North Bay is leading the way in energy resiliency all across Canada.
North Bay Hydro broke ground this morning on its latest project, the Community Energy Park microgrid.
Located between the YMCA and Memorial Gardens, the microgrid will combine the electricity and heat of a cogenerator with solar power to supply both 87 per cent of electricity needs, and over 55 per cent of heating requirements for the YMCA Aquatic Centre and Memorial Gardens.
The microgrid will store and deliver power from the solar panels, cogenerator and grid using Smart Grid technology and the use of a battery, which will also benefit the community during times of emergency. It’s ability to run on “Island Mode” will give centrally-located emergency shelters self-sustained power and heat.
“Should there be a natural disaster, we’re going to have power all the time at the Gardens to accommodate citizens,” says mayor Al McDonald.
The project is based on the existing North Bay Hydro Services Cogenerator project at the North Bay Regional Health Centre, which acts as a source of power able to supply over 85 per cent on the facility’s needs in the event of an emergency.
The microgrid project is the first of its kind in all of Canada, which Todd Wilcox, president and chief operating officer of North Bay Hydro, says will showcase the city as worldwide leaders in energy efficiency.
“It will make our city more resilient and more energy efficient, and it gives us new infrastructure that’s state-of-the-art on an international scale,” says Wilcox. “This will bring pride to our community and pride in the facilities, and we believe the world will look up to us right here in North Bay.”
Inspired by a heart-warming moment he witnessed first-hand at a Battalion game at Memorial Gardens between a player and a young fan, Wilcox feels that because the community is often brought together at the Gardens, it deserves to house a project like this.
“It made me think of how important these facilities are to our community and how we need to do more to make them better, more resilient, and more efficient long-term so that they’re a source of pride for our community as well,” says Wilcox. “To do this with local people, local engineering firms, and local construction companies, it just shows what North Bay is capable of on an international scale to do a project of this scope and complexity.”
Scheduled for completion in September 2018, the $4.5 million project will benefit from $260,000 invested from the City of North Bay, and $1.6 million confirmed and a potential $2.5 million total in provincial and federal grants.
“The leverage on [the costs] is incredible, so we’re going to save about $200 thousand a year in heating Memorial Gardens and the YMCA pool,” says Al McDonald “So there’s going be almost a one-year payback on our money.”
