The blackout triggered calls by industry leaders for the building of a nationwide smart power grid, which could reroute electricity seamlessly in such cases.

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First, we must include data center expansion in power management and growth plans (this is in addition to other demands for a smart power grid to support activities such as charging a possible expansion of the number of electric vehicles).

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Finally, both of these changes are being enabled through the integration of smart grid technology in the power transmission and distribution grid, which moves not only electrons but also information effectively through our energy networks.

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The Smart Grid provides reliable power that is relatively interruption-free.

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We can generate clean, renewable electricity (often in low-demand regions) and get it to where it's needed by building a national smart grid to distribute clean power -- like a high-voltage Internet.

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Founded in 2000, the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, Inc. is an industry-led initiative with 70 member companies that creates specifications and certification logo programs for using the power lines for reliable home networking and Smart Grid applications.

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In other news, the world of renewable energy is jolting for joy as Southwest Wind Power unveiled the world's first fully smart grid-enabled windturbine.

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Multiply that by millions of customers in a metro area, and a smart grid can produce a data set large enough to monitor power demand in real time and predict probable outages before they occur.

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Now GE sells wind turbines, smart grid systems and oil and gas technology around the world, as well as the big gas power turbines that made it an industry leader in the U.S. a long time ago.

FORBES: Connect