA’s “pathway for Smart Grid”. Over 700 delegates from the industry and researcher world attended the conference. Lina Bertling was part of the technical advisory committee for the conference.
“It was a tremendous feeling listening to speakers talking about the intelligent electricity grid of the future – the same people who previously worked on developing the internet”. She emphasises the importance of having politicians and decision-makers on board. Likewise, the need for know-how that goes beyond the purely technical – in law and economics for example.
“A sustainable, flexible electricity grid requires solutions that are not bound by political restraints. We must have the courage to make decisions that extend across party boundaries and election periods,” Lina Bertling states.
IEEE PES Conference on Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Europe, October 11-13, 2010, Chalmers Campus Lindholmen, Gothenburg, Sweden.
