In an era of record-high oil prices, with no nuclear plants being constructed in the U.S. in the last two decades, with fuel-cell powered cars getting more attention, and with a rickety national electrical grid - a compelling question to ask, is: what's going to be the next source of cheap, reliable, clean energy for the world?

NextEnergy might not have the answers - but they do have a unique new building that will allow all kinds of experimentation on the next generation of energy sources. Located on the Wayne State campus, the 45,000-square-foot NextEnergy Center provides the space and equipment to test and validate alternative types of power generation.

"Our goal is to advance the commercialization of alternative energy in Michigan," said Jim Saber, NextEnergy's director of business development. "The infrastructure of this building, which is unique to the United States and to the world, will allow us to do that. We know energy, but we don't know a lot about building. We relied on these guys to make that happen."

"These guys" are the joint venture construction management team of Barton-Malow and Jomar. Along with building trades union members, last month they were nearly complete with the year-long process to build the NextEnergy Center. Hardly your run-of-the-mill office building, it includes:

• An 18,400 square-foot accelerator laboratory, with seven research and development labs.
• An 80-seat auditorium.
• Demonstration and exhibition space.
• And the highlight: A "micro-grid pavilion," which will provide space for several different types of electrical generation. The pavilion has six bays, where power sources and systems like internal and external combustion, thermal recovery and distribution, hydrogen, natural gas and solar energy can be tested and validated.

The center is capable of creating one megawatt of electricity to power the operations of NextEnergy and its tenants, as well as some nearby buildings on the WSU campus. "If there was a blackout in the area, we wouldn't be affected," Saber said. The system is also tied into DTE Energy's electrical grid.

The single story building has a cool lighting scheme in the test bays and in the exhibition area of the building, which will light up and pulse according to the type of fuel that is being used for the building's electrical generation. (For example, natural gas might be green and fuel cells might be blue).

Ken Padgett, project manager for Barton-Malow, said the job consistently employed about 80 construction workers. He said the building was erected on an old surface parking lot - atop the foundations of an old parking structure. "There was a lot of stuff underground," he said. "But overall, things went as planned."

Jomar General Manager Juris Junkulis said a project labor agreement helped create "a well-coordinated job, with good harmony among the owners, contractors and tradespeople on the job."

NextEnergy, a nonprofit organization founded through a grant by the Michigan Economic Development Authority, currently employs eight. Two businesses formalized commitments last month to move into the energy "incubator." As the center of the nation's automotive industry, locating the building in Southeast Michigan was seen as a natural.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has repeatedly pointed out the importance of fuel-cell and alternative energy research as a key to improving Michigan's economy.

"We are doing everything we can to bring alternative energy investment and the good-paying jobs it provides to Michigan," Granholm said. "These significant new investments demonstrate Michigan's growing leadership in alternative energy research, development and manufacturing."

Some NextEnergy tenants may develop their own power production equipment, others will use the infrastructure for improvement, validation and testing.

"The building is set up to provide a real world environment - a living, breathing system," said Saber.

INSIDE THE "MICRO-GRID PAVILION" they installed for NextEnergy are IBEW Local 58 members (l-r) Brian Adkins, Ben Smith, Fred Bertini, Terry Harland, Keith Tarlo, Kirt Crocker, Steve Louzon, and Lance Mathews. The area has six bays to support several types of electrical generating applications, such as fuel cells and internal and external combustion. The electricians were working for Ferndale Electric, a sub for Barton-Malow/Jomar.

CHECKING OUT a pressure-reducing station in the mechanical room at the NextEnergy Center is Todd Gonzalez of Pipe Fitters Local 636. Photos by Jerry Bielicki