SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — Diversity matters was the outcome of a report on electricity sources for the City of Summerside, council heard Wednesday.
The Capacity Resource Plan was commissioned when it became clear the city’s old diesel generators weren’t going to last much longer and needed to be replaced. A 16-megawatt dual-fuel turbo generator was priced, but the previous council ultimately decided to see if it was the best choice. Two of the reports' authors were in a special meeting Feb. 27 to answer questions from councillors.
“In the last 10 years, the utility industry has changed so much, in terms of the advent of new technologies, in terms of new options for utilities. Renewables completely disrupted the whole field,” said Dunsky consultant Julie-Ann Vincent.
The cutting-edge technologies are in the field of distributed energy resources and it means utilities don’t need to rely on a giant generator, said Vincent.
The draft report recommends a mix of electricity sources like wind, battery and a biodiesel generator, to be implemented in a co-ordinated timeline over the next 25 years.
“A stacked stage approach is generally good utility planning in terms of that flexibility and diversity,” said Vincent.
Although the consultants found a way for Summerside Electric to wean itself off the power cable from New Brunswick, Vincent suggested it would be wise to keep the mainland connection in the mix.
To further diversify, a battery storage pilot project and a second battery purchase further down the road were suggested, but only once it becomes cost-effective. Batteries will store power for later use, like the one behind Credit Union Place that holds the solar electricity from the panels along Greenwood Drive.
Coun. Cory Snow asked for a number to figure out how council will know when batteries are cost-effective.
“It’s not only that number of the actual purchase of the physical battery, it’s other conditions in the market that will dictate when it’s cost effective,” said Dunsky consultant Ahmed Hanafy.
Greg Gaudet weighed in with the utility’s positive reaction to the report.
“It’s a well-written, well-thought out plan,” said Gaudet, adding the firm listened to stakeholders and the report reflects that.
Gaudet then brought up a chart of Tuesday night’s electricity demand and pointed to the time between 12 and 6 a.m., the period of lowest demand. It’s when most businesses and schools are closed and the electricity is used for basic functions, like heat.
“It’s prudent upon the community to plan for resources that can meet that minimum load at all times throughout the year,” said Gaudet.
That way, in the future, the city could sustain an outage (like the one on Nov. 29, when the connection to N.B. was lost, for example) and still keep everyone warm.
Gaudet also praised the Dunsky report for its flexibility.
“It gives lots of options to reduce costs to the utility and, at the same time, plan for the worst-case situation.”
A public consultation for citizens to find out more will be held Feb. 28 at the Credit Union Place from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. A full copy of the report can be found on the City of Summerside website under News & Notices.