News

Burns is currently working on the next phase of developments for the Navy Yard in Philadelphia, which includes multiple on-going projects that support the rapid anticipated load growth for the 1,200 acre campus. This work is a continuation of Burns’ involvement as Lead Designer and Program Manager to the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC) to implement their comprehensive Energy Master Plan for the Navy Yard.

With a current load of 29 MW in 2017, the Navy Yard’s electrical demand is projected to increase to 45 MW by 2019. Burns developed feasibility studies and designed the appropriate electrical capacity to meet this critical timeframe. The solutions are focused around providing new continuous capacity, as well as planning for intermittent peak loads through solar, battery storage, and distributed generation.

Upgrades to the Navy Yard will include:

• The completion of a 400 kW Community Solar Project
• A new 10 MW “West End Substation”, which will increase the overall capacity at the Navy Yard, providing provisions for future battery storage and distributed generation, and utilizes the latest state-of-the-art in substation automation.
• A new 10 MW satellite distribution substation to power commercial and industrial tenants.
• Distributed Generation consisting of 6 MW of natural gas units, with an additional 2 MW planned for 2018. The units are capable of peak shaving as well as supporting the formation of a microgrid.
• The development of up to 10 MW of Battery Storage Systems at two locations within the Navy Yard for different economic and resiliency cases.
• The design of a massive distribution upgrade to various commercial and industrial tenants to assist in the creation of three separate “microgrids”

This combination of solutions will ensure there is an optimal mix of power generation and storage assets to accommodate the projected increase in load at the Navy Yard, while ensuring sustainability, reliability and cost effectiveness. Burns is excited to embark upon this new stage of development and help the PIDC achieve their commitment to smart energy innovation and sustainability.