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Launches and Cash for Energy Sector Big Data Specialist
Big data analytics and software firm AutoGrid Systems, which helps utilities and end-user clients to control their power consumption and costs, has raised $9m in funds from Silicon Valley investors. The company has also publicly launched a grid-based data mining tool, Energy Data Platform (EDP).
EDP will sift the mass of data available from smart meters, grid sensors, building energy management systems and other networked assets connected to the grid, functioning in a similar way to web site recommendation engines and weather forecasting algorithms, the tool uses the mass of structured and unstructured data to predict future consumption under normal and one-off conditions. Another tool, DROMS (Demand Response Optimization and Management Systems) is already up and running and promises to 'reduce the cost of implementing demand response by 90 percent while increasing the 'yield' of such programs by 30 percent.'
AutoGrid also announced that it has signed contracts valued at over $5m with ARPA-E, the projects research agency of the US Department of Energy, and the California Energy Commission.
Participants in the two-part funding exercise were Foundation Capital, Voyager Capital and Stanford University. Voyager MD Dan Ahn comments: 'AutoGrid is creating the brains for the smart grid. If you can analyze all of the data, you can predict what the electrical parameters of the grid will be under any situation and use that to remove inefficiencies from the electricity supply chain. This is a huge, long-term opportunity to apply state-of-the-art big data analytics, with a disruptive business model, to transform a 100 year old industry.'
Web site: www.auto-grid.com .
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