The Silicon Valley Leadership Group, City of San Jose and Pacific Gas and Electric Co., co-chairs of the Silicon Valley Smart Grid Task Force launched in 2010, have announced the findings of a new economic analysis of smart grid innovation and deployment, conducted by Collaborative Economics.

The Bay Area has a high concentration of talent, companies and research centers focused on the development of smart grid technology and services that promise to empower energy consumers with information, choices and control, while improving the reliability and environmental footprint of the electrical system.

"A central tenet of San Jose's Green Vision is that clean technologies are the economic drivers of the future," said Mayor Chuck Reed. "This report shows that the future is now and that the smart grid has already begun creating jobs in Silicon Valley."

The study by Collaborative Economics reports that from 1995 to 2009, the number of smart grid-related firms grew 138 percent and the number of jobs grew 129 percent in Silicon Valley. Even during the economic downturn in 2008 and 2009, the smart grid sector continued to show strong local growth. Recent employment trends through August 2011 indicate that Silicon Valley's economy is recovering at a faster rate than the state or nation, which suggests that continued growth related to the smart grid should be expected.

"For decades, Silicon Valley has been on the forefront of new technologies," said Carl Guardino, President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. "Increasingly, those new technologies touch the smart grid, and Silicon Valley is reaping the economic benefit of these advances."

Many utilities across the country are now deploying technology that will develop smarter grids. PG&E will complete its upgrade of nearly 10 million gas and electric meters to SmartMeter technology in 2012, as part of the utility's effort to give customers more access to information and greater control over their energy use and bills.

The lead author, Tracey Grose, vice president of Collaborative Economics, explains, "The national roll-out of the smart grid will not just drive growth in the broader Bay Area directly related to smart grid technologies. The implementation of these systems will produce huge new volumes of data that must be processed, stored and analyzed. Therefore, smart grid will also drive demand for IT products and services, Silicon Valley's key sectors."