Energy project looks to tweak usage when wind power is low
Published Saturday July 24th, 2010
Electricity | University researchers lead the $32-million study
As Maritime utilities plan to make more use of renewable energy from sources such as wind power, researchers at the University of New Brunswick are planning to help them react to those times when the wind dies down to a light breeze.
A team led by Prof. Liuchen Chang is tackling the problem as electric utilities ponder how to deal with high demand for electricity when the whims of nature stop turning turbine blades at wind farms.
The federal government announced Friday that it's providing $15.9 million to match the investment Maritime provinces and their power utilities have made to research how controlling energy consumption patterns can reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Chang is heading the research project for PowerShift Atlantic. He's looking at how utilities can use smart-grid technology to react.
The project will monitor 750 residential and commercial customers to determine how changing patterns in energy consumption can help utilities reduce greenhouse gases.
"The potential is tremendous in terms of working with customers to shape the usage to provide a more efficient and more cost effective power system operation, as well as to integrate more renewable energy in the grid," Chang said.
Smart-grid technology, that has been installed in homes in Saint John and Fredericton as part of a pilot project, allows a utility to monitor electricity use of some appliances and even tweak settings to reduce electricity demand.
Some of the appliances in question include hot-water heaters, which at times of lower energy production from wind farms and high electricity demand, might be shifted to draw power at different times.
"You will need the heater probably in the morning and later at night. Most of the time, you do not use a whole lot of hot water during the day. In that case, we are able to control the actual heating of the hot water heater, avoiding using it at the peak time," Chang said.
Because hot-water heaters have energy storage capacity, a system operator would be able to shift it on and off. But they would only be able to do so at homes linked to the smart-grid.
"You are going to have your hot water, but the actual consumption of electricity by that hot water tank, will be controlled and monitored by the smart grid," Chang said.
He said all the appliances in question would be ones that store energy for use and wouldn't leave customers without the use of household appliances such as stoves and washing machines.
Alan Richardson, chairman of PowerShift Atlantic, and vice-president of integrated customer service at Nova Scotia Power, said new electro-thermal heating systems that draw power and store the energy before releasing the heat is another example of an appliance that could be shifted.
"If we can find some ways to change the timing of the usage by the customers, in a way that they are happy with it, it can be used to follow the variability in the wind generation," Richardson said.
He said every time someone does something as simple as flipping on a light switch, more electricity needs to be generated somewhere.
But with more stringent regulations coming into play, utilities are looking to ensure more of that power is generated from renewable resources instead of those that emit greenhouse gases.
"If we can match the load of the customers, we will be able to minimize the impact on heavy fuel oil that needs to replace when the wind is down. The customers will benefit from cleaner energy," said NB Power CEO Gaetan Thomas.
"Customers use power at different times and sometimes they may be using power that isn't needed. As we learn from that data, tie to the wind cycling, we will be able to optimize the load versus resources supply."
Keith Ashfield, the minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the member of Parliament for Fredericton, announced the federal funding for the $32-million research project.
"We all know how important it is to increase our supply of clean energy," Ashfield said.
"To do that, we need a more intelligent electrical grid to make sure our changing mix of electricity sources can blend into one steady, reliable source of power and do it as efficiently as possible."
More City & Region
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
