NEWS IN THE WORLD OF POWER AND INTEGRATED BUILDING SYSTEMS
INDUSTRYWATCH
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DOE Joins With India to Invest in Electric Grid
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
(DOE) is investing $7.5 million to improve
the reliability and resiliency of the
electric grid, according to a June press
release. The Indian Ministry of Science
and Technology and industry partners
will match the DOE’s commitment, which
brings the total investment to $30 million.
The DOE’s investment awards a joint
U.S.-India effort to advance the countries’
power grids. This commitment furthers
the DOE’s collaboration with India under
the U.S.-India Partnership to Advance
Clean Energy (PACE).
A new consortium was selected for
smart grid and energy storage issues
under the U.S.-India Joint Clean Energy
Research and Development Center
(JCERDC): the U. S.-India Collaborative
for Smart Distribution System with
Storage (UI-ASSIST). The center, along
with partners in India, will research and
deploy new technology to modernize
grids in both countries, making them
smarter and more reliable. JCERDC will
help India expand energy throughout its
remote areas.
“This new consortium demonstrates
U.S. and Indian commitments to
ensuring access to affordable and
reliable energy in both countries,” said
U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry in the
press release. “We know that continued
grid innovation will promote economic
growth and energy security in the United
States and India.”
The consortium will include
experts from academia, the DOE’s
national laboratories, and industry.
The American UI-ASSIST team is
led by Washington State University
and includes ABB, ALSTOM Grid/
GE Grid Solutions, Avista, Burns and
McDonnell, Clean Energy Storage, ETAP
Operation Technology, Idaho National
Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory, MIT, National Rural Electric
Cooperative Association, Philadelphia
Industrial Development Corp.,
Snohomish County Public Utility District
in Washington, Texas A&M University,
and the University of Hawaii.
The Indian UI-ASSIST team is led by
the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)
Kanpur and includes IIT Bhubaneshwar,
IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee and
the Energy and Resources Institute in
New Delhi.
—MARLENA CHERTOCK
Devastated Kentucky Community Rebuilds With Green Energy
IN MARCH 2012, West Liberty, Ky., a community of 3,400 in
Morgan County, was hit by an EF- 3 tornado. The town suffered
$50 million in damage, 400 homes were demolished, and seven
people were killed. Morgan County lost more than $9 million in
residential, farm, commercial and industrial assessments from
2012 to 2013.
The community opted to build back
with strong reliance on a green-building model, using a
comprehensive planning
process that involved
community leaders, state
nonprofits and educational
institutions, including the
University of Kentucky Center
for Applied Energy Research,
Kentucky Innovation Network office
at Morehead State University, and the
Regional Technology and Innovation
Center. Lexington-based consulting
firm Midwest Clean Energy Enterprise
led the effort.
“We were called in to help
develop the West Liberty Strategic
Report, a strategic plan to help
rebuild the community’s buildings and economy as a whole,”
said Bobby Clark, co-founder and director of business
development. “And, even though the community is in the
middle of coal country, the decision was made to include a
focus on sustainable strategies in doing so.”
The first phase involved constructing 52 new
Energy Star-certified housing units, many of which
use renewable technologies. These include a 48-unit,
energy-efficient apartment development, plus four
single-family homes—two with solar—that will provide a
test case for new net-zero energy designs and technologies.
Commercial Bank, destroyed in the tornado, designed and
constructed its new facility to LEED Gold standards.
“Even though the new bank building is larger than the old
one, they are realizing a savings of about 45 percent on utility
bills in the new facility,” Clark said.
The bank uses the West Liberty Energy Efficiency Education
Dashboard, which is on display in the lobby. It monitors energy
used in the bank, in four of the apartment units, and in two of the
new Habitat for Humanity homes. For the sake of comparison, it
also measures energy consumption of an older home.
West Liberty is now an eco-tourism destination. In 2016, total
assessments in the county were $266 million, surpassing what
they were before the 2012 tornado.
—WILLIAM ATKINSON
