Black & Veatch is partnering with the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in New York state to design and assess the financial and energy efficiency of a microgrid designed to provide resilient, clean energy for the 120-acre campus, long-term cost-savings, and potential profits for member institutions.
The campus is composed of hospitals, healthcare facilities, educational institutions, and biomedical research labs. It is expected that a new microgrid would enable the campus to continue providing critical services during a potential power outage, offer improved performance of the electric grid by better power consumption management during peak demand, and increase energy efficiency and reliability.
“This project not only will bolster energy resilience and reliability, but also focuses on creating a sustainable business model for a community-based energy network that benefits facilities on the medical campus,” said Ajay Kasarabada, Black & Veatch Project Manager. “It will test, implement and evolve new methods of grid modernization and system efficiencies, and in the process, demonstrate how private capital can be leveraged to meet clean and smart energy goals.”
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) selected Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to receive funding for the project as part of stage two of the NY Prize Community Microgrid Competition. NY Prize is a part of a statewide endeavor to modernize New York State’s electric grid, spurring innovation and community partnerships with utilities, local governments, and the private sector.
“We are excited to embark on the next steps to assess the feasibility of a microgrid that will further economic development as a platform for demonstrating the next evolution of energy technology,” said Paul Tyno, Director of Energy Initiatives at BNMC. “The scalable, sustainable design will include advanced software and control capabilities with access to multiple sources of power generation to allow more renewable energy resources to be integrated into our system.”
