Grid Modernization Program at Navy Yard Wins Award for Engineering Excellence
The American Council of Engineering Companies Pennsylvania (ACEC/PA) selected the Grid Modernization Program at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia as the recipient of a 2017 Diamond Honor Award in the Energy Category.
The Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) is the master developer of the historic, 1,200 acre Navy Yard in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and operates the Navy Yard’s electric grid as an independent utility. Burns was responsible for transitioning the Navy Yard’s existing unregulated grid into a state-of-the-art advanced microgrid that consists of a diverse array of distributed energy resources through the Grid Modernization Program.
PIDC needed to meet the needs of a growing campus and deal with aging electrical infrastructure. Burns helped PIDC meet these challenges by proposing investment in the latest smart grid technology. This technology helps PIDC assess where the capital investment in the electrical infrastructure will be necessary to accommodate future expansion and optimize operations of the grid.
As Lead Designer and Program Manager for the Grid Modernization Program, Burns was ultimately responsible for executing and delivering the entire project within the project budget, and coordinating the complex phasing of multiple equipment and construction packages. Burns coordinated over 10 separately executed scopes of work, each requiring the other for the overall system delivery.
The Grid Modernization Program included four primary components:
- Smart Meters – 150 new smart meters for real-time energy use
- Smart Substation – new equipment for grid control and efficiency
- Communications – improved data communications with new and existing infrastructure
- Network Operating Center – real-time monitoring and operation of the grid
The Grid Modernization Program at the Navy Yard enables PIDC to continue to meet its growing campus energy demands and grid modernization objectives, as well as achieve its energy, economic, and environmental goals, and maintain the nationally unique “Smart Energy Campus” brand.
All ACEC/PA Diamond Award submittals were judged on criteria such as innovation and originality, social and economic considerations, complexity, future value to the engineering professional, and success in meeting client goals.
Burns is proud to have contributed to the success of this great project!