[1st-mile-nm] NM Smart Grid: NSF Funding

[Richard Lowenberg]

$24 MILLION FOR NM SMART GRID CENTER

New Mexico Research Institutions Win Major NSF Award

http://microgridsystemslab.com/2018/09/18/24-million-for-nm-smart-grid-center/

MSL joins universities and national labs for microgrid focus

The National Science Foundation has awarded $20 million to a consortium 
of research institutions to develop the New Mexico SMART Grid Center. 
With local cost-share, total funding for the five-year program is $24 
million.

The consortium, comprised of the University of New Mexico, New Mexico 
State University, and New Mexico Tech, with Sandia National 
Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Microgrid Systems 
Laboratory, will work toward modernizing the nation’s electric grid to 
become SMART (Sustainable, Modular, Adaptive, Resilient, and 
Transactive).

More than 40 researchers (including new hires) will be involved across 
all institutions and activities. The research will focus on 
decentralized architectures, featuring microgrids at the utility 
distribution feeder level; associated networking, communications, data 
analytics and decision support; and economics and consumer behavior. In 
addition, MSL Member Santa Fe Community College will create related 
workforce training programs (LANL, SNL, and UNM are also MSL consortium 
Members), and will hire a full-time faculty in this area. Industry and 
utility partners include Siemens and Public Service Company of NM (PNM). 
New Mexico EPSCoR led the successful proposal effort, and will act as 
Project Director.

MSL, which made significant contributions to developing the NM SMART 
Grid Center vision and approach, serves on the project’s Management 
Team, on two research teams (Systems Architecture, and Testing and 
Deployment), as an advisor on technology commercialization and 
innovation, and as coordinator of the SFCC workforce program. As stated 
in the project’s Strategic Plan, “MSL is a key collaborator that is a 
hub of microgrid collaborative activity with industry.” The Center is 
envisioned as continuing beyond the five-year grant period, and will be 
a focus of MSL’s research program within its full RIDE scope (Research, 
Innovation, Demonstration, and Education).


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Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
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