New Pickering Microgrid Community ‘An Energy Generation Storage Island’
Source: Angela Gismondi · CONSTRUCT CONNECT · | December 1, 2021
Source: MARSHALL HOMES - A new microgrid development in Pickering, Ont. is using solar panels, electric vehicle chargers and energy storage to create an energy efficient community. Opus One Solutions, Elexicon Energy, Marshall Homes and the Independent Electricity System Operator partnered to build the project. The project team included Hunt Design Associates (architectural designers); Candevcon East Limited (civil consulting engineers); Brian Moss & Associates Ltd. (planner); Cosburn Nauboris Ltd. (landscape architect); and Alan Clarke (electrical consulting engineer).
A new smart microgrid community in Pickering, Ont. demonstrates how developers, communities and hydro companies can work together to create more energy-efficient housing developments while helping homeowners reduce their electricity bills.
“What is unique about it is that it is both an energy generation storage island but it’s also an active participant in the community grid,” explained Dugald Wells, general manager at Marshall Homes.
“From the very beginning planning stages it was designed to generate and store its own electricity. It can generate its own clean energy, store its own energy for its own use, be self-reliant in the case of a power outage and contribute to the power grid.”
Altona Towns, comprised of 27 units, is one of the first communities of its kind in Canada. It is expected to provide homeowners with a 10 to 12 per cent reduction to their electricity bill. The microgrid’s design includes a 25-kilowatt solar array of panels installed on the roof of one of the housing blocks and provides an estimated 10 per cent of the total power needed to run the community.
In addition to the fully integrated microgrid, the community also includes seven EV charging stations and a Tesla standalone battery that stores excess electricity. The microgrid is integrated into the regional power grid but with its smart metering system, the community can draw from it when needed, indicates a release.