Sault Ste. Marie is moving forward with the next stage of its Smart Energy Strategy by focusing on creating a regional smart microgrid.
A microgrid is a modern, small-scale version of the centralized electricity system that groups local electricity generation, energy storage and loads that would otherwise normally connect to the centralized grid. A microgrid can be disconnected from with the macrogrid and work independently.
Jason Naccarato, vice-president of business development at the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre, predicts energy will be the next focused area of development, and the Sault wants to position itself to take advantage of that area of growth.
“It’s safe to say the transition that we saw with communications in the last decade is going to be happening with grids in the next decade as well, and we think that’s a great way to take the resources we have in Sault Ste. Marie and shift them to something we can put our shoulder behind,” he said.
The community has embraced the push for green power—dubbing itself the alternative energy capital of North America—and is now looking for ways to keep the momentum going, Naccarato said.
Global urbanization, resulting in increased resource consumption, is highlighted in the city’s Smart Energy Strategy document, released in March 2012.
There is potential to develop new technologies that highlight energy efficiency, energy storage and smart grids, the report notes.
The Sault is one of 40 communities that have submitted applications to the Ministry of Energy to apply for capital through its Smart Grid Fund.
The $50-million fund supports Ontario-based projects that test, develop and bring to market the next generation of smart grid solutions.
Naccarato estimates the innovation centre will know by December if its application has been accepted.
Sault Ste. Marie currently produces 600 megawatts of electricity through wind, solar fields, hydro, cogeneration and gas generation. But the city itself only uses 200 megawatts, and the remaining 400 megawatts gets exported to southern Ontario.
“The transmission line that basically connects us from Sudbury to southern Ontario is constrained,” Naccarato said. “It has a limited capacity with how much electrons it can send, and we’re at that capacity.”
Naccarato believes the city can use its expertise, particularly in geographic information systems, to develop new technologies that help make more efficient use of electricity. By better managing infrastructure like poles, transformers and resistors, power companies can maximize maintenance schedules and cut down on power failures.
“We think that some investment up front will save costs and have better experience for the people using the grid instead of a block being blacked out because a transformer failed,” he said. “We’re going to predict that sooner.”
The innovation centre has also collaborated with partners on a pair of applications to a funding package under the MaRS Discovery District, one dealing with reactive power and the other with outage management.
Power failures cost companies money and leave them scrambling to fix infrastructure. New technologies could remedy that, Naccarato said.
“There’s a cost benefit to it, so we want to leverage that,” he said. “As well, it’s the quality of services that you’re providing to people. Outages are always a burden on someone, especially if these people are linked to medical equipment that needs to have power.”
The innovation centre already has funding in place from FedNor, the NOHFC and Invest Canada- Community Initiatives. An intern has been hired and a technician will soon be added to the mix.
