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Traditionally, electric utilities have assured reliable service to what is called "four nines"—that is, power will be available 99.99% of the time. But high-tech industries such as Internet server farms and computerized banking demand much higher reliability—in the range of "nine nines" (available 99.9999999% of the time). Creating this reliability can potentially be achieved using traditional grid technologies—for example, by supplying multiple power feeders to the system and providing a backup line from a hydropower station—but the cost is high, and the reliability is generally guaranteed at the expense of service to other customers.
Power parks (also called "premium power parks") are an alternative to the traditional approach. They may include uninterruptible power supplies such as battery banks, ultracapacitors, or flywheels. They typically include an on-site power source to increase reliability.
One of the earliest power parks, built in 1998, is the PEI Power Park in Archibald, Pennsylvania. A combined heat and power plant there provides both steam and electricity to occupants of the park.
In August 1999, American Electric Power and Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution were selected by the Electric Power Research Institute to develop a premium power park at the Delaware Industrial Park in Delaware, Ohio. The site was chosen because of its varied customer base and load, the customers' power quality concerns, and the site's broad spectrum of power quality needs.
In May 2000, the University Research Park adjacent to the University of California Irvine campus was designated by DOE as a power park. It will develop a number of distributed energy resources—including fuel cells, gas turbine engines, microturbine generators and photovoltaics—to meet the park's power needs.
Another power park is being built by Hunt Power in McAllen and Mission, Texas. The park will feature options for reliable on-site power generation and redundant telecommunications feeds.
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