CAER
A view of CAER's lobby
Lexington, KY – While a landmark 25-year, $7-billion agreement was being signed in Frankfort on Aug. 15 that would have Kentucky and West Virginia provide coal for India (http://bizlex.com/2012/08/coal-producers-indian-buyers-in-7-billion-25-year-deal-to-purchase-kentucky-coal/), an innovative facility to assist with the research of renewable energy and energy storage was officially unveiled a few miles away.
The University of Kentucky’s Center for Applied Energy Research was dedicated to an audience of government and school officials, media and others tied to the program. The 43,000-square foot-building, located off Iron Works Pike, will allow the university to expand research geared toward the state’s renewable energy industries, including biomass and biofuels, electrochemical power sources and disrupted solar energy technologies.
It came with a $20.8 million price tag, of which $11.8 million was funded by the United States Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Acts NIST Construction Grant Program. Matching resources of $3.5 million was provided by Kentucky with another $1.9 million coming from the university. The remaining $3.5 million was provided by the Department of Energy Development and Independence.
In addition to allowing for advanced research, the building itself utilizes various methods of reusable energy, including an exterior and roof with twice the amount of insulation normally used in a traditional building. Windows contain a nanogel material that diffuses sunlight and provides the same level of insulation as a brick wall. Other features include geothermal heating and cooling, occupancy sensors that turn off lights automatically when a space isn’t being used, and a ventilation system that recaptures energy.
“It makes good sense for all buildings – not just those devoted to energy research – to be as energy-efficient as possible,” said Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear. The governor was joined by, among others, Kentucky Speaker of the House Greg Stumbo, UK President Eli Capilouto and Lexington mayor Jim Gray. “Smart energy usage in buildings saves money and resources. Most importantly, the people inside this building are performing critical work in advanced energy research. Their efforts will undoubtedly impact Kentucky’s future in energy innovation.”
Focus of research in the building will be divided among an open-access biofuels research lab, a solar research lab and a dry room designed for battery manufacturing and testing. The second (and top) floor will be devoted to UK’s department of chemistry.
“For nearly 150 years, the University of Kentucky has been an engine for growth … transforming lives through education, research and service,” Capilouto said. “Today we are taking another step forward in advancing our century-and-a-half old promise. The research and creative discoveries developed by our world-class engineers at UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research and in the cutting-edge laboratories in this new facility will bolster an essential industry and energize our Commonwealth’s economy.”
The building will also serve as home to the Kentucky-Argonne Battery and Manufacturing Research and Development Center laboratories, part of a four-way alliance between the state, Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago, UK and the University of Louisville. That will make it a shared-use facility with portions designed and equipped to accommodate capacitor and battery manufacturing research and development, such as for automobiles powered by alternative energy. On hand were representatives of Ford Motor Company, which has a production facility in Louisville.
“This is a big deal,” Gray said. “We’re at the right place, at the right time.”