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Eversource and UConn Extend Energy Center Partnership

Dec 8, 2021

clean energy UConn Eversource Energy Center

Focus on making Connecticut a national leader in addressing climate change, clean energy while benefitting customers

BERLIN & STORRS, Conn. - With an eye toward making Connecticut a national leader in clean energy, Eversource and the University of Connecticut have extended their joint commitment to the Eversource Energy Center into 2028, with the energy company announcing it will invest $14 million in the program during that time.

The extension, approved earlier today at a meeting of the UConn Board of Trustees, will benefit customers with its focus on five research “pillars” – Resiliency, Reliability, Renewable Integration, Cyber Security and Community Engagement, Education, and Entrepreneurship. Through this partnership extension, Eversource will:

  • Support the operational UConn weather forecasting and damage prediction modelling system for Eversource’s Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire service territories
  • Support offshore wind energy research for the Revolution Wind and South Fork wind farms currently under development as a joint venture by Eversource and Ørsted
  • Expand the energy company’s substation flood early-warning system to substations in Massachusetts and New Hampshire
  • Provide professional education to Eversource engineers through UConn’s Power Grid Modernization Graduate Certificate Program
  • Engage under-represented minority undergraduate students in all areas of sustainable energy research

“We share Connecticut’s goal of a greener energy future and are always focused on innovative solutions that benefit our customers and advance clean energy,” said Eversource President and CEO Joe Nolan. “We also applaud UConn’s expansion of our agreement to include and promote a diversity and inclusion undergraduate research focus among the pillars. Creating pathways for historically under-represented groups in the clean energy industry aligns with our increased focus on racial and social justice.”

The Eversource Energy Center, which got its start in 2015, is a dynamic partnership between UConn faculty, students, and Eversource in which state-of-the-art research, technology, and software aim to solve real-world challenges for electric customers where weather, climate, and energy intersect. Current research areas include projects on storm outage forecasting, tree and forest management, electric grid reinforcement, resiliency, climate change and flooding, geomagnetic disturbances, integration of renewable generation, and cyber security.

“It’s an honor to expand on the crucial work we are doing in collaboration with Eversource, which has benefited millions of people across the New England region,” said UConn Eversource Energy Center Director Emmanouil Anagnostou. “This collaboration is a model for how private industry and academia can work seamlessly, blending cutting edge research with real-world challenges where weather, resilience and energy intersect.”

The center’s efforts will help to make Connecticut a national leader in clean energy as it works to accelerate research and adoption of blended energy sources, including solar, wind, hydrogen, fuel cell, hydro, and legacy sources and further modernize the regional power grid. The extended partnership will also help to make the Eversource electric distribution system among the most reliable through enhanced storm preparedness and emergency response, system resilience, vegetation management, and strategies to address climate change, while highlighting the UConn team as a national leader in these areas through basic science and applied research.

“Our on-going partnership with UConn and the center’s leading-edge research are helping us to further mitigate storm hazards, increase the reliability of the electric grid and secure a sustainable energy future for the people of Connecticut,” said Nolan. “This additional investment will further support the center’s advancements in multiple areas, further benefitting all of our customers.”

For more information on the Eversource Energy Center click here.


About UConn:

The University of Connecticut is a national leader among public research universities, with more than 32,000 students seeking answers to critical questions in classrooms, labs, and the community. A culture of innovation drives this pursuit of knowledge throughout the University’s network of campuses. Connecticut’s commitment to higher education helps UConn attract students who thrive in the most competitive environments, as well as globally renowned faculty members. Our school pride is fueled by a history of success that has made us a standout in Division I athletics. UConn fosters a diverse and vibrant culture that meets the needs and seizes the opportunities of a dynamic global society.

About Eversource:

Eversource (NYSE: ES), celebrated as a national leader for its corporate citizenship, is the #1 energy company in Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies for 2021 and recognized as one of America’s Most JUST Companies. Eversource transmits and delivers electricity to 1.27 million customers in 149 cities and towns, provides natural gas to 246,000 customers in 74 communities, and supplies water to approximately 216,000 customers in 52 communities across Connecticut. Eversource harnesses the commitment of approximately 9,300 employees across three states to build a single, united company around the mission of safely delivering reliable energy and water with superior customer service. The #1 energy efficiency provider in the nation, the company is empowering a clean energy future in the Northeast, with nationally-recognized energy efficiency solutions and successful programs to integrate new clean energy resources like solar, offshore wind, electric vehicles and battery storage, into the electric system. For more information, please visit eversource.com, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. For more information on our water services, visit aquarionwater.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

UConn:
Stephanie Reitz
860-508-5615
stephanie.reitz@uconn.edu

Eversource:
Mitch Gross
860-665-5221
mitch.gross@eversource.com

 

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