Tour of the PITT OHIO – Harmar Terminal 380 Vdc Microgrid

Pitt Ohio Trucking is a transportation solutions provider based in Pittsburgh, PA committed to promoting sustainability. All trucking companies understand that the nature of their business has an impact on the environment.  Pitt Ohio continuously pledges to improve the environmental and social sustainability performance of their business. One of the company’s sustainability efforts was to create the region’s first 55,000 square foot, LEED-certified trucking terminal in Cheswick, PA (Harmar Township) composed of 100 dock doors, 150 LED lights, natural light panels, CNG tractors, and electronic forklifts.

Pitt Ohio additionally strives to promote the Pittsburgh region as pioneers of the electric power industry.  Pitt Ohio partnered with the University of Pittsburgh and other local Pittsburgh manufacturers including Adam Solar Resources, Aquion Energy, BDA Engineering Inc., Eaton, PCTI, Sargent Electric Company, Universal Electric, and WindStax to retrofit the existing terminal with a 380 Vdc distribution feed to integrate a variety of renewables and serve the terminal lighting load.

The activities regarding the development of a DC based microgrid at the Pitt Ohio trucking terminal in Cheswick, PA will be toured. The goal of this program was to create a viable system architecture for integrating the existing AC power system with renewable energy resources (50 kW of solar power and 5 kW of wind power) and 70kWh of batteries distributed through a 380 Vdc backbone to promote future research in sustainable power solutions.  Besides the views of the electrical infrastructure, management will also provide other details as to why the facility promotes sustainability from all facets.

Speaker(s): James Fields, Brandon Grainger

Location:
1 Rich Hill Road
Cheswick, Pennsylvania
15024