Oak Ridge National Laboratory is working with an East Tennessee utility to keep the lights on as data centers and new residents increase the demand for power throughout the United States.
The need for more power led the lab and the Electric Power Board in Chattanooga to a newer solution: smaller electrical grids.
EPB, a public utility that serves the Chattanooga area, will start installing microgrids on top of its existing system in partnership with Oak Ridge, lab leaders said at a March 9 media event. Microgrids, or localized energy systems, work when service from the primary grid goes out and help fill energy gaps in the larger network…