Battery System Stores Electricity to Release for Peak-Time Usage

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L-r: Roy McCann, David Moody, Bob Winkleman, LGW management team

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – An energy storage device and energy management system based on windmills and tricycles now help power the newest building in the Arkansas Research and Technology Park.

LGW, Inc. has developed a battery storage device based on small wind turbines and inspired by an electric powered “trike.” The company also has developed an energy management system that uses a company’s generating capacity to meet peak electric power demand without having to pay peak-demand rates.

This system, developed in the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, currently is used in the park’s newest building. The Enterprise Center, which opened in 2010, is a 65,000-square-foot facility housing a mix of office, lab and high-tech manufacturing space. Phil Stafford, president of the University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation, which manages the park, anticipated a heavy energy demand load when the building was fully occupied and made some initial adaptations to it to improve energy usage. 

First, the $16 million LEED Silver certified facility was equipped with a 13.5 kiloWatt rooftop solar array. Then Stafford went a step further and had LGW install an energy management system for the building. The system is custom designed to offset a portion of the growing energy demand. It stores energy during the evening, and then helps meet the Enterprise Center’s energy needs during peak times.

“One thing we strive to do in the park is support our affiliates,” Stafford said of his decision to use the company’s technology. “We believe that technology developed in the park should stay in the park, to be utilized by the park.”

Along with supporting park affiliates, this technology also demonstrates what can happen when affiliates and centers in the park work together. Stafford explained that due to prior connections at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, Bob Winkelman, chief executive officer of LGW, made contact with the National Center for Reliable Electronic Power Transmission. The center is a state-of-the-art test facility established to develop advanced power electronics systems for solid-state protection and energy storage devices for applications in the power grid. This connection provided vital electrical engineering experience, facilities and test equipment to assist LGW in the early stages of development.

“One reason this park is so effective is due to all the facilities located in it to assist start-up tech companies,” Stafford said. “As affiliates, these new companies have access to office space, lab space, equipment and knowledge that normally would not be available to companies without a hefty price tag associated with it. The synergy created in this innovative hub provides companies with more than they could create on their own.”

Along with providing systems for business and industrial clients, LGW also provides residential systems as well. For more information regarding the company, please visit www.lgwenergynow.com. For information regarding the Arkansas Research and Technology Park, contact Phil Stafford at psstaff@uark.edu or 575-8411.