Ameresco, a Framingham renewable energy company, has started work on what it says will be one of the largest microgrids, or self-contained energy grids, in the country.
The project will be part of the Navy Yard development in Philadelphia, a 1,200-acre business campus on a former U.S. Navy complex.
Ameresco announced the start of construction on the project Aug. 4, and said it is expected to be operational by later this year.
The publicly owned company contracts with municipalities, colleges, hospitals and other businesses for renewable energy or efficient energy projects. Several of its solar-energy arrays can be seen along the Massachusetts Turnpike, but Ameresco also works in far larger projects, including the Navy Yard in Philadelphia.
The microgrid, previously reported to cost about $11 million, will include a 6-megawatt natural gas-powered power plant. Ameresco is designing, building and maintaining the system.
The Navy Yard, which already contains a series of business and retail buildings, is being developed by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp., a public-private economic development agency.
