The Navy Yard sets off toward its own ‘smart-grid’ power network
Behind the scenes at the Navy Yard, with its new corporate headquarters and restored 70-year-old buildings, another transformation is taking place that is largely invisible to the public, but that could have far-reaching implications.
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., the agency redeveloping the Navy Yard, is installing a “smart-grid” system on the 1,200-acre campus in South Philadelphia. PIDC envisions constructing an interconnected network of renewable power sources and storage devices in a self-supporting “community” system.
Such localized “microgrids” can work in harmony with the traditional regional power grid to help stabilize operations – or disconnect from the grid and operate autonomously.
On Wednesday, PIDC is set to announce Landis & Gyr AG, the Swiss metering company owned by Toshiba Corp., as the winning bidder to install its advanced metering infrastructure system, including smart meters and an associated communications network.
