GE’s Ecomagination Challenge: Powering the Grid is an open call to action for businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students seeking breakthrough ideas to create a cleaner, more efficient and economically viable grid, and accelerate the adoption of smart grid technologies. See how DSL Rings technology can help build a greener economy and show your support for Genesis by voting today.

The Challenge invites people to come together to take on one of the world’s toughest challenges – building the next-generation power grid to meet the needs of the 21st century.

DSL Rings for a greener economy
DSL Rings has the potential to be the basis for a National Green Plan. Widespread DSL Rings deployment will give utilities the data backhaul capability they need to get their meter data back to their control centres to enable Time-of-Day-based billing and other peak-reduction techniques and services. For example, WiFi-based meters for every utility can be installed in each home in conjunction with a WiFi-enabled DSL Rings system.

The DSL Rings system is owned and maintained by the telecoms providers; so it stays with the house even if the consumer moves or purchases another form of Internet access technology (e.g.: Cable or Wireless). This allows the utilities to offer incentivised pricing for off-peak periods during each day, allowing the delay of the construction of additional power plants, sewage treatment plants, or natural gas facilities.

In the longer term, deploying DSL Rings on a wide scale can help countries become more utility-efficient, thereby decreasing the overall National exposure to foreign supply issues.

Watch the Genesis entry

Vote for Genesis

View the Genesis entry National Green Plan with new Telecom Technology – DSL Rings within the Connect: Grid Efficiency category and follow the steps below to vote.

1. Register with Ecomagination at: http://challenge.ecomagination.com/ideas. After submitting your email address you will receive an email with a unique link for your registration. Click this then complete and submit the simple form to complete registration.
2. Next, view the Genesis Entry via this link, or search on DSL Rings via the search box in the top right corner. (Please note that you need to scroll down below the idea map to view the Genesis entry)
3. Click on the green vote button on the right of the Genesis entry overview to vote.
4. Thanks for voting and supporting Genesis

More about the GE Ecomagination Challenge

The GE Ecomagination Challenge, is a $200 million innovation experiment where businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students share their best ideas on how to build the next-generation power grid – and just might get funded.

GE have teamed up with some of the best-known venture capital firms, including Emerald Technology Ventures, Foundation Capital, KPCB and Rockport Capital, to help back the most promising ideas.

Representatives of GE and its investment partners will form an evaluation committee to consider possible investments in the companies entering the competition. GE has also selected an Ecomagination Challenge panel of judges, including individuals from GE’s business units, representatives from academia, venture capital firms, government research specialists and others.

The panel of judges will select entries to receive cash awards. The panel will evaluate each entry based on merit; reliance on science and engineering fundamentals; innovative character; potential to create significant societal impact; commercial feasibility in light of applicable market dynamics; and other factors deemed appropriate by the judges.

Round 1: From July 13 – September 30, 2010The general public will vote on ideas that they consider the most promising smart grid technologies; however, the ultimate decision will rest with GE.

Round 2: From October 1 – November 30, 2010In late October, GE will announce those entrants with whom GE intends to pursue commercial relationships. In November, GE will announce any business deals with GE that have been formalized.

The entry receiving the most user-submitted votes, will receive, subject to GE’s review for appropriate content, a cash award of $50,000.

GE will also present each of five innovation challenge award recipients with $100,000 in cash, for a total of $500,000, to acknowledge these entries as examples of outstanding entrepreneurship and innovation.