The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Panasonic and Xcel Energy are combining their expertise in a bid to drive the development of carbon-neutral projects and smart cities. In a first step, the three partners will simulate and optimise the energy load profile of Peña Station NEXT, a planned 155-hectare mixed-use development in Denver, Colorado, by using URBANopt, a buildings and district energy modelling tool currently being developed at NREL.

URBANopt will analyse the projected energy consumption of office and retail space, multifamily dwellings, a hotel, as well as parking and street lighting within the planned development. The data will then be integrated into Xcel Energy’s grid distribution modelling tools to create a cost-effective design framework that the utility company and developer can use to integrate more distributed energy resources into the project, such as photovoltaics or efficient building systems.

According to NREL, the project has great promise beyond Peña Station NEXT's borders. Xcel Energy could choose to own and operate the infrastructure needed to achieve carbon neutrality, and even expand the offering to future communities in Colorado. Panasonic for its part is interested in how it can replicate and scale carbon-neutral districts and developments across its other smart city projects through Panasonic CityNOW.

“The NREL partnership with Panasonic and Xcel Energy helps deliver on our shared vision for clean, affordable, and reliable energy systems at a pace and scale that matters for our society,” said Juan Torres, NREL’s associate laboratory director for energy systems integration.