North Bay Hydro Partners With S&C to Build North Bay Community Energy Park

Deployment brings increased power quality, resiliency and a host of community benefits

S&C Electric Canada Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of S&C Electric Company, a smart grid leader shaping the future of power delivery, today announced a partnership with North Bay Hydro to deploy a microgrid at North Bay Community Energy Park.

S&C’s project scope is to engineer, procure and contract-manage an automated microgrid that combines solar panels and other energy sources, battery energy storage and the state-of-the-art GridMaster® Microgrid Control System. S&C is a global pioneer in the microgrid space. With industry-leading experience, S&C has deployed 17 microgrids and 21 large-scale energy storage systems over the last decade.

“This project will combine renewable generation, energy storage and S&C’s GridMaster® Microgrid Control System to fully integrate all of the components,” said Paul McMullen, Vice President S&C Electric Canada Ltd. “North Bay Hydro has been innovative enough to realize that they can gain benefits today while preparing the local grid, their utility, and indeed the community for the network of the future.”

The North Bay Community Energy Park will include a solar array mounted on the city’s Aquatic Centre, with the ability to operate in islanded mode separate from the main power grid. A microgrid will allow this renewable electricity to supply the neighboring Memorial Gardens ice rink. This clean solar power will also contribute to a charging station for electric vehicles. A PureWave® SMS-250 Storage Management System will ensure grid disruptions can be managed seamlessly, and improve resiliency by storing energy to be used when needed. The Energy Park will also include a cogeneration plant that will help to power the microgrid and heat both the Aquatic Centre and Memorial Gardens.

"This project will be for the benefit of the community: educationally, economically, and for employability,” said Todd Wilcox, CEO of North Bay Hydro. “We will employ local tradespeople, run educational outreach programs in schools and provide power independence for the community. The project is modular; therefore, expansion will be easier as the site evolves as the needs of the community change. Memorial Gardens and Aquatic Centre will be used as a refuge point in times of crisis, a priceless community benefit. This will be one of the few complexes within a 100km radius capable of keeping the lights and heat on while sheltering people if the main grid fails, for example, due to an ice storm."

S&C congratulates North Bay Hydro for positioning itself as a forward-thinking municipality. With the introduction of a modern power infrastructure, the city can expect to attract new commercial investment to the area, benefiting the community as a whole.