Salt River Project Employees Win Record Number of EPRI Technology Transfer Awards

A record number of Salt River Project employees have been selected to receive prestigious Technology Transfer Awards from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for their achievements in collaborative research and development (R&D) projects.

Presented annually, EPRI’s Technology Transfer Awards recognize industry leaders and innovators who help companies transform research into results and solutions that can improve the efficiency of power plants, improve transmission and distribution equipment reliability, improve cybersecurity, and enhance end-use electrification – all for the end-benefit of utility customers.

“Receiving so many awards this year is a real testament to the innovation leadership and hard work from all the SRP staff involved in EPRI research projects,” said Chico Hunter, Manager, SRP Research and Development. “In the world of research, you try to solve difficult problems with no guarantee of success. These projects illustrate how SRP employees not only found solutions, but put those solutions into action.”

The following Salt River Project employees will receive Technology Transfer Awards:

Brian Harbin, Greg Kornrumph, Sharon Morris, Tom Murray and Robert Woods received an award for their vision and leadership that supported the development of multiple case studies, showcasing alternative water supplies in use or under consideration by electric power facilities. These case studies serve as a resource for other companies looking to use alternative water sources to decrease pressure on freshwater sources for power generation.

Elvy Barton, Charlie Ester, Bruce Hallin and Sharon Morris applied research using case studies in an EPRI report, Watershed Activities and Economic Considerations. With their vision and leadership, a software tool was developed to help visualize, quantify and monetize the results of watershed improvement efforts.

Philip Augustin, Eldin Dizdarevic, Zack Heim, Justin Lee and Su Su Win Thu used EPRI’s newly developed Transmission Hosting Capacity Tool to understand how the development of both residential and utility-scale solar photovoltaic resources will impact transmission system reliability. The work done by this team allowed SRP to demonstrate the tool in a real-world environment, showing the benefits to system planning of this new automatic assessment capability.

Melissa Hoy, Oscar Montano and Nathan Tate helped apply an EPRI-developed novel technique that decreases the number of breaker misoperations by applying an EPRI-patented cleaner and commercial oil to lubricate circuit breakers without disassembling them. Hoy, Montano and Tate have been part of a collaborative effort that has applied this technique to 232 breakers, providing both maintenance savings and improved system reliability.

Max Burger and Rob Trask helped lead a research demonstration project that installed more than 250 energy management circuit breakers (EMCB), a device that can allow utilities and customers to monitor and control electricity use, across 12 utilities, at over 60 sites and in 19 states. This demonstration project has vetted EMCB’s for multiple use cases, identified installation challenges and helped to test the data collection system and associated tools.

Jeff Neuenfeldt and Brian Zimmerman led and supported a project that enabled SRP to be the first U.S. utility to procure licensing for the for the 700MHz A-block and enable a Field Area Network, which will allow universal private point-to-multipoint wireless network across a service territory. Through Neuenfeldt and Zimmerman’s efforts, SRP can support capable, reliable and secure telecommunications with grid assets as well as further enable advanced automation to address integration of renewables, enable new customer programs and ensure reliable electric service.

Kathy Knoop and Alejandra Mendez oversaw a study to determine the impact that the increase in electric vehicles in SRP’s service territory and the subsequent increase in energy consumption will have on the grid as more chargers will be installed in homes and businesses to meet demand.

“The 2018 Technology Transfer Award winners have demonstrated initiative, collaboration and leadership and represent the very best in power industry R&D,” said Arshad Mansoor, senior vice president of R&D at EPRI. “They’re shaping, enhancing and transforming the power system of the future by harnessing new and evolving technologies that can deliver benefits to their companies and the entire power industry.”

About EPRI

The Electric Power Research Institute, Inc. (EPRI, www.epri.com) conducts research and development relating to the generation, delivery and use of electricity for the benefit of the public. An independent, nonprofit organization, EPRI brings together its scientists and engineers as well as experts from academia and industry to help address challenges in electricity, including reliability, efficiency, affordability, health, safety and the environment. EPRI's members represent approximately 90 percent of the electricity generated and delivered in the United States, and international participation extends to more than 30 countries. EPRI's principal offices and laboratories are located in Palo Alto, Calif.; Charlotte, NC; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Lenox, Mass.