Pecan Street Project, inc. Unveils New Web Site

Following the award of a $10.4 million smart grid demonstration grant from the Department of Energy and the selection of a new executive director, Pecan Street Project, Inc., today unveiled a new Web site designed by global innovation firm frog design. The site redevelopment was conducted pro-bono through Fall 2009.

At launch, the new site contains a fresh look-and-feel and updated content. As the Pecan Street Project, Inc.'s work continues and the smart grid demonstration project at Mueller begins, the site will facilitate the development of an online community for the residents and businesses participating in the project.

“The success of the Pecan Street Project is dependent not only on having the right technology and infrastructure, but also on its ability to fit into consumers' lives and become a model community for the nation,” said Roger Duncan, general manager of Austin Energy and president of the Pecan Street Project, Inc. board of directors. “frog brings the kind of innovative thinking and proven ability to deliver that is essential to helping us fulfill our mission to prove clean energy technology in a real market setting.”

“Interacting with the Mueller community will be a significant priority as this demonstration project begins,” said Brewster McCracken, executive director of Pecan Street Project, Inc. “And having a robust online communication tool will be an important step in creating that interaction.”

“The Pecan Street Project will help make clean energy and the smart grid a reality, and we are thrilled to be a part of this groundbreaking effort,” said Doreen Lorenzo, president of frog design. “frog is committed to driving change in the way that people interact with energy in their homes and communities, and we believe that by designing a better user experience, we can help connect the grid with consumers in a meaningful way.”

About the Smart Grid Demonstration Project at Mueller

The smart grid demonstration project at Mueller will integrate with Austin Energy's next generation smart grid platform to create, operate, and evaluate an open platform Energy Internet - a type of smart grid that allows two-way electricity and information flow and is modeled on the architecture of the Internet. Residential and commercial participation in the project will be voluntary. The Mueller neighborhood - a public-private joint venture between the City of Austin and Catellus Development Group, a ProLogis company - is located at the site of Austin's former airport.

The DOE proposal was submitted by a partnership of Central Texas energy experts, including Pecan Street Project, Inc., Austin Energy, The University of Texas, Environmental Defense Fund, The Austin Chamber of Commerce and the City of Austin. In addition, Pecan Street Project, Inc. will create a Technology Review and Advisory Committee with representatives from ERCOT, Bluebonnet Electric Coop, CPS Energy San Antonio and Pedernales Electric Coop.

The project will collect data and analyze the results against control groups and distribution feeder systems in other locations in the Austin Energy service area to quantify how the integration of these technologies impacts electricity usage and bills, the utility's finances, environmental outcomes and overall system performance.

About the Pecan Street Project, Inc.

The Pecan Street Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization created by the founding partners of 2009's Pecan Street Project workgroup. Founding board members of the organization are: Roger Duncan, Austin Energy (Board President); Randi Shade, Austin City Council Member; Jim Marston, EDF; Dr. Tom Edgar, Professor of Engineering, University of Texas; Isaac Barchas, UT's Austin Technology Incubator; Jose Beceiro, Austin Chamber of Commerce.

About frog design, inc.

frog design is a global innovation firm and works with the world's leading companies, helping them to create and bring to market meaningful products, services, and experiences. frog's multidisciplinary process reveals valuable consumer and market insights and inspires lasting, humanizing solutions. With a team of more than 400 designers, technologists, strategists, and analysts, frog delivers fully convergent experiences that span multiple technologies, platforms, and media. frog works across a broad spectrum of industries, including consumer electronics, telecommunications, healthcare, media, education, finance, retail, and fashion. Clients include Disney, GE, HP, Logitech, Microsoft, MTV, Seagate, Yahoo! and others. Founded in 1969, frog is headquartered in San Francisco, with studios in Austin, New York, San Jose, Seattle, Milan, Amsterdam, Stuttgart, and Shanghai. frog design is an independent division of Aricent, a global innovation, technology, and outsourcing company, focused exclusively on communications. Aricent is owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Sequoia Capital, The Family Office, and Flextronics.

For more information about the Pecan Street Project, visit www.pecanstreetproject.org.