A new facility for exploring smart energy solutions was
officially opened Oct. 30 at The Navy Yard in
of energy technologies that demonstrate methods for building homes, commercial buildings
and campuses that are friendlier to the electric grid.
The project site in The Navy Yard includes a smart grid modular home built by
Simplex Homes in Scranton, PA, a flexible indoor-outdoor training facility,
electric vehicle charging stations and a large battery that helps improve the
operation of the electrical grid. The site also features a sustainable
storm-water management and native plant landscaping. It’s interesting to note that the GridSTAR Center chose a modular home over a site built home.
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| The GridSTAR home built by Simplex Homes |
The GridSTAR Center is
one of several energy initiatives launched by
at The Navy Yard. David Riley, a faculty member in the Penn State Department of
Architectural Engineering, leads the GridSTAR project.
The
was launched through grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the
Pennsylvania Commonwealth Finance Authority, and has also included significant
contributions of materials, equipment and volunteer expertise from industry
partners.“We are particularly proud of the number of
Pennsylvania-based businesses that have contributed to the project,” added
Riley. The smart grid modular home was built by Simplex Homes in
and Philadelphia-based Home Edison. CertainTeed (
Forge
Eaton Corp. (Moon,
each made significant contributions of products and expertise to the project.
Solar Grid Storage, a new Philadelphia-based firm founded by Don Bradley, also
helped to develop and commission the grid interactive energy storage system at
the
The GridSTAR center will serve as the headquarters for a series of education
programs and workshops on energy technologies and the smart grid. It is also
expected to be a popular destination for visiting conferences and regional
events, and will be featured on two official tours offered during the 2013
GreenBuild Conference scheduled in
Nov. 18 to 23.
