Centre Wellington Energy Innovations would like to see the township at the forefront of power microgeneration and conservation.
Part of that includes the creation of a microgrid test facility in the Fergus industrial park to test out new technologies and potential revenue opportunities.
Doug Sherwood of Centre Wellington Energy (CWE) and Bill Oliphant of Centre Wellington Energy Innovation (CWEI) spoke to township councillors recently to present the Centre Wellington Energy Innovation business case.
Sherwood said “we think we may have come up with something which has a lot of potential.”
CWEI, a division of CWE, was created to provide the capabilities of research, marketing and sales of technologies to the local and Canadian smart grid market. The goal is to create new possibilities of ownership, operation and management of energy generating related assets, which may include renewable, mechanical or storage-related technologies.
Oliphant said the intent of CWEI is Rethinking Energy. He added customers are looking for stability in costs, reliability and environmental protection.
Reliability is a big issue, Oliphant stressed. He used examples of recent storms on the eastern seaboard, which knocked power out for a number of days in areas such as New York.
Oliphant said the intent of this work is to keep energy costs down and to make Centre Wellington more attractive and competitive from a commercial and residential perspective.
Smart grid technology will allow local distribution companies to switch power around faster and understand it better.
While fuel cells provide some options, Oliphant said the technology is currently expensive so more investigation is needed on how and when it would be used.
“That is where the test facility will help us.”
Oliphant said to date CWEI has applied for funding in excess of $2 million, while minimizing cash requirements to secure the funding.
Decisions by the funding organizations will be made within the first quarter of 2016, which officials hope will enable the development of the first phase of the test facility located in Fergus.
The facility will have a number of objectives to attract and inspire additional research, evaluate the impact of the solutions on the existing grid and determine the revenue potential for CWEI and Centre Wellington Hydro, the local utility.
Oliphant said CWEI will provide an economic benefit to the community, create alternative revenue streams through new service offerings, generate interest in academic research and collaborate with Centre Wellington Hydro to engage the community is sustainable solutions.
He said technology partnerships will be a key success factor within the lifecycle of the project, including: design, building, testing, managing, deployment and maintenance of existing and new technologies.
Provincial funding and incentive programs managed by Centre Wellington Hydro over the last couple of years have created opportunities to expand services and to provide innovative ways for customers to reduce energy.
Oliphant saw opportunities to participate in provincial grants and funds have assisted in the development of the road map and business strategy and have connected CWE to international organizations focused on smart grid and microgrid solutions. Incentive programs submitted for funding include:
– the development of the microgrid test facility in Fergus. Application for $1.8 million in funding from the Ministry of Energy Smart Grid Fund ($50M total available);
– development of technology through the Ontario Israeli Collaboration program. Applied for $300,000 grant;
– beneficiary of a federal government fund – Canada-Israel Industrial Research and Development Foundation; and
– Ontario Centre of Excellence Fund – implementation of residential energy storage, including thermal and hot water ($40,000).
Oliphant said “our vision is to deploy standard energy generation and storage systems to 100% of the residences in the (Centre Wellington Hydro) operating area by 2030.”
In summary, Oliphant said the intent is to research a workable financial and technical solution for future electrical distribution within Centre Wellington.
Other goals include:
– create opportunities to resell technologies and services locally and to the market;
– eliminate financial and technical barriers to increase renewable installs;
– create an environment that will attract researchers and technology companies to engage research and development in the regions;
– build upon existing technology, supplier and funding relationships; and,
– benefit the community through education and participation.
Centre Wellington Mayor Kelly Linton agreed there was a lot of material presented outlining creative ways of approaching energy.
Linton noted the presentation was to bring councillors up to speed on the matter.
Councillor Kirk McElwain asked if this worked within the FITT program.
Oliphant said the intent was to operate without the need for upper level government programs. “The best way to make something happen, is to remove that as a requirement,” he said.
Councillor Fred Morris questioned whether the economic value for the marketplace been quantified at this point.
Oliphant said he believed the revenue opportunities are quite large. “But we won’t know specifically until we initiate some of these operations and see the costs.” He suggested the costs of technologies to be utilized – such as solar panels, battery storage, thermal storage – are all reduced as more people use them.
Councillor Steven VanLeeuwen said it was interesting to see some new ideas come to the table. He liked the idea of a microgrid. But even aside from revenues, it will give something unique to the community to invest in.
“This is neat to see and I’m excited,” VanLeeuwen said.
