Itron showcased to Chinese

Itron, a Spokane company, was recently showcased as an exemplar of the capabilities the Pacific Northwest can offer China for addressing energy and environmental challenges.



Here's the excerpt about Itron from the Seattle Times:

The company
has begun to sell software to utilities in China, and it manufactures
natural-gas meters at a factory in Chongqing. Its most cutting- edge products
are advanced metering systems that take precise measurements of energy use and
deliver data back to utilities. Two-way systems can send signals to customers or
to smart appliances to cut consumption at times when the energy supply is
constrained. In measuring water use, its technology can detect leaks under the
street using acoustics.



Itron sees opportunities in China's plan to
boost its energy efficiency, said marketing director Tim Wolf. But concerns over
intellectual-property rights have made Itron cautious about the China market.



"Senator Cantwell and everyone made it clear that IP rights are an
important concern as we go forward," Wolf said. "Working directly with a
government-sanctioned group in China mitigates those concerns to some extent."