Ontario launches contest to promote renewable energy awareness

Contest could help draw more attention to renewable energy

The provincial government of Ontario, Canada, has begun encouraging applications developers to make energy consumption information more available to homeowners and businesses. As such, the government has launched a contest that will award the developer of an innovative smart meter data application $50,000. Renewable energy has been gaining ground throughout Canada and government officials have been working to make energy consumption readily available in order to highlight the economic aspects of clean power.

Energy consumption is often a misunderstood subject

Energy is not free. Utilities spend money to acquire fuels in order to produce electricity and these costs are largely transferred to consumers. While consumers are well aware of the amount of money they spend on their electricity bills, many people do not know how much less they can be spending through the adoption of renewable energy and the use of smart metering. Smart meters are designed to measure energy consumption but allow for two-way communication with an established energy grid. Unlike conventional meters, smart meters gather data and can track the electricity that a property is funneling into an energy grid as well as the electricity that a property is using.

Ontario works to modernize energy grid

Ontario has been working to establish an expansive infrastructure of smart meters in the hopes of modernizing its energy grid. New renewable energy systems are taking root throughout the province and the current energy infrastructure is not designed to accommodate the electricity that these systems produce. Modernizing the Ontario energy grid is expected to make renewable energy systems more efficient and help make it easier for consumers to understand how they consume electrical power.

Benefits of renewable energy could be highlighted through contest

The contest launched in Ontario will seek to highlight the best applications that homeowners and businesses can use to collect data concerning energy consumption. Many of these applications are expected to highlight the merits of renewable energy and the amount of money consumers could save by embracing clean technology.