Dr. Sunil Cherian/founder and CEO, Spirae, Fort Collins.

• Author: Peterson, Eric
• Position: TRENDSETTERS - Brief article

Dr. Cherian founded Spirae in 2002 to develop infrastructure for next-generation distributed energy and smart-grid applications. Under Cherian's leadership, the company has emerged as a trendsetter in its space.

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Spirae is actively involved in the Fort Collins Renewable and Distributed Systems Integration (RDSI) pilot project, the cornerstone of the FortZED (shorthand for the Fort Collins Zero Energy District). The mission of FortZED is to transform the city's downtown and the CSU campus into a zero-energy district.

"This summer, the installed system will be actively managing peak load on two of Fort Collins Utility's distribution feeders serving Old Town and CSU," says Cherian, labeling RDSI "a stepping stone" for realizing the Fort ZED vision.

With some of the country's most advanced smart-grid simulators and labs, Spirae is on the cutting edge of a burgeoning space. Cherian says the first wave of smart-grid innovation--"metering infrastructure upgrades, residential energy information portals, and rudimentary forms of...