PSU, PGE team up for joint energy research
Portland State University and Portland General Electric are partnering to help deploy electric vehicles.
The partnership will also test and develop technologies to support the integration of energy management with sustainably designed buildings.
PSU President Wim Wiewel and PGE CEO Jim Piro will sign a memorandum of understanding March 30 outlining the scope of the relationship.
The only money changing hands is $50,000 that the PGE Foundation is paying over two years to establish a renewable energy research laboratory at PSU’s Science Research and Teaching Complex. Discussions about that investment last year sparked the idea for a larger partnership.
PGE will tap into PSU’s transportation expertise to locate charging stations coming to the region as part of the eTec-Nissan North America partnership to roll out Leaf electric vehicles. EcoTality, eTec’s parent company, received $100 million to roll out electric vehicle-charging stations in five states. Oregon will get 2,000 of those stations.
Staff from PGE will work with researchers at PSU to help establish the network of charging stations and to study consumer behavior.
“There are lots of questions that need to be answered,” Piro said.
The building design and energy integration half of the partnership will be incubated in the PGE-funded lab. The expected outcomes in that area are less clear, but the partners aim to test and incubate technologies for use in buildings.
PSU is hiring a new faculty member to oversee the lab, which will focus on energy management, renewable energy and green building design.
“For us to grow as a research university, we couldn’t just rely on the state,” Wiewel said. “We have to partner with other institutions.”
For PGE, the partnership came about as the utility looked to formalize relationships with universities.
“Universities can be crucial to economic development,” Piro said. “They’re creating leaders for the future. We wanted to be the first in.”
PGE worked to establish a class on smart grid development last year. The class, which two PGE employees help teach, is part of PSU’s curriculum again this year.
Weiwel said he anticipates the partnership will lead to more cooperation between PSU and PGE. He plans to hire a new vice president for PSU to oversee research and strategic partnerships.
Piro said he also expects to formalize a similar relationship with Oregon State University.
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