The tax credit award supports Itron’s strategy to increase manufacturing capacity in its U.S.-based facilities including its smart meter plant in South Carolina. Increased demand for Itron’s advanced smart meters has allowed Itron to employ several hundred people in the production facility.
The company said that Itron’s advanced smart metering/smart grid solution, OpenWay, supports a clean energy economy by aiding in carbon reduction, while enabling renewable power infrastructure, system efficiency and consumer involvement.
The company claimed that the OpenWay Centron meter is one of the first smart meters to provide built-in, high-speed two-way communications, giving consumers more choice regarding their energy usage and allowing utilities to provide higher reliability at lower cost.
By empowering customers with energy information, with the number of meters that Itron can produce and deploy annually, Itron estimates electricity could be reduced by approximately 1.7 million MWh per year, thereby avoiding 1.02 million metric tons carbon dioxide (CO2) annually.
Malcolm Unsworth, president and CEO of Itron, said: ” The reduction in carbon emissions from the adoption of smart metering cannot be overlooked. Additionally, the positive impact of manufacturing these important technologies in America is very important to our economy and our environment. We commend the administration for supporting domestic manufacturing of advanced clean energy technologies.”
A variety of technologies were represented in the grant issuance.The company said that Itron was the only smart metering manufacturer recognized among several smart grid vendors. In total, 183 projects across 43 states were recognized for their potential to create tens of thousands of high quality clean energy jobs.
The DOE received requests for roughly three times the available funding for the credit. These credits, along with other Recovery Act investments, are expected to drive significant growth in the renewable energy and clean technology manufacturing sectors and enable the US to be the global leader in these markets.
Itron’s Oconee Manufacturing Facility is the third-largest employer in Oconee County with approximately 600 full and part-time employees. Additionally, research and development, engineering, product marketing and production of several lines of electricity meters reside within the facility.
