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unique value to the community and paves the way for citywide safety. All of these features make the community even more
deployment of solutions such as smart street lighting. desirable to residents.
The manageable scale of MIDs, when combined with aligned Through implementation of autonomous vehicles, smart street
stakeholders and innovative business models, enables city stake- lights, a utility micro-grid with clean and reliable energy, and
holders to innovate relatively quickly with less financial and
technical risk. Implementing smart street lighting in a MID,
for example, frequently serves as a starting point for many
smart city initiatives due to the opportunity to save 50% or
more of energy costs. This is compelling, since street lighting
can consume up to 40% of a city’s energy budget. The cost
and complexity of upgrading tens of thousands of street
lights can be daunting, and city leaders are well served by
having a real-world environment, such as Peña Station NEXT,
to test innovative technologies and validate business mod-
els before rolling them out on a larger scale.
Many smart city technologies, including smart parking,
community Wi-Fi, environmental sensing, and public safety,
will leverage the ubiquitous, always-on nature of street
lights. Developers can help city leaders sort through this confus- other human-centric planning and technology, the living lab at
ing and vast array of smart city options by deploying a thought- Peña Station NEXT is proving the business case for MIDs. This has
fully integrated mix of smart city applications that enhances MID only been made possible via alignment of the city, county, devel-
resident and visitor quality of life, provides compelling economic opers, and utilities. They are working together to create deeper
returns to investors, and creates a technology-rich environment partnerships, new business models and improved integration to
for innovation across all stakeholders. make such an innovative and transformational community possi-
MIDs can also serve as ideal locations for the relatively rapid ble. Due to the success of Peña Station NEXT and other MIDs, we
deployment and testing of autonomous cars and connected expect many more of these communities to emerge in the near
vehicle technology. While many states are moving to pass leg- future.
islation supportive of autonomous transportation, the reality is
that very few cities are prepared for the large-scale introduction Mike Hess leads Panasonic’s Smart & Sustainable Buildings
of autonomous vehicles. Having dedicated lanes for autonomous team, and also supports their CityNOW initiatives for smart
vehicles and testing a wide range of smart mobility technologies cities. He has expertise in sustainability and LEED consulting,
makes the MID more sustainable and more compelling, and can energy modeling, commissioning, water re-use, renewable energy,
provide city leaders with the experience and confidence needed micro-grids, energy storage, and intelligent control systems. Mike
to make important decisions about the broad deployment of has experience working with multiple stakeholders to achieve transformational
autonomous vehicles. smart city results. This includes the micro-grid at Pena Station NEXT in Denver,
For the developers, MIDs offer a wide range of benefits. Peña where Panasonic, Denver and Xcel Energy are working towards a carbon neutral
Station NEXT provides several examples, such as more reliable community.
power, improved connectivity, safer streets, and a healthier envi-
ronment. The utility’s back-up battery in this MID has allowed for George Karayannis has over 25 years of emerging technology and
the reduction of diesel emergency generation capacity, reducing sustainable solutions sales, business development, and marketing
costs for vertical developers and improving local air quality. An leadership at Fortune 100 firms and high-tech startups. He
autonomous shuttle recently arrived at Peña Station NEXT, and it currently leads Panasonic’s CityNOW team in North America.
will soon provide better ‘first and last mile’ connectivity between Previously, George served as VP of U.S. Smart City Solutions
buildings, the train station, and bus stops associated with this for Schneider Electric, led Smart Grid Business Development at Lockheed Martin
MID. Sensors in the Peña Station NEXT street lights are being and Trimble, managed New Service Strategy at AT&T, helped launch several
utilized to optimize city services, monitor air quality, and improve wireless startups, and served as a town councilman.

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