GE (NYSE: GE) has been awarded $2 million in Federal stimulus funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for a smart microgrid demonstration project at Twentynine Palms Base in California–the largest Marine Corps Base.
GE will design and demonstrate a smart energy management system that enables installations to manage on-site power generation and energy storage, while interacting with the regional electrical grid in a more efficient way. Additionally, GE’s system will provide enhanced capabilities for installations to integrate renewable resources, such as solar energy.
According to the 2009 Defense Appropriations Act, U.S. military installations consumed 3.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity last year, enough electricity to power 350,000 households in the United States. In addition to high energy costs for these installations, critical defense facilities must operate seamlessly through a power outage or other infrastructure disturbance. These are two key challenges that a smarter, more intelligent grid management system will help to address.
“GE’s smart microgrid demonstration project will show how a more intelligent energy management system can help military bases further safeguard the operation of their power systems while also reducing overall energy costs,” said John Kern, Manager of GE’s Smart Grid Research Lab. “This project will serve as a model for other bases and it also will demonstrate how similar types of facilities, such as industrial complexes and universities, can take advantage of a smarter grid.”
U.S. military bases typically manage power in two ways: local power is generated on site for critical facility needs; and, the bases are connected to the larger U.S. electrical grid network. As part of the project, GE will provide an enhanced suite of microgrid control system technologies that will enable a military base to more effectively manage its local energy resources as well as the interaction with the larger electrical grid network.
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Tendril and GE Consumer & Industrial announced a joint development agreement to further enhance the communication capabilities of GE’s demand response appliances. Tendril, the creator of Tendril Residential Energy Ecosysystem (TREE) and GE Consumer & Industrial will develop an integrated system that will enhance the capability of GE’s demand responsive appliances to communicate over metering and broadband networks.
“Partners like GE require an easy way to integrate devices to the utility network securely and reliably, and TREE offers the ability to deliver on this expanding need today,” Tendril CEO Adrian Tuck said.
According to recent studies, appliances, lighting and water heating account for roughly 51% of household electric use, making it critical that smart appliances be integrated across meter and broadband networks, moving beyond reliance on HVAC systems as the primary method of load control in the home. With 37% of total US electric energy consumption associated with residences, and as utilities implement tiered pricing structures across the U.S., demand response appliances will enable consumers to save hundreds of millions of dollars annually and positively impact load reduction on the grid by better managing the electric power we generate.
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