NREL Research Facility to help study renewable energy systems.
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Press Release Summary:
U.S. Department of Energy's NREL has signed contract with JE Dunn and SmithGroup to begin design and construction of Energy Systems Integration Facility. To be 175,000 sq ft in size, building will house space for 200-250 researchers and support staff. It will be nation's only facility that can conduct megawatt-scale testing of all components and strategies for deploying renewable energy and other energy-efficiency technologies into electric grid. Construction will start in spring 2011.
Original Press Release:
NREL Selects Team to Begin Design and Construction for ESIF
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has signed a contract with the design build team of JE Dunn and SmithGroup to begin design and construction for the latest research building on the NREL campus. The Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) will be the nation's only facility that can conduct integrated megawatt-scale testing of all components and strategies critical to deploying renewable energy and other energy-efficiency technologies into the nation's electric grid at utility scale.
The ESIF will be approximately 175,000 sq. ft.; the building will house laboratories as well as office space for 200-250 NREL researchers and support staff. The ESIF will also include a state-of-the-art, high-performance computing and data center that will expand NREL's capabilities in modeling and simulation of renewable energy technologies and their integration into the existing energy infrastructure.
"Incorporating large amounts of renewable energy into the aging grid is going to require a transformation in this country's electricity infrastructure," NREL Director Dan Arvizu said. "We are eager to begin construction on this unique facility that will help speed the adoption of renewable energy for everyone's everyday use."
The project will be designed and constructed to meet LEED Gold Certification (at minimum) and will be a model for energy efficient facilities. The ESIF data center is designed to be one of the most energy efficient in the world. Construction of the $135M project will start in the spring of 2011 and will be completed in late 2012.
JE Dunn Construction Group is the 10th largest general building contractor in the United States with offices in 18 locations.
NREL is DOE's primary national laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development. NREL is operated for DOE by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.
