What is the B2G Summit?

With the background of an increased awareness of sustainability and energy conservation, the building automation as well as the electric grid industries are facing dramatic changes and new opportunities to interject intelligence and IT into their control infrastructures.

The building automation market has been undergoing dramatic changes in the past few years, driven by increased availability of enabling technologies such as open systems and IP (Internet Protocol). While benefits of these can be found, the dramatic value proposition of energy management is once again center stage as a key purpose of this mature industry.

The electricity grid and supply industry has over a similar period, been going through its own dramatic changes. The need to modernize the electric grid in North America and the developed world, combined with a forecasted shortage of electricity is driving an urgent initiative to explore ways to use Information Technology to help solve these challenges.

Environmental concerns are impacting utility’s ability to increase capacity in traditional ways by building more plants. Renewable energy sources are increasing both centralized and in a distributed fashion. The electricity system of the future is likely going to look more like the Internet than the 20th century grid built by our forefathers.

Buildings use around 40% of energy from electricity supply and contribute around the same percentage of harmful carbon, the main cause of climate change.

This perfect storm of drivers and trends begs the question why more is not done to interconnect the future smart grid with the future smart buildings, in a manner that is most beneficial to building owners, electricity providers and society in general.

The first B2G Summit, is designed to explore the opportunities that lie at the intersection of building systems and the smart grid.

Grid-InteropThe B2G Summit was organized in part out of the conclusion of the Grid-Interop Forum in Albuquerque in November 2007, organized by the GridWIse Architecture Council in partnership with Clasma Events.

Key Topics & Objectives

  • Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
  • Outlining opportunities for buildings and smart grid stakeholders
  • Discover possible partnerships for business development
  • Understand the magnitude and time table of business opportunities
  • Define actionable steps forward
  • Understand the value proposition to building owners and utilities
  

Partner Organizations

The first B2G Summit in New York is organized in partnership with two key organizations working in the intersection of buildings and the smart grid.

GridWise Architecture Council

DOEThe GridWise Architecture Council (GWAC) is a team of industry leaders who are shaping the guiding principles, or architecture, of a highly intelligent and interactive electric system—one ripe with decision-making information exchange and market-based opportunities. This architecture will provide guidelines for interaction between participants and interoperability between technologies and systems. The Council is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

NewEnergy Alliance

ConstellationThe NewEnergy Alliance was formed to share information and help drive innovation across the BAS industry with best practices, new technologies, and advanced energy strategies to bring demand response to every building that has a building automation system. The Alliance was founded by Constellation NewEnergy.