SRP funds research work at ASU, NAU, U of A

Salt River Project has invested $3 million in 34 research and development projects at three Arizona universities.

The projects, which are at various stages of research and development at Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona, span topics including sustainability, power reliability, wildfire mitigation and energy efficiency, according to a release from the Tempe-based utility.

“SRP has invested in university research at Arizona universities for more than 40 years and has been able to implement findings from these projects into its business operations,” the release stated.

Some examples:

A multi-year project with NAU resulted in the development of a tool that maps wildfire risk across SRP's watershed.

A project with ASU developed a platform to scan satellite images of SRP's canals and detect potential leak sites.

“SRP has participated in this program for more than four decades, and each year, our teams are able to examine important topics through a new lens and work toward innovative solutions to problems facing both the water and power sides of our business,” Chico Hunter, SRP’s innovation and development manager, said.

“The partnership with these universities allows SRP to foster students’ interest in the work we do through real-world research opportunities and enhance community involvement that is so important to SRP.”

Here are projects underway:

Groundwater Monitoring
SRP and ASU are developing a “high-resolution groundwater monitoring product using satellite observations, machine learning, and hydroclimatic and land surface data,” the release stated. 

Comprehensive Weather Mapping Data
SRP and U of A’s Power Forecasting Group are working to develop “a comprehensive weather-based dataset to support real-time forecasting for water, power and fire weather applications across Arizona,” utility officials stated.

K-12 Energy Efficiency Partnership
This project, in partnership with ASU, is designed to identify best practices for energy efficiency projects in K-12 schools “to increase school district engagement and education of school facility managers in energy efficiency,” according to the release.