GE Global Research, the centralized research organization of the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), announced it is partnering with New Mexico Tech in a multi-year program to develop and demonstrate the integration of sustainable technologies to create cost effective and energy efficient residential and commercial communities. Specifically, the program will integrate and optimize renewable energy and energy conservation technologies into homes and buildings, including solar energy; home security technologies; energy efficiency technologies such as advanced lighting and appliances; and advanced electrical distribution system technologies.
These buildings and homes, known as energy-participating homes, can produce energy to meet part of their own needs, curtail some of their energy consumption if the grid around them is congested or the utility is at peak capacity, and in many cases put excess power back on to the grid. Integration of these homes and buildings into coordinated and energy efficient communities will be the focus of a subsequent phase of work. The technologies will be demonstrated in a currently vacant community in the town of Playas, New Mexico that is owned and operated by New Mexico Tech and used as a test bed.
Dr. Juan de Bedout, GE’s technical leader for the program said, “This project will allow us to demonstrate how intelligently integrated sustainable technologies can come together to dramatically reduce energy consumption, providing a measure of relief to home and business owner’s wallets and reducing the country’s rate of consumption of depletable energy resources such as coal and natural gas. Taking this a step further, the integration of these energy-participating buildings and homes into coordinated communities that collectively contribute towards balancing power demand with supply could help alleviate some of the congestion and efficiency issues plaguing our grid today.”
“Our vision is to make Playas a national test-bed for sustainable technologies,” said Dr. Van Romero, Vice President for Research and Economic Development for New Mexico Tech. “This partnership with GE is a major step forward for both the University and the State of New Mexico. Of equal importance is the benefit our students receive from working with the latest technology developed by a world leader such as GE.”
The partnership with New Mexico Tech to accelerate the feasibility of energy-participating homes, buildings and communities is an important part of GE’s ecomagination initiative. Under the initiative, GE has pledged to more than double its level of investment in the development of cleaner energy technologies, from $700 million to $1.5 billion over the next five years.
The program between GE and New Mexico has two initial phases. Phase One will focus on the development of energy and information architecture for energy-participating homes and buildings. It will involve integrating solar photovoltaics, energy efficient lighting and appliances, demand-side management technologies, energy storage technologies such as batteries, and advanced controls at two homes in Playas.
Phase Two will focus on the development of advanced electrical distribution system technologies needed for the integration of multiple energy-participating homes and buildings into energy-participating communities that can collectively manage their power production and consumption, and potentially operate in both grid-connected and grid-isolated fashions.
New Mexico Tech was established by territorial legislation in 1889 and has evolved into one of the nation’s premier science and engineering schools. In addition to its recent number two ranking in The Princeton Review, New Mexico Tech is recognized each year as one of the nation’s top universities by other national publications, such as U.S. News & World Report, MONEY magazine, Peterson’s Guide, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Recently the University has become New Mexico’s lead institution in renewable energy research, development and deployment.
GE Global Research was the first industrial research lab in the United States and is one of the world’s most diversified research centers, providing innovative technology for all of GE’s businesses. Global Research has been the cornerstone of GE technology for more than 100 years, developing breakthrough innovations in areas such as medical imaging, energy generation, jet engines, advanced materials and lighting. GE Global Research is headquartered in Niskayuna, New York and has facilities in Bangalore, India; Shanghai, China; and Munich, Germany. www.ge.com/research
Loading...