Smart City and Utility Industry News Roundup
April 10, 2024

The City of Genoa in Italy, is partnering with Movyon Spa, representing Autostrade per l’Italia, to introduce a new technological infrastructure and a smart city control roomdesigned to enhance urban mobility and address challenges such as pollution and traffic congestion. Led by the municipal council, the initiative, named ‘Intelligent Urban Mobility,’ will extend through 2027. This project will involve the establishment of core hardware and software platforms, as well as the structuring of operational and maintenance management processes. These efforts are poised to deliver a range of functionalities, including:

• Dynamic Limited Traffic Zones.
• City-wide traffic flow monitoring systems.
• Advanced parking management.
• Cycling mobility monitoring systems.
• Optimization of last-mile delivery logistics.
• Intelligent traffic lights and road safety systems.
• Communication systems between infrastructure and vehicles.
• A data platform for aggregating and analyzing mobility data.
• A mobility governance platform for decision-making support.
• A Smart City control room.

Swedish private equity firm EQT Group is set to enhance its footprint in the energy transition landscape through the acquisition of Ocea Group from ICG Infra. Ocea Group, a French specialist in smart water and heat metering solutions, operates over four million submeters under long-term contracts. The acquisition is expected to close in mid-2024.

A new surveillance system featuring 3,000 cameras will soon enhance public safety in Sector 6, Bucharest. Announced by Mayor Ciucu, this initiative aims to address issues such as drugs and vandalism, especially near schools. Utilizing artificial intelligence, the system should identify certain behaviors and promptly alerts local police to improve response times. Additionally, the system will be equipped with facial blurring technologies to ensure individuals’ identities remain obscured unless legally required for police investigations.

The City of Zaragoza will introduce LED technology to 10,000 streetlights across its neighborhoods within a year through the Reluzes program, supported by a 10 million euro, interest-free European grant. This shift is expected to save 2.1 million euros in lighting costs annually. The project, aims at making Zaragoza a more sustainable city, includes reducing light pollution, enhancing visual comfort, and implementing advanced control and telemanagement systems. With the upgrade, Zaragoza’s public lighting energy consumption is expected to drop from 6.8 million kWh/year to 2 million kWh/year, while lowering the annual lighting bill from nearly 3 million euros to 881,500 euros.

Santa Cruz de Tenerife is set to transform its lighting system with a 3 million euro street lighting initiative. The project includes the upgrade to 5,451 LED lights, along with the integration of advanced management systems for fault detection and remote operation. This initiative is expected to reduce the city’s energy consumption by 61%, saving 371,787 euros annually. Additionally, autonomous solar-powered lights will illuminate areas previously without electricity.

West Berkshire Council has initiated a £225,000 project in collaboration with Volker Highways to integrate thermal sensors into street lighting and gritting vehicles to enhance its road gritting strategy.  This effort, part of the larger ££2.1 million Thames Valley Berkshire Smart City Cluster program, aims to leverage IoT technologies for efficient winter road maintenance. By providing real-time data for gritting decisions, the project seeks a 40% reduction in treatments by 2027, aiming to lower salt usage and cut CO2 emissions by around 26 tonnes annually, aligning with environmental and economic benefits.

The Biden-Harris Administration is allocating $79 million to enhance wildfire management, including a significant focus on improving detection and response capabilities. $10.5 million will be allocated to enhancement of remote sensing technologies, such as cameras, smoke monitors, and automated weather stations aiming to boost the country’s preparedness against future wildfires.