LOS ALAMOS, N.M. — A $52 million state-of-the-art, international smart grid project has powered up in Los Alamos, N.M., a high desert residential community of scientists, engineers and their families.
The New Energy and Industrial Technology and Development
Organization (NEDO) of Japan, Los Alamos County through the Los Alamos Dept. of
Public Utilities (DPU), and the Los Alamos National Laboratory hosted a ribbon
cutting ceremony unveiling a photovoltaic array, battery storage system and
“smart house.”
Launching
the demonstration smart grid project were New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez,
NEDO Chairman Mr. Kazuo Furukawa, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, Los Alamos County
Council Chair Sharon Stover, Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Dr.
Charles McMillan, Toshiba CEO Mr. Norio Sasaki and other key executives from
major participating companies such as Kyocera, Hitachi, Sharp, Itochu and NGK
Insulators.
For
two years American and Japanese partners have toiled together to build the Los
Alamos Smart Grid which will demonstrate how to provide a significant portion
of renewable power on the electric grid to meet a community’s residential
needs. The Los Alamos Smart Grid demonstration project (www.LosAlamosSmartGrid.info) consists
of 2 megawatts of photovoltaic power, 8.3 megawatt hours of batteries and state-of-the-art
controls, and a smart house which includes smart appliances that allow for
electric demand in the house to be responsive to smart grid signals, minimizing
potential costs and preserving the comfort of residential usage
patterns.
Electricity
from the 2 megawatts of photovoltaic power will energize about 2,000
residential sites on a single circuit in the high desert, residential community
of Los Alamos at high penetration levels of 25% – 75%. The photovoltaic
system, with its 8.3 megawatt hour battery storage system, demonstrates the
ability to stabilize photovoltaic output by reducing peak system demand as it
draws electricity from the battery system at times of peak
usage.
“In
addition,” said Los Alamos County’s economic development administrator Greg
Fisher, “we are welcoming further interest from academic, industrial, and
scientific groups who wish to view the smart grid projects or add research
components of their own to the Los Alamos County/DPU portfolio, including work
for such partners as Kyocera, Hitachi,
NEC, and Toshiba. Following the demonstration project’s data and
analysis period of two years, there will be opportunities for other companies
and institutions to utilize these unique resources to conduct additional
research ranging from academic research to new “smart home” product testing.”