The NextEnergy Microgrid Power Pavilion is being developed in partnership with DTE Energy Technologies, a subsidiary of DTE Energy and partially funded by a grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission. 

A Microgrid is a system of multiple power sources of potentially different sizes and technologies to serve aggregated electrical and thermal loads, where the power and thermal energy can be produced at or near the locations of the users.   

The NextEnergy Microgrid Power Pavilion will feature AET system integration, testing and validation platforms for use by technology system developers, integrators and technicians.

The pavillion includes on-site electrical power generation

• Fuel cell generators, internal and external combustion engine generators and renewable power generation
• Thermal recovery and distribution (hot and chilled water systems)
• Advanced communications and controls
• Power generated from multiple fuel sources
• Modular design and construction provides cost effective installation of new technologies

Future plans for the NextEnergy Microgrid Power Pavilion  will include providing the broader energy needs of buildings planned for Tech Town, Detroit's Entrepreneurial High-Tech Village located on the north side of Wayne State University's campus in Detroit.

NextEnergy Engineer of Record:

Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. is a leading planning, design, and management firm of the built environment with offices in Detroit, Michigan, Birmingham, Alabama, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Juarez, Mexico. Offering clients a comprehensive range of facility services, market specialties include the industrial, research and technology, commercial, education, health care, and public sectors.  In 2006, AKA was selected as a winner of the prestigious Alfred P. Sloan Awards for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility in the greater Detroit area and was also named one of Metropolitan Detroit’s 101 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For.

In addition to working with NextEnergy on their Laboratory Build-Out and Alternative Fuels Platform, AKA has recently completed a hydrogen storage, generation and dispensing facility for a North Dakota Power Cooperative, and is presently engineering a biodiesel production facility in Detroit, MI.  Working in conjunction with DMA Technical Services, Inc., AKA offers design engineering, safety engineering and project management services for a wide range of sustainable and renewable energy applications, with a special focus on alternative energy infrastructure.

For more information on Albert Kahn Associates, Inc., its people, services and projects, please visit www.albertkahn.com. For specific information on projects completed in the research and technology arena, go to Markets, Research & Development.