Abstract
The events leading to the sudden and catastrophic failure of the North American power grid during August 2003 coupled with a record hurricane season a year later have civil engineers rethinking cost-effective backup power solutions for their clients. Electric deregulation across many areas of the United States has utilities looking for new value-added products and services to protect and acquire market shares. As a result, a new partnership has emerged between site planners and utilities to provide affordable backup power to the customer. Case studies are provided for a 1.0 MW backup power project for a 367-bed hospital and a 1.25 MW parallel power project for an insurance call center located in Gainesville, Fla. Results for each show competitive pricing for the client and attractive returns for the utility.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 2-7 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Journal of Energy Engineering |
| Volume | 132 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2006 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Benefit cost ratios
- Critical load
- Electric power supply
- Emergency services
- Grid systems
- Regulations
- System reliability
- Utilities
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Civil and Structural Engineering
- Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
- Nuclear Energy and Engineering
- Energy Engineering and Power Technology
- Waste Management and Disposal