Equilibrium Engineering and StorTera of Scotland have partnered with the Town of Berwick and Dalhousie University to launch an exciting smart grid project under Natural Resources Canada’s Power Forward Challenge.
The Power Forward Challenge is an initiative led by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) in collaboration with the UK’s Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) with the intent of accelerating the development of smart grid technologies.
The Alba Nova team of Equilibrium and StorTera flew to Ottawa with the Mayor Don Clarke and Berwick Electric’s Utility Manager Don Regan to pitch for one of three (3) Canadian finalist spots in the Power Forward Challenge. On June 19, 2019 Alba Nova was informed by NRCan that the exciting $3M pilot project had been selected as one of the Canadian finalists.
The Pilot
The Alba Nova pilot project is focused on supporting the Town of Berwick’s existing electrical utility. The installation of a mixture of energy storage assets in combination with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and a novel distributed artificial intelligence (AI) control system will help to shape Berwick’s future electric grid.
The project will see two ‘StorHubs’ (large commercial lithium ferro phosphate (LFP) energy storage systems), each with 542 kWh installed at the Town Hall (225 kW) and the Kings Mutual Century Centre (250 kW), for a total of 1,084 kWh that can deliver 475 kW, or meet ~7% of Berwick’s typical Winter peak demand.
In addition, 10 homeowners were randomly selected to have a free integrated residential energy storage (20 kWh) system installed in their homes, with approximately 7 kW of solar PV on each home.
At the start of the project, the nature of homes and participants varied from:
looking to get off oil;
considering heat pump technology;
low income;
those with old inefficient homes;
those that were on the Direct Load Control (DLC) program with the BEC;
considering electric vehicle (EV) ownership; and
those looking to take advantage of time-of-use rates.
At least 50% of the selected volunteers have since undertaken energy upgrades on their homes that were packaged, delivered and financed with no up-front cost through the Town’s turn-key Berwick Green Energy Program.
Project Goals
The ultimate goal of the Alba Nova pilot project is to increase Berwick Electric’s capacity to take on more renewable energy generation, reduce grid demand through peak shaving and to ramp up energy efficiency while driving down greenhouse gas emissions in the Town of Berwick.
Contact us at powerforward@eqeng.ca if you have any questions about the project or are media looking to find out more.
“Today, no one knows with precision what a low- or no-carbon power future looks like. Urgency and necessity will continue to drive far-reaching technical innovation in power generation, some of it as yet unforeseen. Yet climate change itself is accepted globally as real, and carbon emissions are the major cause that must be addressed.”
-Nova Scotia’s Electricity Plan