Booz Allen Hamilton, Siemens and Power Analytics will study the technical and economic feasibility of installing community microgrids in 16 cities across New York. In all, 83 communities were each awarded $100,000 in Phase 1 microgrid funding through New York State’s NY Prize competition to evaluate how microgrids can expand customer choice, ensure power reliability, improve resiliency and preserve the environment.
The three companies worked with the following communities to secure the grants: Carthage, Chateaugay, Clarkstown, Cortlandt, Elmira, Florida, Kingston, Liberty, Mamaroneck, Monticello, Moreau, Mt. Kisco, New Rochelle, Sherburne, Somers and Watervliet. While these communities are diverse with respect to geography and size, they all have suffered from grid reliability issues and are seeking solutions to this problem.
Booz Allen will serve as the project lead, coordinating with community stakeholders and utility representatives to complete 16 microgrid feasibility studies for the NY Prize Phase I initiative. The studies will include technical assessments of energy generation assets, power flows, costs, benefits and required infrastructure. These studies are expected to be complete by Q1 2016.
Power Analytics will bring its microgrid technology to the studies. The company’s latest innovations include two-way data transfer between grid elements and advanced financial settlements for energy use.
As part of the feasibility studies, Siemens will provide the technical architecture of the proposed electrical and thermal systems and ensure that community-specific operating requirements are incorporated into the proposed microgrid control solutions. Siemens will evaluate and identify the microgrid control, generation and grid infrastructure components that will be necessary for a fully operational system.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the list of NY Prize microgrid competition winners last week.