Duke Energy Mount Holly Emerging Technology Center Meter Farm & Equipment upgrades

Location

Mount Holly, NC

Market Sectors

  • Industrial
  • Mission Critical

Sub Sectors

  • Infrastructure - Power/Energy
  • Research & Development

Client

Duke Energy

Partners

  • JLL
  • Optima Engineering

Upgrading Duke Energy’s microgrid test bed to enhance R&D capabilities for the development of emerging technologies important to modernizing the power grid

The Mount Holly Emerging Technology Center, home to Duke Energy’s second microgrid experimentation site, is where the future of electricity is studied and tested. Here, the focus is on determining the best utility-scale solar and battery storage products for microgrid development. Since the opening of the Mount Holly facility, Duke has repeatedly relied on our team’s mission critical expertise to implement essential system upgrades, including the addition of an advanced meter farm and the decommissioning and replacement of heavy equipment.

Repeat
Client
Microgrid
Meter Farm
Equipment
Upgrades & Replacement
Operational
POWER/ENERGY R&D CAMPUS
Our team has provided an array of critical upgrades across Duke Energy’s Mount Holly campus since 2017.
The project also included the addition of a meter farm used to measure and monitor the electrical parameters within the microgrid system. The meters track various data points crucial to managing the microgrid efficiently.
Existing equipment was decommissioned and removed from the site to make way for the new electrical switchgear, transformers, and a gas turbine generator required to operate the enhanced facility.
Duke’s Emerging Technology Center remained operational throughout the duration of this project, allowing research and development to continue without interruption.

Building an advanced meter farm to support microgrid testing

A meter farm was added to the Mount Holly campus to support higher testing capabilities. The meter farm allows Duke Energy to track various data points across different parts of the on-site microgrid, such as voltage, current, power consumption, and energy usage. The meter farm provides detailed insights into the microgrid’s operation, aiding in researching and developing cost-effective solutions for the future of the power grid. Our construction management team facilitated the installation of dozens of meters, requiring extensive calibration and testing to ensure accurate readings and proper functionality prior to start-up.

A team mission to execute critical electrical and equipment upgrades

Another major upgrade included the installation of a new 350 kW natural gas generator, which supports testing efforts inside the Emerging Technology Center. The equipment replacement and installation also included new electrical switchgear and transformers. Existing equipment was decommissioned and removed from the site to make way for the new equipment without causing any disruptions to Duke’s operations throughout the execution of the work.