A microgrid under construction in Parry Sound, Ontario is a first step toward making the town’s operations what the developer believes will be one of the first net-zero communities in Canada.
The town of Parry Sound
The microgrid, led and hosted by distribution company Bracebridge Generation, will comprise an exceptionally large number of elements: a 500kW AC/648kW DC solar farm, a 2.514 MWh Tesla battery storage system, 50 hot water tank controllers, 10 Tesla Powerwall batteries, three level II and one level III electric vehicle chargers. It will be able to island from the grid in the event of a loss of grid power, and shift between grid power and local or stored power during peak price hours. It will also reduce loading on a locally constrained transmission station, as identified in the IESO’s Long-Term Energy Plan.
System control is being provided by both Opus One Solutions, which will manage the way all the components contribute to the distribution system, and in a first, Opus One’s system will be joined by software from UK-based Kiwi Power to manage the larger assets and optimize supply and demand operations within the market, for example by controlling the hot water tanks.
All components are to be complete by the end of this year.
Vince Kulchycki, COO of Lakeland Holding Ltd., parent company of Bracebridge Generation, added in an interview that the demonstration level project is viewed as only the first phase. Lakeland envisions an ultimate goal of providing enough power to run all the city’s assets. The company is already looking at another site for a second solar installation, and further sites have been identified suitable to host some 10 MW worth of solar power. The overall target for solar power is about 18 MW.
Chris Litschko, Chief Executive Officer, Lakeland Holding Ltd., left, and Parry Sound Mayor Jamie McGarvey
Given the name SPEEDIER (“Smart, Proactive, Enabled Energy Distribution – Intelligently, Efficiently and Responsive”), the project is led by Bracebridge Generation with support from the Town of Parry Sound and a $2.9-million investment from the Government of Canada. Bracebridge Generation is also working with Georgian College’s Research and Innovation department, to develop a greenhouse gas emission report that specifically outlines the potential reduction of GHG emissions by deploying these types of assets into a community such as Parry Sound.
Visit speedier.ca for more details.