The Center for Microgrid Research is surging into a new era with a power-up totaling more than $20 million. The funds are fueling expanded student-focused research, a rapidly growing team of engineers, and soon, the construction of an additional industry-leading facility.
When Ophelia Loree ’25 MS came to the University of St. Thomas to pursue a master’s degree in electrical engineering, she was betting on a hands-on, practical education. Loree had no idea that within a year, she would help design a brand-new microgrid, and that she would do so in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Interested in a career in clean energy and grid modernization, Loree selected the School of Engineering for its emphasis on real-world problem-solving. Her recent work alongside fellow engineers and students at the St. Thomas Center for Microgrid Research (CMR) could soon bring cutting-edge microgrid technologies to American military installations around the world.
“Good engineers don’t just crunch numbers,” Loree said. “Good engineers see a problem and they come up with a creative solution to solve it, and that’s what I was able to do at St. Thomas.”
It’s not every day that a master’s student gets a chance to work on a cutting-edge, industry-grade microgrid. In fact, it’s nearly unheard of.
One of fewer than five academic research centers of its kind in North America, the St. Thomas Center for Microgrid Research stands alone as the only program to offer access to undergraduate and master’s level students.
But what is already an unparalleled experience is only getting stronger. Thanks to considerable private and government support, the Center for Microgrid Research is surging into a new era with a power-up totaling more than $20 million. The funds are fueling expanded student-focused research, a rapidly growing team of engineers, and soon, the construction of an additional industry-leading facility.
A bold vision
Since its founding in 2019, CMR has been housed primarily in the Facilities and Design Center on St. Thomas’ south campus. As part of a multiyear expansion, construction will begin in the coming months on a second purpose-built space right across the street.
The new 6,000-square-foot annex to Owens Science Hall (OWS) has been designed around the university’s second microgrid. The addition will give St. Thomas the capability to independently power most of south campus, including the recently opened Schoenecker Center for STEAM learning. A third microgrid is also planned for the near future and will power the under-construction Lee & Penny Anderson Arena.
The annex for OWS includes large roll-in bays, which will allow EVs of all kinds to drive into the facility and plug directly into the St. Thomas grid. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other industry partners are interested in using the bays to research how microgrids can communicate with emerging EV technologies.
“We’ve been bold enough to listen to what the needs are,” School of Engineering Dean Don Weinkauf said. “We certainly have been excited to tell our story about our own abilities, but more importantly we’ve been listening to the needs of our partners, and that’s where good things can happen.”
Part of the funding for the expansion has come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who awarded St. Thomas a contract worth $11 million dollars through a direct congressional appropriation. The state of Minnesota has also invested heavily with more than $10 million through the Renewable Development Account program. Industry partners are lending their financial backing as well for both applied research and workforce development – Xcel Energy has been a supporter since funding for the first St. Thomas microgrid was secured in 2015.