POWER June 2020 - 31

SMART GRID AWARD
concern up to a range of 15 kilometers in
all weather and lighting conditions.
Constructing a Unique
Community
" The project was completed in stages
that were spread out enough to maintain
a high level of safety, " said Philip Zicarelli,
1. Smart Neighborhood by Alabama Power
is located in the Reynolds Landing community
at Ross Bridge in Hoover, just south of
Birmingham, Alabama. Among the features incorporated
into the microgrid is the solar array
shown here. Courtesy: PowerSecure
■ Canadian Solar, which provided solar
panels (Figure 1).
■ Campbell Scientific, which provided
the meteorological station.
■ NexGear by PowerSecure, which provided
the switchgear.
■ Simplex, which provided the load
bank.
■ Samsung SDI, which provided batteries.
■ Siemens, which provided battery inverters.
■
SMA, which provided solar inverters.
■ Power Solutions International (PSI), which
supplied the natural gas-fueled generator
that was packaged by PowerSecure in its
PowerBlock generation system.
" The controls surrounding the system
and the system microgrid controller are an
important part of any microgrid, and it needs
to be properly designed and programmed
to meet the system's expectations, " said
Tugwell. The Smart Neighborhood's microgrid
controller was designed by Oak
Ridge National Laboratory.
" The microgrid controller system was
implemented for the first time at the microgrid, "
Rath said. " The controller's ability
to manage the microgrid's multiple
power sources-solar panels, battery,
and natural gas generator-and work
with resources within the homes to shift
load to efficiently serve customers was,
and is, cutting-edge. "
Another unique piece of technology
incorporated into the project was
GroundAware, a ground surveillance
sensor system supplied by Observation
Without Limits-or O.W.L.-which is a
joint partnership between Dynetics and
Alabama Power. GroundAware is a family
of advanced, affordable, and reconfigurable
surveillance sensors that detect intrusions
in real time and instantaneously
provide actionable information on potential
threats. It uses digital beam-forming
radar to continuously monitor areas of
June 2020 |POWER
business developer with PowerSecure.
" At PowerSecure, safety is the top priority
in everything we do. Before we break
ground on any project, a safety plan is
created and reviewed by our team to
identify risks and best practices to complete
the project tasks without compromising
safety. We start each day with a
safety meeting and fill out a job safety
analysis form that identifies each task,
the sequence of steps, potential hazards,
and safety precautions. Everyone
on-site must take part in the meeting
and sign off. "
And the focus on safety was evident in
the crew's performance. " Our safety team
made a site-specific safety plan for this project
that led us to zero OSHA [Occupational
Safety and Health Administration] recordables,
near misses, or vehicle incidents, " Zicarelli
reported. " What was nice about this
project was that we got to work in a private
area without being disturbed by anyone not
associated with the project. The minimal
amount of people on-site made achieving a
perfect safety record an easier task. "
The weather posed more of a challenge
for the construction team. There was a large
amount of site work necessary and rain
caused some delays early on. Furthermore,
part of the property had a steep slope down
to a creek; heavy rain had the potential to
wash soil and/or sediment into the stream,
which was not allowable. This meant managers
had to stay vigilant and monitor environmental
remedies regularly-sometimes
several times per day-to ensure protective
measures remained adequate.
" We were very close to a residential
community also, " Zicarelli said, " so we
agreed to stop work at 5 p.m. each day to
ensure there was no noise disturbance. "
But the time restriction didn't cause any
trouble-the job was completed on time
and on budget.
" I was really impressed by how quickly
the solar array was completed, " said
Zicarelli. " The solar crew was around six
people total and they knocked out the
entire array in basically a week! "
The cost of the project was $5 million
and included a variety of components beyond
the microgrid hardware itself. Rath
said the lessons learned from the project
will help Alabama Power understand
www.powermag.com
POWER POINTS
Winning Attributes
✔ A microgrid with solar panels,
battery energy storage, and a natural
gas-fueled generator adds reliability
to the Alabama Power grid.
✔ Energy-efficient technology
is incorporated into nearly all
aspects of the homes in the Smart
Neighborhood.
✔ As technology continues to evolve,
this research initiative will help
Alabama Power understand how
neighborhoods of the future will
function. This will allow the
company to plan resources and
identify opportunities to provide
energy solutions for its customers
with an eye toward 2040 and
beyond.
when and where these systems may be
more applicable in the future. The microgrid
is part of the company's existing
electric grid, providing power to the grid
and surrounding areas as well. Because
it is part of the grid, customers living in
the smart homes pay the standard Alabama
Power rate.
Three new projects are under development
across Alabama as part of the
Smart Neighborhood Builder Program,
which uses research findings from the
flagship project. The newest project in
the Smart Neighborhood initiative is an
announced partnership with Birmingham's
housing authority and local builders
to incorporate energy efficiency and
home automation upgrades during the
construction phase of housing units to
help make energy use more affordable
for families and seniors.
I think it's safe to say that with a community-scale
microgrid, rooftop solar
panels, battery energy storage, a supertight
building envelope, comprehensive
duct-sealing, triple-pane windows, radiant
barrier roof decking, smart thermostats,
connected and controllable heat pump
water heaters, air-source heat pumps,
and electric vehicle chargers, as well as
home automation and security packages
including smart door locks, lights, and
voice control, the Jetsons would be quite
happy living in Alabama Power's Smart
Neighborhood. Wouldn't you? ■
-Aaron Larson is POWER's
executive editor.
31
http://www.powermag.com

POWER June 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER June 2020

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POWER June 2020 - Cover1
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