Dell Joins Pecan Street Inc. to expand research in Smart Grid Technologies

Wednesday, Dec 05, 2012

Dell today announced it has joined the industry advisory council of Pecan Street Inc., a nonprofit energy and smart grid research and development organization headquartered at the University of Texas at Austin. As a member company, Dell will provide technology and IT expertise to Pecan Street to advance its work in energy big data.

“Pecan Street is conducting ground-breaking research that will shape the next generation of energy systems. Information technology and data management will be crucial to these smarter grids, and Dell is proud to put technology and expertise toward the goal of ensuring our energy future is efficient and sustainable.”

Pecan Street is currently conducting the country’s most robust and detailed consumer energy research in Austin, Texas, including consumer electricity and gas use and solar and electric vehicle integration. In more than 400 homes, researchers are monitoring electricity and gas use from several circuits every 15 seconds, resulting in the world’s deepest consumer energy use data.

Such complex systems — requiring two-way communication between users, producers and transmitters of energy — rely on high performing data management systems to provide actionable information in real time. Dell’s decision to join Pecan Street builds on its announcement this fall of the Dell Smart Grid Data Management Solution: a tested architecture that bundles servers, storage, networking, and security services with state-of-the-art software into a ready-to-deploy solution that helps utility companies better manage their distribution networks.

Dell is committed to putting its technology and expertise to work where it can do the most good for people and the planet. The company believes that smart grids and other information-enabled networks can help utilities, businesses and consumers use natural resources in a wiser and more informed manner — improving both productivity and efficiency.

Working with Pecan Street through the Dell Solution Centers, Dell is providing the nonprofit with equipment, including:

OptiPlex and Dell Precision workstations for the project’s researchers;

• PowerConnect network switches;
  PowerVault direct-attached storage to enable easier research sharing;
• SonicWall back-up and recovery; and,
• Data center infrastructure including a Dell rack, Dell power distribution unit (PDU), Dell uninterruptible power supply (UPS), and Dell rack-mounted switch and console.

For more information, visit www.dell.com/smartgrid.

Source: Business Wire