Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, will build a microgrid system at its Boston One Campus to develop, test and showcase microgrid energy management solutions. The system will include a 400 kilowatt photovoltaic system built and operated by REC Solar, a national provider of commercial solar and energy solutions.
The microgrid will be deployed via a new business model that does not require any capital investment by Schneider Electric. It is expected to begin generating 560,000 kilowatt-hours per year of electricity by the fall of 2016. Beyond saving the company nearly 5 percent on electricity costs at the site in its first year, the microgrid will offer power resiliency in the event of a power loss from the local utility.
“The Boston One Campus was built to showcase the connectivity, sustainability, efficiency, reliability and safety innovations at the heart of Schneider Electric,” said Laurent Vernerey, President and CEO of Schneider Electric’s North American Operations. “Deploying Schneider Electric technologies across the Boston One Campus creates a living laboratory at our North American R&D hub that will drive global innovation in efficiency and energy management solutions.”
The system includes Schneider Electric photovoltaic inverters that convert direct current from the solar modules to alternating current that will be used by the facility for power. It will also store up to 1 megawatt-hour of electricity using EcoBlade, the company’s fully flexible energy storage system powered by lithium-ion batteries. EcoBlade can be integrated into the wide ecosystem of Schneider Electric solutions for electricity using the StruxureWare™ software suite of cloud-based integrated service modules.
The company’s microgrid controller and StruxureWare Demand Side Operation will optimize use of photovoltaic energy, storage and the facility’s existing natural gas generation set during grid-connected and islanded operation. StruxureWare collects and manages weather and operational data, optimizing energy performance across the entire chain to deliver cost effective energy storage and consumption.
The microgrid will use 1,613 solar modules. Phase one construction is expected to begin in early spring 2016, with installation of 209 photovoltaic modules on the roof of the site’s main building. Phase two should begin late spring with construction of carports that will hold 1,404 photovoltaic panels. The carports are also designed so that electric vehicle charging stations can be added.
Located in Andover, Mass., the Boston One Campus is U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified. It was built on the company’s vision of sustainable design and energy efficiency using about $8 million of its own Schneider Electric products and solutions.
Made up of more than 240,000 square feet across two buildings, the campus serves as the company’s North American headquarters and one of five global research and development (R&D) centers worldwide. The company’s North American headquarters is home to about 750 employees across all disciplines of Schneider Electric’s business units and part of the company’s mission to drive innovation, collaboration and efficiency. It was designed to foster employee collaboration and innovation with customers, R&D engineers and employees. The campus is also a fully immersive Discovery Center that demonstrates the Schneider Electric energy management and innovation story.
The Schneider Electric Boston One Campus is located at 800 Federal Street in Andover, Mass. Schneider Electric is the global specialist in energy management and automation. With revenues of $30 billion in FY2014, it’s 170,000 employees serve customers in over 100 countries. It’s stated goals are to help customers in managing their energy and process in ways that are safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable. From the simplest of switches to complex operational systems, it’s technology, software and services improve the way customers manage and automate their operations.
REC Solar is a renewable energy provider focused exclusively on businesses and backed by Duke Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the world. Incorporating experience from more than 500 successful commercial solar installations over 17 years, REC Solar tailors financing and technology solutions to immediately deliver bottom line savings. REC Solar stated objectives are to make commercial solar simple, working seamlessly with customer operations to deliver clean energy into the future.
