Recovery at Commerce Department of Commerce

Washington (Oct. 5)—The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) announces that it has awarded the first four grants under NTIA’s State Broadband Data and Development Grant Program to fund activities in California, Indiana, North Carolina, and Vermont. The program, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will increase broadband access and adoption through better data collection and broadband planning. The data will be displayed in NTIA’s national broadband map, a tool that will inform policymakers' efforts and provide consumers with improved information on the broadband Internet services available to them.

"Broadband will bring many benefits to the Nation, such as job creation and innovation, but these benefits have been delayed by the lack of comprehensive, reliable data on the availability of broadband service," said Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling. "This program addresses an important need and will provide a valuable tool in bringing broadband and jobs to more Americans." (More)

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke today unveiled an accelerated plan for developing standards to transform the U.S. power distribution system into a secure, more efficient and environmentally friendly Smart Grid and create clean-energy jobs.

The draft of the report is available at http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/smartgrid_interoperability.pdf.

Produced by the Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the approximately 90-page document identifies about 80 initial standards that will enable the vast number of interconnected devices and systems that will make up the nationwide Smart Grid to communicate and work with each other. These standards will support interoperability of all the various pieces of the system—ranging from large utility companies down to individual homes and electronic devices. The report also lists a set of 14 “priority action plans” that address the most important gaps in the initial standard set.

Planned and potential expansions and new facilities across campus, the addition of 400-500 kilowatts in power from solar panels, and increasing already heavy employee use of alternative transportation to a daily rate of 40 percent are among the highlights of an updated Master Plan for the Gaithersburg, Md., campus of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). NIST has delivered its plan to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the central planning agency for federal land and buildings in the National Capital Region.

This morning, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced 40 million dollars to create jobs, strengthen the economy, and support safe and efficient marine commerce and trade in Norfolk, VA.

The awarded contracts will help National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) map the seafloor, collect data in critical coastal areas, and update nautical charts in the Chesapeake Bay and other areas along the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf of Mexico.

For Norfolk, the funding means much needed improvement to charts used by mariners to safely navigate the local port of Hampton Roads, one of the largest natural sea ports in the world, ultimately allowing it to receive bigger ships carrying more cargo. (Remarks)