US Department of Energy selects ISU-led project to build rural Iowa’s first ‘microgrid’
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced today that a project led by Iowa State University researchers has been selected for award negotiations with the goal of building the first “microgrid” in a rural Iowa community.
The proposal submitted by Iowa State researchers and Montezuma Municipal Light & Power called for a federal investment of roughly $9.5 million and a local cost-share of $2.4 million from university and Montezuma sources. That $11.9 million investment would provide Montezuma with a microgrid, a small-scale electricity network that can operate as an independent system or can be connected to the larger grid.
Secretary of Energy Granholm also announced other regional projects in the East, Midwest, West and Alaska. All 17 projects are part of the Energy Improvements in Rural or Remote Areas program managed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations.
