WKU gets $2M to keep disaster center powered in outages

Western Kentucky University will build a microgrid at its Innovation Campus so the center that helps coordinate disaster response across Kentucky can keep running when the power goes out.

The project is paid for by a $2 million award from the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Office of Energy Policy. The money comes from the U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program. WKU announced the award Wednesday in a university news release.

It is the first award under Kentucky’s Resilient Microgrid Program, according to the university.

What will be built

A microgrid is a local energy system that runs alongside the utility grid and can run on its own during an outage, the release says. The one planned for the Innovation Campus will combine:

• solar power
• battery energy storage
• the backup generators already on site
• advanced controls that tie them together

The work covers engineering and design, buying and installing the equipment, and testing how the solar panels, batteries and generators perform together. The award period runs from September 2026 through June 2028.

The Innovation Campus is at 2413 Nashville Road, separate from the main campus.

Why it matters for the disaster center

The system is meant to keep critical buildings at the Innovation Campus working during outages. Chief among them is WKU’s Disaster Science Operations Center, which works with Kentucky Emergency Management to coordinate disaster response.

Josh Durkee directs the center and is the university meteorologist. He said the team will build tools that link weather forecasting with energy and emergency decisions, “so the center can keep operating when the next ice storm or tornado outbreak takes down the grid.”

Kenya Stump, executive director of the state Office of Energy Policy, said the reach goes beyond WKU.

“For communities to become more resilient, we need disaster response locations that can be self-sustaining,” Stump said. “These microgrid locations create safe spaces for community members to come for essential services, and they ensure community services continue regardless of the hazardous event.”

BGMU and TVA have a part

WKU will work with the Electric Power Research Institute on engineering analysis and design review. It will also coordinate with Bowling Green Municipal Utilities and the Tennessee Valley Authority on the rules for connecting to the grid.

The release says the university may also take part in TVA’s Peak Rewards demand response program.

Students will run the numbers

Researchers and students in the center’s AI Research Lab will use the microgrid to develop data and artificial intelligence tools that connect weather, energy use and emergency operations. Students in engineering, environmental science and emergency management will be able to work with the system and its data, WKU said.

“This award gives us an opportunity to connect disaster preparedness with practical energy solutions,” said Manmeet Singh, an assistant professor in WKU’s Department of Earth, Environmental, and Atmospheric Sciences and the project’s principal investigator.

The project team also includes Pallav Bera, an assistant professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and Leslie North, who chairs Singh’s department and directs the university’s Office of Sustainability.

What it means for you

• It is paid for by the award. The release describes a campus project funded through the state from a federal program. It does not mention any cost to BGMU customers.
• Public outreach is planned. WKU says the project includes education and outreach for the campus, the local community and emergency responders on what the microgrid can do in severe weather. The release does not give dates yet.
• In an outage, your own first stop is still BGMU or your electric co-op. Our power outages page lists who to call and how to report one.

The university has not said when construction will start. We will update this story when it does.