I don't know if anyone could keep list all of the incredible projects and programs supported by the Department of Energy. One new one that I recently learned of was the DOE Better Buildings Sustainable Corrections Infrastructure Partnership (SCIP) Accelerator. The purpose of this program is "to work over three years with state and federal agencies to strive for portfolio-wide energy savings of 20% and collect cost savings of more than $250 million a year. Accelerators partners will demonstrate solutions leveraging energy and water efficiency, renewable energy, and storage technologies to reduce operating and maintenance costs in public correctional facilities while maintaining facility security and resilience and developing the workforce and economies of surrounding communities.
I recently had the opportunity the the SCIP program participants on the resilience track. Virtual periodic workshops give participants the opportunities to learn about emerging research, tools, and concepts from DOE labs and hear about successful programs, prototypes, or pilots from their peers.
The deep dive topic at the session I presented at was about microgrids, a similar topic to what I presented about at AHC ResilienceEXCH not too long ago, but one I'm happy to talk about with anyone who will listen. I loved how engaged participants were and how excited they were to shares stories of their own successes in developing microgrids for resilience.
One example discussed was a hybrid system developed to serve the country jail and courthouse. The battery was was sized so that the system could be islanded in the case of an emergency. Some other considerations discussed that I hadn't given much thought to before were about the physical location of the battery. Not just the electrical location and the loads it could feasibly serve, but the environmental considerations. This battery had to be placed in the basement of a building so that it could tolerate the hard winters at this site.
It's interesting for me to learn about these operational considerations as I currently sit in a research-focused role. I really appreciate these opportunities to engage directly with people who are on the ground, in the weeds, designing these projects.
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