new technologies lead edison-era electricity grid into the future - home battery system

Calgary entrepreneur Brent Harris did not intend to compete with Elon Musk and beat the legendary innovator in his own game.
"This is not our mission," Harris said of Eguana Technologies, founded 15 years ago, which aims to bring green energy systems to remote areas. grid locations.
"But," he added, sounding more surprised than proud, "This is certainly the case at this time.
Tesla in Musk
In an exciting expectation, the Powerwall home battery system was first announced in 2015.
Energy storage promises to mainstream solar systems, saving householders money if they are not completely independent of traditional power grids.
According to the hype, the impact of Tesla electric vehicles on the automotive industry, Tesla Powerwall will have an impact on the electrical system.
However, the full production of the device is still waiting for the completion of the California Tesla "Gigabit plant", so, at the same time, thousands of consumers in Europe and the United States snapped up a competitive battery system controlled by Eguana Technologies.
The company's largest customer base is Germany, where the high cost of electricity motivates the world
Main shift in solar power generation on roof
If you can store power when you need it most, you can reduce your dependence on the grid by 80.
Eguana will also focus on another solar hotspot in Hawaii, which works with the state's largest solar installer to provide the required batteries for all new systems.
Without the leadership of Tesla, a group of new technologies hit gridEven, and the revolution promised by the company is underway.
A group of virtual new technologies are impacting Edison's rigid buildings --
Times power grid is expected to make breakthrough progress in efficiency and practicality.
For consumers struggling with rising power costs, the revolution promises greater control to allow them to determine when, where and which power to use.
It will also take utilities from one
Through the pipeline into the complex network, in which energy is generated and traded in multiple directions at the speed and efficiency of the stock exchange.
For society as a whole, it has attractive prospects for an affordable system that relies entirely on renewable energy.
Eguana, whose name is from the sun
Love reptiles, initially developed its "smart inverter" technology to power fuel cells from remote areas. But battery-
The company that supports solar energy promises to soon become the company's main business.
"We basically let the battery do interesting things on the electric network," Harris explained . ".
"It allows you to store solar energy during the day and use it at night.
Or if you're in a place where you have timeof-
Use rate, it will charge the battery at low power
Offset the cost time of purchasing power at a high pricecost time. ”But self-
A generation is just the beginning.
With the networking of buildings, greater changes have taken place.
"When you say half of it --
It's not a big deal, "Harris said.
"But when you start to get thousands of these things, you can call them at the same time, and now you can use megawatts of power.
Smart technology replaces utility's dumb transformer, which provides a compelling alternative to installing equipment that Harris increasingly calls a "dumb transformer.
The old way is equivalent to "building a 16-
"The lane highway will be busy for an hour every day," he explains . ".
The vision is quickly realized in Hawaii, where the roof of the densely populated Oahu island has produced 500 MW of solar energy, and the state stipulates that by 2045, the grid will be fully powered by renewable energy.
With so much "uncontrolled solar energy" now, Hawaii has forced all new devices to use batteries because the state cannot handle all the electricity generated.
To solve this problem is the business of Opus One Solutions, a Toronto startup whose software platform GridOS provides the computing power needed for smart grid intelligence.
"This is a huge challenge," said Keyvan Cohanim, chief business officer . ".
He said that there are more than 60 "running blind" in the North American grid, and the first job of GridOS is to map the power flow in real time.
Only in this way can utility companies manage their resources properly, he said --
And the power value of renewable energy and batteries.
That will eventually lead to a market, says Cohanim.
"So in the future, the market mechanism can decide who is selling electricity to the grid and who is using it, which becomes a kind of self-
Balanced operation mode
Like the stock market. ”Self-
The balance of the smart grid is being realized.
Whether it's an energy consumer or a producer, balancing the smart grid will give those with sufficient motivation unprecedented control.
Others will be content to relax with a good book, and their electrical panels will automatically "take advantage of the market.
Opus is currently testing GridOS in New York state to join the utility State Grid in a management 120-
Niagara Medical Park, Buffalo.
Spurred by the widespread power grid failure after Hurricane Sandy in 2012, New York is one of the few jurisdictions that took the lead in developing a variety of "non-wired alternatives", optimizing existing infrastructure and enhancing system resilience.
In the process, "The role of utilities is moving from reliable power suppliers to", Cohanim said, also helping customers become more independent.
"According to Ron Disi, general manager of the senior energy center for Mars exploration in Toronto, this is probably the most difficult change.
He said it is not the lack of new technology that hinders innovation.
"We think it's not so much an invention problem as an adoption problem.
In the Edison era, there is great inertia in the traditional power generation mode and distribution mode.
"But that's not to say that the government is slow, the utilities are stupid, and the regulators don't understand," Dizy added . ".
"The incentive system is built to give us the results we have achieved.
In the long run, people's behavior is completely rational, which goes against what we all agree to be doing.
"The challenge is to develop incentives to encourage the adoption of new technologies that meet everyone's needs.
Since these problems are common, the solution itself may become an output-able opportunity.
Take the Ontario experiment as an example when the government agreed to pay for solar energy through its original feedIn Tariff (FIT)program.
The initiative is too generous and hinders innovation, says Dizy: "We 've deployed a lot of solar energy, but we did get the job done at a higher cost than we needed.
He added: "As a result, the companies we created in the province are not able to compete globally because they are too costly.
A positive example of regulatory reform is the agreement reached between Ottawa Hydro and Windmill Development Group to create a self
Enough micro
Windmills call it "the most sustainable community in the world ". ” The 15-
The hectare development project, which is being built on the former industrial land along the Ottawa River, will be managed by a subsidiary for its energy use (
Water and electricity shared by Ottawa and developers)
This operates outside the normal regulatory framework, allowing public/private groups to innovate in ways that are otherwise impossible.
Utilities that fail to innovate are at risk of being removed from "support []"
In early 1980]
If everyone is happy and the price doesn't matter, "said Glen Magil, a utility veteran, who started his career at Ottawa Hydro in 1982.
Today, Magill is general manager of energy infrastructure development in Ottawa
A regulated subsidiary set up by utility companies to market innovative technologies begins with a new approach to testing the performance of buried cables.
"From the operator's point of view, this is a more challenging industry," he said . ".
"But there are many opportunities for innovation.
Opportunities, however, do not always translate into sales.
While Eguana is helping to lead the solar revolution around the world, it has only a handful of customers in its own country.
According to Brent Harris, Canada's widespread use of the "net metering" policy hinders the commitment to energy storage because it turns in one direction when the customer's meter consumes the grid
The electricity generated, and then when the renewable energy produced by the family is more expensive than it can consume, it goes backwards.
As a result, utilities pay solar producers the same retail price as the electricity they charge.
In reality, the producer "uses the grid as a huge free battery," Harris said, killing any incentive to store energy on its own, considering that his battery installation costs range from $12,000 to $20,000 (U. S. ).
In Germany, he said, utility companies buy solar energy at real wholesale prices, about 1-
Third, they charge a fee, so it's worth producing and storing your own supply.
As a result, Eguana has sold 5,000 sets of battery systems for rooftop solar equipment there.
Harris sees hope in Ontario's latest industrial protection program, which rewards China-
Transfer part of the consumption to off-peak times.
"This creates an opportunity," he said, and his company now has a product that can store up to 15 KW of electricity when the cost is low for use when the cost is high.
According to Dizy, Canada needs more such strategies.
"I think our ideas are right and I just think our policies can make things better and better," he said . ".
"But we are a place where we can do it.
Every small step forward, the ultimate goal is
Carbon for sustainable development
Free energy system
Easier to achieve.
This article is part of the Mars energy and the future of the environment series, which highlights people and companies in the Mars exploration area network and innovations that affect our lives.
Learn more about the future of energy and the environment.