Terry Hui, Concord Pacific’s chief executive, said the batteries will allow the projects to feed the grid at almost all hours, smoothing out the well-known variability of solar generation. It’s expected to mean a 20-per-cent increase in output when commercial operations begin around the end of this year. The federal support and falling costs of the“It’s good technology, but it was too expensive before.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s UCP government shocked the renewable energy industry last week, when it imposed a seven-month freeze on renewable project approvals. The government says it will use the time to review where projects can be built, how to ensure installations are cleaned up when they reach the end of their commercial lives and how the surge in wind and solar affects the grid.
The Pembina Institute disagrees. The energy and environment research body issued a report in June that said a net-zero grid is not just possible, but getting there will make the system more efficient and cost $27-billion to $28-billion less than under the AESO’s scenario. One of the keys will be a big buildup in energy storage capacity.The AESO currently sees that capacity quintupling to 500 megawatts by 2027, but Pembina predicts a much steeper increase.
Alberta currently has about 100 MW of storage capacity in operation, 90 MW of which is tied to the grid. Energy Storage Canada, which represents the industry, sees 2,500 MW more in various stages of development. Seven are stand-alone, including a TransAlta Corp. battery project west of Calgary and a pumped hydro development in the Hinton-Edson region in the west-central part of the province. That system requires water reservoirs at different elevations, where the downward flow drives turbines when power is needed. It has the benefit of allowing for energy to be stored for days, rather than hours as with batteries. But it also requires large areas and the right topography.