Electric power for Northern Virginia's high-technology industry

Task Force studies electric power
for Virginia's high-technology industry

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Virginia Tech's Alexandria Research Institute (ARI) has undertaken a one-year project, funded by Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, to identify and characterize the infrastructure challenges and environmental concerns of powering Virginia's high-tech industry.
ARI's Northern Virginia location has enabled the creation of a task force that draws its membership from regional information technology and advanced manufacturing firms, gas and electric utilities, data center designers, a leading law practice in Virginia's energy sector, federal and state agencies, and power engineers.
Task Force members and ARI staff are explore the issue from several different perspectives, including those of:
Economic development agencies,charged with attracting new firms and helping existing firms expand their high-tech facilities;
Gas and electric utilities,who must plan, build, and maintain the "pipes and wires" that bring energy to high-tech facilities, while remaining competitive in a deregulated utility market;
High-tech customers,who bear the financial consequences of electric service interruptions;
Third-party energy providers,who can create products and services for the high-tech market; and
Legal and government experts,to elucidate the regulatory environment surrounding these issues.
This study focuses its immediate attention on Northern Virginia, where supply of high-quality, reliable power in the quantities and time frames needed is of pressing importance. While the approach is directed at immediate problems in the region, researchers are also developing a process for status assessment, information exchange, and strategic planning, which can be replicated in other regions.
The Task Force has identified a wide range of energy infrastructure issues. Some preliminary findings:
Electric Power Supply - Power supplies are generally adequate, but electric service to some fast-growing areas may be held up because of limited transmission capacity and the time it takes to install new transmission lines and substations. Unlike residential and commercial customers who have predictable daily peaks in demand, a continuously operating data center tends to add more to a utility's baseload demand.
Fiber Optic Networks - High-tech industry grows along the routes of robust fiber-optic cable networks, but these do not always coincide with robust electric utility grids. There must be some overlap between these two infrastructures for high-tech industry to take optimal advantage of premium business locations. Where fiber-optic networks are not supported by adequate electric power transmission capacity, there may be a role for emerging distributed power technologies. A related issue is that unlike copper, fiber cannot carry the electric power required to maintain signal strength, and so there is a growing need for high-quality, autonomous distributed power systems for periodic signal boosting along high-bandwidth fiber-optic cable routes.
On-Site Power Generation - Even momentary interruption of electric service can cost high-tech firms tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore many mission-critical facilities have diesel generators on site, to be switched on at the first sign of potential electric service disruption by weather-related or other causes. Air emission regulations limit operation of these units to no more than 200 hours per year in four Northern Virginia counties that do not meet federal air quality standards. Possible adoption of stricter standards may extend such limits to additional locations in Northern Virginia, as well as other regions of the state, including Fredericksburg, Hampton Roads, Richmond, and Roanoke.
Natural Gas Pipeline Capacity - Although large-capacity pipelines come into Virginia from the Gulf of Mexico, the majority of this gas goes on to the New England market. Consequently, pipeline capacity constraints may be a significant factor limiting Virginia's widespread deployment of gas-fired alternatives to diesel generators, such as microturbines and fuel cells.
Alexandria Research Institute
    206 North Washington Street
    Suite 400
    Alexandria, VA 22314
    Phone: (703) 518-8080
    Fax: (703) 518-8085

For further info please contact:
    Dr. Saifur Rahman, Director
    Phone: (703) 518-8080
    Fax: (703) 518-8085

      Gorge Hagerman, Program and Grants Manager
      Phone: (703) 535-3461
      Fax: (703) 518-8085

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