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The Department of Energy has selected a Northwest team to conduct a regional smart grid demonstration project designed to expand existing electric infrastructure and test new smart grid technology with up to 60,000 customers in five states.

The $178 million Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration Project was announced by DOE today. The project team combines energy providers, utilities, vendors and research organizations and will be managed by Battelle.

?We?re thankful to Secretary Chu, the Department of Energy and to our project team members for the opportunity to bring transformational smart grid science and technology to life in a way that will benefit our nation for many generations to come,? said Mike Kluse, a senior vice president at Battelle and director of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which Battelle operates for DOE.

The Northwest study will involve more than 60,000 metered customers in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. The study will test new combinations of devices, software and advanced analytical tools that enhance the power grid?s reliability and performance. At its peak, the project could create about 1,500 jobs in manufacturing, installation and operation of smart grid equipment, telecommunications networks, software and controls.

?The Northwest team will put new smart grid technology to work in a five-state region while also testing the value and benefits of these systems for the entire nation,? said Mike Davis, vice president at Battelle and associate laboratory director for Energy and Environment at PNNL.

?Regional demonstrations like ours will help spur a vibrant new smart grid industry and a more cost-effective, reliable and diverse electricity supply,? Davis said.

The smart grid is a system of intelligent, two-way communication technologies designed to improve power delivery and reliability and increase efficiency. A smart grid can enable the use of more renewable sources of power and help the U.S. electrify its transportation sector.

Battelle?s Ron Melton will serve as project director for the demonstration team, which includes a dozen utilities and the Bonneville Power Administration. The participating utilities range from investor-owned utilities to municipals, rural electric cooperatives and public utility districts. Each project team member will conduct different kinds of projects tailored to its customers so that the overall demonstration can meet a variety of needs in the five-state region. In addition to leading the project, Battelle will use the Electricity Infrastructure Operations Center at PNNL to analyze field data collected during the project.

DOE will provide half the funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The project?s participants, primarily utilities and technology companies, will provide the remaining funds.

Several technology companies and vendors also will support the project including: 3TIER Inc., AREVA USA, IBM, Netezza Corp., and a team of QualityLogic, Inc. and the Drummond Group, Inc.

The project team will install equipment and technology in 2010 and 2011. Then, for the next two to three years, project leaders will gather data on smart grid performance from 15 test sites that represent the region?s diverse terrain, weather and demographics. The test sites range from Fox Island in Washington State?s Puget Sound, to the Teton Mountains in western Wyoming, and include the campuses at the University of Washington and Washington State University.

The project will involve more than 112 megawatts of power, enough to serve 86,000 households.

As the world?s largest, independent research and development organization, Battelle provides innovative solutions to the world?s most pressing needs through its four global businesses: Laboratory Management, National Security, Energy Technology, and Health and Life Sciences. It advances scientific discovery and application by conducting $5.2 billion in global R&D annually through contract research, laboratory management and technology commercialization. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Battelle oversees 20,400 employees in more than 130 locations worldwide, including seven national laboratories ? including Pacific Northwest National Laboratory - which Battelle manages or co-manages for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and two international laboratories ? a nuclear energy lab in the United Kingdom and a renewable energy lab in Malaysia. Battelle also is one of the nation?s leading charitable trusts focusing on societal and economic impact and actively supporting and promoting science and math education.

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