The field of competitors within the emerging field of energy management software now includes Microsoft. Earlier this week Microsoft launched Hohm, a home energy management application that delivers appliance specific energy consumption data to users through a web interface. The intention behind Hohm is to enable consumers to gauge their electricity usage and determine strategies for reducing consumption.

Microsoft’s entrance into the field comes only one month after Google released similar software, known as PowerMeter. Hohm is being launched with four utility partners including Puget Sound Energy, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Seattle City Light and Xcel Energy. At this time, it’s unclear as to whether or not Microsoft intends to deliver a similar offering for enterprise customers. What is certain is that Microsoft believes in the pivotal role that technology will play in addressing energy issues.

Detailed, fine-grain tracking capabilities of Hohm will only be available to residential customers who have opted into the program with Microsoft’s initial four utility partners. However, other U.S. consumers can use Hohm to gauge the efficiency of their homes and appliances. With a specific emphasis on heaters, air conditioners and lighting, the data behind the software was licensed from the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and the Department of Energy. Leveraging this data, users will also be able to estimate the overall CO2 emissions associated with their energy usage. To accomplish this, the Hohm backend examines the makeup of generation sources that service the customer’s region.

A key feature of the new offering is that in addition to delivering near-real time usage information, it also provides users with actionable strategies and recommendations for adjusting energy practices that save money and reduce environmental impacts.

Microsoft intends to expand the reach of this new application and is pursuing partnerships with a half dozen other utilities that they expect to sign on by the end of 2009. Although most utilities are just beginning their implementation of smart meters, there’s already a heated competition among companies to be the leading providers of the interface that communicates the energy usage data.

Hohm, however, has had a rocky start. Beta users who signed up this week have complained about being unable to log into the service and that they’re receiving internal server error messages. Microsoft is aware of the issues and is working on fixing problems caused by issues ranging from postal code discrepancies to incompatibilities among browser languages. Other users have complained that some of the manual data entry required is too laborious and that what’s really needed is a more automated system for capturing historical data.

Perhaps Microsoft was not quite ready to launch Hohm and, perhaps, they launched early as an attempt to keep pace with Google. Either way, consumers can rest assured that Microsoft will fix the known problems and that the evolution of home energy management software is now another arena in which Microsoft and Google’s fierce competition will drive innovation.

Earlier this week, Volvo introduced a new model that integrates a lug-in lithium battery and a diesel engine, which Volvo plans to make available by 2012. When compared to Volvo’s earlier plan to have a hybrid vehicle available in 2012, the new plug-in model represents a more aggressive move on Volvo’s behalf.

Notably, this move could position Volvo as the world’s first provider of a plug-in diesel model. Although the technical specifications are a work in progress, the company says that the new plug-in will emit less than 50 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer. When compared to the average emissions rate of roughly 90 g/km found among most European subcompacts, Volvo’s 2012 plug-in is a big leap in automotive efficiency.

Other manufacturers have touted plans for upcoming hybrid vehicles however; none have presented plans for a plug-in component to their diesel engine models. The usage of a lithium-ion battery will likely drive up the costs of Volvo’s plug-in model. Chances are that in order for this model to be a cost-effective option for consumers, a tax incentive for low-emissions vehicles will be required. With goals of offering a product that allows drivers to cover longer distances with a manageable recharge time (5 hours), Volvo believe the new model is a response to market needs.

In order to deliver the new technology, Volvo has partnered with Vattenfall, a Swedish electric utility company. The partnership has resulted in the development of an automotive battery that will provide drivers with the ability to run on battery power for up to 50 kilometers. The structure of the partnership is such that Volvo Car Corporation (a subsidiary of Ford) will manufacture the vehicles and Vattenfall will develop the charging systems that supply the cars with the necessary electricity. Touting at-home fill ups and reduced fuel costs, and reduced environmental impacts, Volvo believes that the new plug-in model is a purchase option that the market is eager for.

In addition to finalizing the technical specifications of the lithium-ion battery technology, Volvo is also finalizing the safety specifications of the vehicle in order to comply with current European safety regulations.

The company’s CEO, Stephan Odell has stated that, “I would go so far as to say that the plug-in electrical hybrid we will launch in 2012 will be a true dream car. With the innovative solution we will offer, the car owner will be able to drive a thoroughly enjoyable car packed with Volvo’s renowned high safety and genuine driving pleasure.”

Earlier this year, Google announced the development of a gadget called Google PowerMeter which delivers personal electricity usage data to consumers on their individual computers. This effort took a big step forward on Wednesday of this week when Google announced a list of eight initial electric utilities that will serve as partners.

United by a common interest in connecting their customers with personal consumption data, the diverse list of partners includes utilities from India, Canada and the United States. The partnering utilities range in size from small providers to ones with millions of customers.

The full list of partnering utilities is as follows:
* San Diego Gas & Electric® (California)
* TXU Energy (Texas)
* JEA (Florida)
* Reliance Energy (India)
* Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (Wisconsin)
* White River Valley Electric Cooperative (Missouri)
* Toronto Hydro–Electric System Limited (Canada)
* Glasgow EPB (Kentucky)

One of the larger utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) has been partnering with Google throughout the past year and now has plans to install over 200,000 smart meters this year. By 2011, SDG&E estimates that they will have their entire territory of 1.4 million customers equipped with smart meters. According to a New York Times post, San Diego Gas & Electric has indicated that their smart meter customers should be able to access their energy usage data via the Google PowerMeter before the end of this year.

Google is not the only tech company working hard to bring energy data to customers via the Internet. As a smart energy grid evolves, so will energy management applications the applications that deliver usage data into the hands of the customers. By doing so, it is estimated that customers can reduce their energy usage by 5% – 10%.

In addition to listing the eight utility partners, Google also announced their partnership with smart meter maker, Itron. Although Google and others in the field of home energy management have discussed whether or not they actually require partnerships with utilities and smart meters in order to deliver these data services, it certainly helps Google’s efforts to have solidified the partnerships. The Google partnership is helping Itron as well, as indicated by Itron shares being up about 3.7% on Wednesday.

There a number of players in this field and more will emerge as partnerships such as these are formed. However, as usual, Google appears to be taking the lead.

As industry leaders closely watch the consumer response to new electric vehicles, ideas are quickly taking shape in regards to where manufacturers should target their sales and production. While North American, European and Chinese auto manufacturers race to bring a viable electric car to market, the question remains, who will arrive first and where will the manufacturing centers be located?

A recent announcement that Think, Norway’s pioneering electric carmaker is opening a manufacturing plant in the US is an indication that the US may be overtaking Europe as a more lucrative marketplace for the production of electric vehicles.

Think CEO, Richard Canny has stated, “The U.S. is quickly overtaking Europe as an attractive market for EVs and is an ideal location to engineer and build EVs” and he may be right. Think is currently in discussion with eight US states to determine where to build their new manufacturing facility which will initially employ 300 workers and will have a production capacity of 16,000 cars per year. Think’s technical center will also provide 70 additional jobs for engineers and electric drive specialists. Long term plans for this facility include employment for roughly 900 total employees and production capacity of 60,000 electric vehicles per year.

In addition to job creation and dealer sales, the migration of Think manufacturing to the US will also impact our national economy through contributing to a growing supply chain which serves the electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid car markets. Currently, Think is partnering with US battery makers Ener1, Inc. and A123 to provide compact, high-powered lithium-ion power systems for “TH!NK city” which, is Think’s flagship vehicle.

The TH!NK city is estimated at being capable of traveling 65 miles per hour and up to 112 miles per charge. Although numbers such as those are impressive in terms of what consumer options have been in the past, the question still remains as to whether or not those specs are enough to draw in US consumers. If the failure of China’s marketplace to embrace the F3DM electric car is any indication as to the possible future of the TH!NK city, the Norwegian-run company may have some more design work ahead of them before being able to capture revenue through US sales.

However, with talks underway with eight US states (including Michigan), a recent acquisition of $5.7 million in interim financing and loans available through the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program, the arrival of a vibrant Think presence on the streets of America seems inevitable.

The question remains, will US consumers respond to an fully electric car that can travel 112 miles with a top speed of 65mph or, will they hold out for longer range and higher speed hybrid electric vehicles?

With the increasing likelihood of a federally mandated system for regulating carbon emissions (aka “cap and trade”), it is becoming apparent that businesses will soon be required to implement accounting measures to report on their emissions of greenhouse gases. A cornerstone measurement to be required in this process will be the consumption of services and products that require the use of fossil fuels.

This type of consumption tracking is entirely new to many businesses and consumers. Steps taken now to develop in-house capabilities or forming outside partnerships to account for carbon emissions will ensure the long-term success of your organization assuming the new laws come into place.

Web-based consumption calculation has evolved since it first hit the scenes in 2006 in the form of carbon calculators. Traditionally, carbon calculators factored in annual data from numbers of miles driven, number of flights taken, number of household members and the average cost of monthly utilities. Today, we are seeing an emerging trend in online consumption calculation in which advanced calculations are taking place behind the scenes to provide a more robust measurement of the energy consumed to fuel our lifestyles.

Specifically, we see the units of measurement migrating from tons of carbon emitted per year to watts per person. A significant emerging trend that we are seeing in the online calculators is the functionality for business and consumers to create online profiles that store their data, which enables long-term monitoring and assessment, supporting the user in their efforts to reduce consumption. Forum applications on these sites provide businesses with a critical avenue for communication with an audience of new and existing customers.

Some of the leading applications for online calculation of consumption include WattzOn, The Almanac and Wattbot. For an emerging energy assessment tool with enterprise applications, be sure to keep your eye on the work of AMEE.

WattzOn: This free online tool is intended to be used for tracking the energy needs of all the many aspects of your lifestyle. From iPods to rolls of toilet paper, Wattzon provides a novel and detailed presentation of your total energy consumption.

The Almanac: Still in it’s beta stage, The Almanac enables users to record consumption and provides a snapshot of their energy footprint along with recommendations for reducing the environmental impact of your lifestyle.

Wattbot: Through combining an analysis of energy usage and recommended strategies for the adoption of renewable energy resources, Wattbot is a one-stop online shop which connects businesses and consumers with cost saving strategies that also reduce the environmental impact of doing business.

AMEE: Although they are more about enterprise solutions for mapping, measuring and tracking carbon and energy usage, AMEE provides a powerful API that businesses can leverage to develop and deliver their own online consumption calculators for customers and internal systems.

GE’s amazing application renders a 3D digital hologram of smart grid technology right in your hands. There are a variety of amazing opportunities for leveraging this type of a tool to shape the public’s visualization of what a world would look like if we embraced renewable energy resources.

BroadStar Wind Systems will be unveiling it’s innovative new wind turbine design this week at the BWEA30 event in London.  The new design uses horizontal blades arranged in a rotating cylindrical structure, which can be placed on buildings or to infill existing wind farms. The goal of this new design is to create new and affordable markets for capturing wind energy.

If you have not already read about the innovative business model that Recurrent Energy is built around, you might want to spend some time reading about their, “solar as a service” approach to enabling commercial, residential and government entities to adopt a solar energy infrastructure without investing in the upfront costs.  EIA’s updated Annual Energy Outlook makes the succinct but relevant point that in order to see continued participation in renewables from the residential and commercial sectors, we’re going to need to find more and more innovative models for making the technology and the energy accessible, without the initial costs, the risk of ownership as well as operation and maintenance costs.