by Shane Henson — May 10, 2013—National Instruments, a global provider of test, measurement, and embedded systems for engineers and scientists, recently announced that it is partnering with Prolucid LocalGrid Technologies Inc., a company working to help power utilities and their serviceable communities to reduce costs, to build a next-generation energy management system for Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited.
Funded by nearly $2.5 million in grants from Canada’s ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative and Ontario’s Smart Grid Fund, the project takes advantage of distributed intelligence technology to manage renewable energy generated by the community onto the power grid. In addition to allowing for increased generation capacity, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the integrated platform can improve reliability and efficiency across the electric power system.
According to Prolucid LocalGrid Technologies, the solution it helped develop addresses an unexpected challenge created by clean energy incentives. Due to the country’s vast size, cold climate and expansive economy, Canada has one of the highest rates of per capita energy consumption in the world. To promote conservation and efficiency, the federal and provincial governments provide rebates to households and businesses for renewable energy installations. In some areas, the boom in solar panels and wind turbines actually generate more power than the existing infrastructure can handle, resulting in valuable electricity being wasted, explains the company.
Toronto Hydro, the largest municipal electric utility in Canada, is working with Prolucid LocalGrid Technologies to develop a distributed approach for managing generation without requiring expensive new power lines or capital equipment. Prolucid LocalGrid Technologies’ software uses CompactRIO devices installed on the grid to control and monitor community generation sources.
