NC State to Celebrate New ‘Internet for Energy’ Center

North Carolina State University will celebrate its new National Science Foundation (NSF) Engineering Research Center dedicated to building an “Internet for energy” and bringing renewable energy into millions of homes and businesses.

Erskine Bowles, president of the University of North Carolina system, will speak at the event.

Media are invited to attend the event, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28, in the Progress Energy Conference Center on the third floor of Engineering Building II on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Media parking is available at the south end of Partners Way.

The NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems, to be headquartered on Centennial Campus, will develop technology that revolutionizes the century-old power grid and speeds energy produced from solar panels, wind farms, fuel cells and other renewable sources into homes and businesses nationwide. This “smart grid” will enable millions of users to generate their own energy, lower their carbon emissions and reduce their dependence on foreign oil.

The center, which was announced in September, is supported by an $18.5 million grant from NSF and an additional $10 million in institutional support and industry membership fees. More than 65 businesses and utilities have committed to joining the global partnership. An ERC grant is one of the largest and most prestigious awards granted by NSF.

For more information on the center, visit the center’s Web site.