Tennessee Tech University announced this week that it has secured the largest grant in its 108-year history, which will be used to help bolster the electric grid in Appalachia.
“The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) – an economic development partnership between the federal government and 13 states across Appalachia – awarded Tech a $10 million grant to lead a four-state consortium that will help rural electric utilities and energy supply companies deploy smart grid technologies to better serve their communities and address challenges such as the rolling blackouts that have impacted consumers across the country during times of peak energy usage,” according to the school.
The researchers plan to use the grant to manage the strain on electric grids, as well as help planning and positioning electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. They will also work to integrate wind and solar energy with the electric grid.
“It is a testament to the strength and reputation of Tennessee Tech that we were specifically chosen by ARC to lead this effort to revitalize the backbone of our electrical power system for future generations. We appreciate their trust and confidence,” said John Liu, vice president for research at Tech. “It’s easy to take our power supply for granted, but sustainable solutions that engage the natural resources of our region to modernize our energy infrastructure are needed. We look forward to working with our partners to that end.”
The school explained that experiments will be run using a dedicated computer platform called HILLTOP, which was developed by Tennessee Tech and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Those experiments will be “performed with new technologies in a real-time simulated environment so that electric utilities can provide cost-effective testing and solutions prior to the implementation.”
Through the project, Tennessee Tech said it will help 468 businesses, including seven rural electric utilities, one energy tech startup, 60 electrical engineering firms and 400 freelance software developers, all within one year of the project’s completion.
The school did not give a timetable for the completion of the project.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
