PHILADELPHIA -- Penn State’s GridSTAR Center will partner with Scitor Corp. on smart grid education and research at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard (The Navy Yard). As a part of this collaboration, Erfan Ibrahim has been appointed to the position of strategic innovations director for the GridSTAR Center.“Dr. Ibrahim brings a unique set of competencies to the GridSTAR Center,” said David Riley, Penn State’s principal investigator of the $10 million Department of Energy grant used to launch the project. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with him and his colleagues at Scitor Corp. to advance the smart grid education, research and collaboration at The Navy Yard.”
“Scitor is delighted and proud to be supporting this important Penn State University Smart Grid education and research program,” said Joe Wysocki, director of market development for Scitor Corp. “The workforce training and technology demonstrations to be conducted in this activity will have beneficial outcomes far into the future and far beyond The Navy Yard.”
The GridSTAR Center is taking an innovative approach to address the need to develop a “smarter” electrical grid by developing a Smart Grid Experience Center intended for demonstration and experimentation. Developed at various scales of research, including residential, commercial and incorporating community energy systems strategies, the systems on display will each include renewable energy generation, energy storage and grid interactivity. The Experience Center is connected to the electric distribution network at The Navy Yard as part of an unregulated grid managed by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC).
The Navy Yard is one of the largest economic development success stories resulting from the federal base realignment program (BRAC) instituted in the 1990s. Today, The Navy Yard is a vibrant commercial, research and education community that includes more than 130 organizations with more than 10,000 employees. “We share Penn State’s excitement that Scitor Corp. has agreed to invest considerable resources to the GridSTAR Center, in support of The Navy Yard’s overall energy innovation projects and programs” commented PIDC’s Will Agate, senior vice president for Navy Yard Management and Development. Through a close partnership with the PIDC, the GridStar Center can provide maximum technology testing flexibility in a "real life" environment to serve the research, development and demonstration needs of industry stakeholders in smart grid.