Best Project — Higher Education/Research: North Carolina State University Electrical Distribution Upgrade

North Carolina State University Electrical Distribution Upgrade

Raleigh, N.C.

BEST PROJECT

Sent by: RMF Engineering

Owner: North Carolina State University

Lead Design Firm: RMF Engineering

General Contractor: Balfour Beatty

Changing a medium-voltage system that had actually served North Carolina State University’s 260-acre main school for more than 50 years implied almost every roadway and pathway needed to be interrupted to set up brand-new underground facilities. 2 district energy plants, a cogeneration center and more than 100 structures remained powered throughout building.

The $59-million job changed the whole electrical circulation network with a wise 15-kV system arranged into 6 streamlined circuit loops fed by updated switchgear and adjoined through automated, pad-mounted switches. Those switches spot faults, isolate impacted locations and immediately reroute power within seconds. The updated system provides 50% more electrical capability than its predecessor while allowing remote tracking and control through a central SCADA system.

After establishing in-depth phasing strategies, the group changed them into aesthetically user-friendly graphics, consisting of Google Maps-based overlays released to a devoted task site that revealed active work zones, pedestrian detours and customized bus paths in a type the whole school neighborhood might follow, with updates pressed as conditions altered.

Image thanks to RMF Engineering

Throughout the 2nd half of the job, various other massive building and construction efforts were likewise underway throughout school. The group needed to user interface with several basic specialists and building and construction supervisors running different tasks in overlapping locations. This involved collaborating lane closures, scheduling devices shipments to prevent disputes and sharing gain access to paths so no single task developed a traffic jam.

Before any mechanical digging, teams ran ground-penetrating radar and exploratory potholing. Every electrical shift followed a composed approach of treatment constructed for each structure and its devices, covering weather condition contingencies, product staging confirmation, preenergization screening and action order.

Image thanks to RMF Engineering

Instead of counting on standard commissioning for this self-healing grid, the group established a structured, phased screening flowchart that verified the automation at gradually bigger scales, beginning with little, separated sections of the network and broadening as self-confidence grew. The tiered technique let the group recognize and solve concerns at a workable scale before they might propagate to a campus-wide test. All 110 structures on school were effectively transformed from the old grid to the brand-new circulation system.

Picture thanks to RMF Engineering

The screening structure uses a replicable design for school and community systems dealing with the exact same predicament. SCADA application has actually currently begun at other University of North Carolina system schools, consisting of Elizabeth City State University. The main school system was completely stimulated and finished on schedule in July 2025.