U.S. Army Awards Contract for Intelligent Microgrid

The U.S. Army has awarded a $922,000 contract for the development of a new intelligent microgrid. The "Intelligent Micro-Grid" from Arista Power will be designed to seamlessly integrate both renewable and traditional energy sources to provide the scalability and automatic operation needed to deliver reliable power in areas where military operations are taking place across a broad spectrum of energy requirements and applications with a goal of minimizing the use of fossil fuels and saving lives by reducing the need to transport diesel fuel.

Arista Power will develop the Intelligent Micro-Grid for the Renewable Energy for Distributed Under-Supplied Command Environments (REDUCE) program under the guidance of the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC).

Under Phase One of the REDUCE program, Arista Power will deliver a demonstration of the system in approximately three to six months at CERDEC. The program has a Phase Two option for CERDEC to provide additional funding for continued development upon the successful completion of Phase One.

William A. Schmitz, chief executive officer of Arista Power, said, "The vast majority of power used by the armed forces for operating environments is provided by diesel generators. Supplying fuel for these generators is costly, not only in a financial sense but also in terms of the dangers to human life inherent in transporting fuel."