Eaton Wins Engineering Award for Microgrid Project Energizing Sustainable and Resilient Manufacturing in Puerto Rico

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Eaton highlights Arecibo project and sustainable infrastructure strategies at Reuters Industrial Decarbonization North America 2024 event

PITTSBURGH, PA / ACCESSWIRE / September 24, 2024 / Intelligent power management Eaton today announced it received the 2024 "International Energy Project of the Year" award from the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE). The company was recognized for helping develop Puerto Rico's largest clean energy microgrid at its manufacturing plant in Arecibo, substantially reducing the facility's carbon footprint, boosting energy resilience and bolstering community infrastructure.

Eaton senior global energy manager Richard Gorzé will also be named an AEE Fellow Member. The recognition highlights his outstanding contributions to the association and the energy industry. Gorzé will accept the "International Energy Project of the Year" award and the AEE Fellow honor at the 2024 AEE World Energy Conference & Expo on September 25.

"The ability to generate sustainable, resilient and affordable power is essential to ensure a stronger future for communities and businesses around the world," said Gorzé. "I'm honored to be recognized for our pioneering project, marking a substantial advancement in energy resilience and sustainability."

Built in collaboration with Enel North America, the clean energy project at Eaton's Arecibo manufacturing facility is expected to generate over 9,000 megawatts of renewable power annually. It incorporates five megawatts (MWac) of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, approximately 1.1 MW of battery storage and existing onsite generators. The project enables the facility, which produces circuit breakers used in residential, commercial, and industrial applications, to operate utilizing 55% of consumption as renewable energy and a yearly decrease in emissions by approximately 7,100 metric tons.

Eaton's Arecibo microgrid is also designed to withstand Category 5 strength hurricane-force winds and provides added value in normal grid-connected operations by generating renewable energy that can be consumed, stored and delivered back to the local grid. Following the success of the project, Eaton and Enel North America are developing a second microgrid at Eaton's Las Piedras manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico.

Igor Stamenkovic, senior vice president and general manager of Eaton's Electrical Engineering Services and Systems team will deliver a keynote focused on sustainable infrastructure strategies during the Reuters Industrial Decarbonization North America 2024 event in Pittsburgh on October 1.

Learn more about Eaton's microgrid capabilities and focus on sustainability.

Eaton is an intelligent power management company dedicated to protecting the environment and improving the quality of life for people everywhere. We make products for the data center, utility, industrial, commercial, machine building, residential, aerospace and mobility markets. We are guided by our commitment to do business right, to operate sustainably and to help our customers manage power - today and well into the future. By capitalizing on the global growth trends of electrification and digitalization, we're accelerating the planet's transition to renewable energy sources, helping to solve the world's most urgent power management challenges, and building a more sustainable society for people today and generations to come.

Eaton was founded in 1911 and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange for more than a century. We reported revenues of $23.2 billion in 2023 and serve customers in more than 160 countries. For more information, visit Eaton.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.

Contact:

Kristin Somers
+1.919.345.3714
[email protected]

Regina Parundik
Cobblestone Communications
+1.412.559.1614
[email protected]

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Eaton clean energy project in Puerto Rico wins International Energy Project of the Year award from the Association of Energy Engineers.