New Power Source Comes to BioTech Park

July 16, 2008

MANASSAS, VA-NOVEC, an area utility cooperative, plans to build a duel-grid-feed, 250-megawatt substation here that will provide a redundant power source to the 1,500-acre Innovation @ Prince William Technology Park. To that end, NOVEC has just acquired four acres in Innovation Executive Center, a 50-acre master planned commercial park that is situated within Innovation @ Prince William. Dan Gonzalez and Herman Diebler with Appian Realty Advisors brokered the sale of the site to NOVEC, representing the developer of Innovation Executive Center, Waterford Commercial.

The new substation is slated to deliver in nine to 12 months. Located at the Prince William Parkway interchange with Godwin Dr., the substation is being developed by Waterford Commercial and RER Equities. The land traded for $2.1 million. Development costs for the substation could range between $12 to $20 million, Gonzalez tells GlobeSt.com, a figure that includes the cost of the land and the cost of acquiring between four-to-six transformers.

"What is exciting about this development is that it will provide true redundant power to
both Innovation Executive Center and the larger park," he says. By "true" redundant
power, Gonzalez explains he means power provided by a substation that is served by
two power grids. "Often the term redundant power is thrown around. It is a misnomer,
though, to refer to redundant power as a power source provided by two substations." In
those scenarios, he says, if the substations are served by one power grid, they can both
go dark if the power grid is affected. "But it is almost unheard of for two grids from two
separate transmission lines to go down."

Anchored by George Mason University’s life science campus, Innovation @ Prince William Technology Park counts American Type Culture Collection, the FBI, Mediatech, Micron, the Virginia Department of Forensic Science, Covance, Assett Management, Baker Engineering, Christopher Consulting, Comcast, EnviroSolutions, Logis-Tech, NCS Technologies, Progeny Systems, ProLogic, and SAIC among its tenants.

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